A SECRET garden at Scotland’s oldest working brewery is to be transformed thanks a green-fingered partnership.

Belhaven Brewery is working alongside Sustaining Dunbar to revitalise the brewery gardens by employing a community gardener.

For years, the brewery gardens have been hidden behind the brew house but this partnership will see the secret gardens shared with people from Scotland and visitors from around the world.

Sustaining Dunbar, the town’s community development trust, has worked with Belhaven to employ Caroline Bryden, who, with the help of local volunteers, will use her expertise to redesign and replant the garden areas.

It is hoped the new gardens will capture the essence and history of Belhaven as a brewery, which dates back to 1719, while also freshening up these areas, which will eventually be used as an event space in the coming years.

Fiona Matheson, of Belhaven Brewery, was hopeful the partnership would prove a great success.

She said: “It is great to have Caroline and the Sustaining Dunbar team on board and I look forward to seeing what we can do with this beautiful space that has been hidden behind the brew house for so long.

“We are working hard to open the brewery to the public very soon with a brand new visitor experience and shop, and with the addition of our secret garden, we’re confident that Belhaven Brewery will become a fantastic place for the community to come together and enjoy what Belhaven has to offer!”

Caroline Bryden, the new Belhaven community gardener, was eager to get to work.

She told the Courier: “The gardens have been somewhat neglected for a number of years but they hold incredible history, charm and character.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to rejuvenate these secret gardens and make them special for visitors once again.

“We hope they will encapsulate the history of Scotland’s oldest working brewery and encourage visitors back to the brewery once again.”

The relationship is the start of several new projects at Belhaven Brewery ahead of the summer season.

Naomi Barnes, of Sustaining Dunbar, was looking forward to seeing the results of the project.

She said: “Our partnership with Belhaven Brewery is a really positive step forward to help Sustaining Dunbar set up new gardening outreach projects at the Belhaven Community Garden and at Dunbar Primary school, while bringing the brewery the expertise they are looking for to restore their Victorian garden.”