Milne Graden Team – Meet Sheila The Housekeeper

With an eye for detail and supreme organisational skills, Sheila oversees all cleaning for the Milne Graden cottages. Faced with more pressure than ever in the current climate, Sheila goes above and beyond to make sure our guests and our team are kept safe. Sheila works tirelessly behind the scenes implementing strict protocols to ensure our cottages meet the highest standards of cleanliness.

A country girl at heart, Sheila lives on the Milne Graden Estate with her family and Labrador, Pippa. She loves nothing more than getting outside and enjoying rural life. Be it dog walks along the Tweed with Pippa, or bike rides with her children, this is Sheila’s happy place.

Sheila’s love of nature also extends to gardening, with the family striving to be as self-sufficient as possible. A look inside her greenhouse will reveal a myriad of culinary gems from tomatoes to chillis.

As well as being a keen baker, Sheila likes to make the most of her home-grown bounty in the kitchen. Homemade slow gin, from Milne Graden’s very own secret supply of slows, is a staple, but this year Sheila has found a new favourite. A glut of strawberries make their way into some gin, a little margin ensured and the end result is sumptuous – she urges us all to try making some this summer!

Sheila’s Strawberry Gin

700ml Gin

400g Fresh Strawberries

100g Caster Sugar

Mix the gin with the strawberries and caster sugar in a large bowl then pour into a 1.5-litre sterilised Kilner jar. Stir/shake every 2/3 days for 3 weeks, then it’s ready to strain and bottle…. enjoy!

Let us know if you make this delicious recipe – tag @talesofthetweed on Instagram.