Hopetoun House's Pond, featuring the magnificent 60-meter Oval Basin, represents one of the earliest and most significant water features in Scottish aristocratic garden design, providing elegant aquatic settings for scenes at the Duke of Sandringham's residence in Outlander. This remarkable reflecting pond, dating to approximately 1705 and featuring a central jet fountain, demonstrates the Hope family's embrace of Continental European garden traditions and sophisticated hydraulic engineering capabilities that characterized early 18th-century Scottish estate development. The Oval Basin's position on the central axis with the house creates maximum visual impact and represents the theatrical approach to aristocratic landscape design where water features served both decorative and symbolic purposes. The pond's elegant proportions and fountain dynamics provided perfect aquatic backdrops for aristocratic scenes, representing the sophisticated garden engineering that wealthy Scottish aristocrats like the Duke employed to create impressive estate settings suitable for entertaining distinguished guests and demonstrating cultural refinement.