Robin Gray's shore-side garden can be reached walking along the beach from Whiting Bay.

With a serene view over to Holy Isle and its southern lighthouse, this is an off-the-beaten-track site where herbs and vegetables grow in polytunnels as well as in a large open field nearby.

Having trained and worked as a chef both in Scotland and abroad, Robin understands the cook’s need for good supplies of interesting fresh greenery for salads and cooking. The deep flavour and pungent aroma from these naturally grown herbs, salad leaves and vegetables, is largely to do with their system of growing. None are forced with artificial fertilizer, which may produce a faster growing leaf, but at the expense of flavour. There is also the health advantage of their freedom from chemical pesticides.