Best Practice Case Studies

House of Dun and the Montrose Basin
- Much more than a house

"The house won't change that much over the year, but the countryside offers visitors something new with each season."

Wendy McDonald, House of Dun Property Manager

The House of Dun is a small, yet spectacular Georgian manor house designed and built by William Adam in 1730 for David Erskine, Lord Dun. It was in the hands of the Erskine family until 1980 when it was bequeathed to the National Trust for Scotland (NTS).  The estate is about 360 hectares in size, although in its hey day it extended to over 4000 hectares.

Much more than a house
The house overlooks the dramatic Montrose Basin Local Nature Reserve (LNR), a tidal basin of the South Esk River, which is an internationally important site for wildfowl and waders.  Up until a few years ago the estate was marketed solely as the House of Dun, despite NTS owning much of the western half of the reserve. Today NTS recognises the value of promoting the natural heritage and highlight the fact that there is a lot more to the House of Dun Estate than just the house. As well as the wetland, the estate also offers waymarked woodland walks and a beautifully restored walled garden.

Property Manager Wendy McDonald feels that the natural heritage enhances the visitor experience: "The house won't change that much over the year, but the countryside offers visitors something new with each season". Wendy McDonald believes that the Estate's broad appeal has resulted in visitor numbers remaining steady over the last couple of years, despite a general decline in tourism in the area.

Emphasising the whole estate and its surrounding landscape has meant that visitors now come and spend a full day at the site, rather than just an hour or two looking round the house. This has had a positive impact on business, boosting retail sales.

Partnership working
The Montrose Basin LNR is run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT), which is the main landowner. The site is managed through the Montrose Basin LNR Management Committee that consists of SWT, NTS, the British Association of Shooting and Conservation, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Angus Council and four local farmers.

NTS works closely with SWT and they help each other by sharing resources for events and educational programmes. SWT take advantage of the woodland on the House of Dun Estate and run outdoor events for children in the grounds, such as bug and beast days and bat evenings. NTS and SWT have volunteer groups that help out with practical conservation work and many volunteers work on projects in the Basin and the estate.

Visitors to SWT's newly refurbished, four star visitor centre can learn about the Montrose Basin and its fascinating bird life, then carry on up to the House of Dun for a tour of the superb Georgian mansion. They can complete their day by exploring the wonderful woodland walks.

Farm management
As part of a larger agri-environmental scheme at the estate's tenanted farm, the Mains of Dun, an area of wet grassland has been created to enhance its wildlife value. Leading this change in farming practice is NTS tenant farmer Grant Baird. He has managed his farm in an environmentally sensitive manner, under the Rural Stewardship Scheme (RSS) since 2001. As well as the wetland there are twenty-eight hectares of permanent grassland with both areas managed specifically to encourage a variety of wading birds, including oystercatchers, lapwing and snipe.

The farm has good access provision and visitors to the House of Dun can pass through the farm on their way to the Montrose Basin. On this walk visitors can see features such as grass field margins and beetle-banks. These are created to encourage insects and small mammals, which in turn attract the birds that feed on them, such as skylark and grey partridge.

It is early days for encouraging visitors onto the estate farmland to enjoy wildlife, however numbers are already rising. Monitoring for potential problems which could disturb the wildlife and livestock is a high priority.

Promotion and plans for the future
To promote the natural heritage at the House of Dun, a new interpretation board will be erected this winter in the main car park. It will include a map showing the wildlife as well as historical features of the estate. The Montrose Basin is mentioned in the guided tour of the House of Dun and NTS is keen to build on the wildlife element of the tour. Staff at the house are now getting enquiries about the Basin and there are further plans to improve access to the reserve.

Upcoming attractions include poetry walks, which will end at a viewpoint overlooking the Montrose Basin. The walks have been inspired by a one time resident at the House of Dun, the poet Violet Jacob, who often wrote about the landscape and wildlife of the wetlands. This is a wonderful example of integrating the historical and ecological elements of a site into the visitor experience.

For further information, please contact:

Wendy McDonald (Property Manager)
House of Dun
Montrose
Angus
DD10 9LQ

Phone: 01674 810264
E-mail: houseofdun@nts.org.uk
Website: www.nts.org.uk

For details on accommodation visit the National Trust of Scotland accommodation website www.ntsholidays.com

Karen van Eeden (Conservation Manager)
Montrose Basin Wildlife Centre
Rossie Braes
Montrose
Angus
DD10 9TA

Phone: 01674 676336
E-mail: montrosebasin@swt.org.uk
Website: www.montrosebasin.org.uk

The images are reproduced courtesy of the National Trust for Scotland

This case study features in the publication 'Greening Scottish Tourism: Linking the Built & Natural Heritage, 10 Best Practice Case Studies'.  You can download the full publication at the bottom of this page.

Case study added August 2005

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