The gardens The castle is set within extensive gardens, bounded by a 19th-century wall. The gardens were first laid out in the 16th century, but have undergone many changes. A bowling green lies to the west of the castle, fringed by yew trees, which may once have formed a hedge around a parterre in this area. West of the bowling green is a flower garden, laid out in 1993 to an 18th-century design, and containing yew, cedar, monkey puzzle and Lawson's cypress trees. To the north is the 1920s Arts and Crafts garden, which is home to a -long herbaceous border, and is overlooked by a castellated 19th-century gazebo, or summer house. The border is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as being the longest in the world. The rest of the gardens comprise lawns, with numerous mature specimen trees, including redwood, beech, and sycamore. There is a well-preserved 16th-century beehive-shaped doocot, or pigeon house, in the castle grounds. The doocot is high, and contains around 1000 nesting boxes for pigeons, which were an important source of food for the castle's inhabitants. To the north-east, now located outside the castle gardens, is a 16th-century gateway which formerly served the castle, but now serves the adjacent farm. References Notes Bibliography Lindsay, Maurice. (1986) The Castles of Scotland. Constable & Co. McWilliam, Colin. (1978) The Buildings of Scotland: Lothian, except Edinburgh. Penguin. Salter, Mike. (1994) The Castles of Lothian and the Borders. Folly Publications. Tabraham, Chris. (1997) Scotland's Castles. BT Batsford/Historic Scotland. Tabraham, Chris. (2007) Dirleton Castle'' 2nd edition. Historic Scotland. External links Historic Environment Scotland: Visitor guide Dirleton Castle in the Gazetteer for Scotland Images from RCAHMS, including aerial views, plans, and historical photographs. History of the Barony of Dirleton Reconstruction of Dirleton Castle Tate Turner Dunbar sketchbook (a) and Tate, Turner Dunbar sketchbook (b), two sketches of Dirleton by J. M. W. Turner, Tate. 13th-century establishments in Scotland Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century 13th-century fortifications Castles in East Lothian Scheduled Ancient Monuments in East Lothian Category A listed buildings in East Lothian Listed castles in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Ruins in East Lothian Gardens in East Lothian Historic house museums in East Lothian