Your secret art venue when you seek peace and quiet

There aren’t many places in London where you can seek quiet and solace least of all the public museums but when I go back to my home in Scotland I make every effort to visit the sculpture gardens at Jupiter Art Land. Set in the 80 arces of grounds surrounding Bonnington House, a few miles outside of Edinburgh, Jupiter Art Land is home to some of the most ambitious outdoor sculpture by the likes of Andy Goldsworthy, Charles Jencks, Jeremy Dellar, Anthony Gormley, Anish Kapoor and Ian Hamilton Finlay to name a few. While these sculptures are often gigantic in size, you can get lost in the immense grounds, feeling often completely detached from the world until you stumble upon the company of a group of weeping girls (Weeping Girls Laura Ford) or a Love Bomb (Love Bomb Marc Quinn).

The best food experience in an art space

While many museums of late are combing the dining experience with the visual element of the museum, whether its award winning Restaurant Berower Park, the 18C Villa situated splendidly in the grounds of the Foundation Beyeler along side sculptures by Alexander Calder and Ellsworth Kelly or Jean-Louis Nomico’s Michelin star restaurant Le Frank set in Foundation Louis Vuitton. For me however a recent beloved eating experience was found at the Serpentine Gallery within its 2015 Summer Pavilion designed by Spanish duo SelgasCano. A multidisciplinary feature of the pavilion is a pop up café hidden within, an extension of the British culinary institution Fortnum & Mason. There I enjoyed a darling afternoon tea complete with the Royal Blend, Lemon Meringue and a Champagne ice lolly perfect in the London Summer.

A museum gift shop that you never leave empty handed

In summer of this year I saw Alexander Mc Queen: Savage Beauty at the Victoria & Albert Museum 3 times, I genuinely loved the theatrical execution of the exhibition. What was even more visually taunting than the couture on show was the dazzling Mc Queen accessories available to buy in the gift shop. In the end I managed to contain myself and purchased only print of Fallen Angels by photographer Ann Ray.

Your museum with a wow-factor

This year there has been a lot of collaboration between British Stately homes as site of exploration for Modern and Contemporary Art. One of which is Houghton Hall, a Palladian manor built by Sir Robert Walpole in Norfolk in the 1720s, now it is the home to David, Marquess of Cholmondeley and his public collection of James Turrell works. During the summer and until mid October David has commissioned one in particular spectacular piece, as the sun sets every evening Houghton Hall itself is illuminated by Turrell turning the facade of the building into tunnels of red and the rooftop domes into blue lanterns finally blanking the building in a gleaming purple haze. Next up this Autumn I can’t wait for Chatsworth House Beyond Limits exhibition co-curated by Tim Marlow, Director at the Royal Academy and Sotheby’s Simon Stock featuring in the Derbyshire house grounds sculptures by Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Sarah Lucas and Anthony Caro.

Please share with us a special personal memory related to a museum experience

Growing up in Scotland, my father owned a house which was placed on the edge of a former large estate now known as Pollock Park. My childhood is filled with memories of walking the park grounds and more often than not visiting the Burrell Collection set within. The Burrell Collection, an extension of Pollock House, regarded as one of Scotland’s grandest Edwardian country manors is home to a unique collection of over 8,000 objects gifted to Glasgow by Sir William Burrell in 1944. Focusing on late medieval and early Renaissance European artefacts, including portraits by Degas and Cezanne, my childhood is filled with wonderful memories of running around the colossal corridors and grand gardens playing the young princess. The Burrell Collection is controversially set to go on a world tour in 2016 but to me it will always be home.