Gardens of Wester Ross

Departing: May 2027 - June 2027

Join us on this special tour, which strings together some of the best gardens in one of the most beautiful and scenic parts of the country. An undoubted highlight of our tour is our visit to Attadale Gardens, a true gem of a garden which was voted RHS Partner Garden of the Year for Scotland in 2023. Here we have an exclusive private visit and enjoy a light lunch in the dining room of the main house, which is not normally open to the public.

Other visits include a three-acre private garden on the outskirts of Inverness, a trip to Skye, where we enjoy the award-winning formal garden of Dunvegan Castle, and Inverewe, unquestionably one of the most outstanding gardens in the country. This tour is a real treasure trove of treats for anyone who enjoys beautiful gardens and wonderful scenery.

Included

Explore Inverewe & Attadale Gardens, with entrance fees included
All other visits as outlined in the itinerary
Professional Tour Manager
4 nights at the Gairloch Hotel, Gairloch
4 breakfasts & 4 dinners
Lunch at Attadale
Private air-conditioned coach travel

Highlights

The desolate beauty of the Highland landscape
Inverewe, widely regarded as one of Scotland’s greatest gardens
Exclusive private visit to Attadale Gardens, RHS Partner Garden of the Year in Scotland 2023, including lunch in the main house, not normally open to the public

Richard Baines

Curator of Logan Botanic Garden, a specialist garden of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. He has participated in Botanical Expeditions worldwide including China, Chile, Turkey, USA and the Canary Islands. He has also led four expeditions to Vietnam resulting in the discovery of 5 new species.

Tour Itinerary

We depart from our designated pick-up points and travel northwards, stopping for lunch in Pitlochry (not included). We continue with a visit to the private garden of the Oldtown of Leys. Established in 2003, on the outskirts of Inverness, this large garden of three acres has year-round interest. Spring rhododendrons and azaleas, summer herbaceous plantings, autumn trees and shrubs and winter appeal from the conifers, evergreens and structures. Features include a rockery, ponds, musical instruments, a stumpery and a new area of late summer colour.

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation: Gairloch hotel

This morning, we travel south through the spectacular scenery of Torridon and cross the graceful arching bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh to the Isle of Skye. Here we visit the award-winning formal gardens at Dunvegan Castle, which began life in the 18th century. In stark contrast to the barren moorland and mountains which dominate Skye’s landscape, the castle’s Water Garden, Rose Garden, Walled Garden and woodland walks provide a hidden oasis for an eclectic mix of flowers, exotic plants, specimen trees and shimmering pools fed by waterfalls and streams flowing down to the sea.

In the afternoon, we take the ferry (as foot passengers) from Sconser to Raasay and visit the Raasay Walled Garden. This community-owned project has breathed new life into the old walled garden attached to Raasay House, with a productive fruit and vegetable garden as well as a rose garden and herbaceous borders. We then return by ferry to Skye and over the bridge to the mainland and arrive back at the hotel in time for dinner, after a most rewarding day.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Gairloch Hotel

After breakfast, we travel south to Attadale Gardens on the shores of Loch Carron, where the Gulf Stream-influenced micro-climate nurtures 20 acres of outstanding water gardens, old rhododendrons, unusual trees and a fern collection in a geodesic dome. We enjoy an exclusive private visit, guided by a member of the family and the gardening staff, followed by a light lunch served in the dining room of the main house, which is not normally open to the public. We return to Gairloch, where there is an opportunity to visit the Gairloch Museum.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Gairloch Hotel

Today, we journey across northern Scotland to visit Dundonnell House Garden. The house was finished in 1769 by the Mackenzies of Dundonnell, who resided there until the 1940s. The current owner has added charming new borders for colour all year round, centred around an enormous, ancient yew tree over 300 years old. The main part of the garden is divided into distinctive sections, which greatly enhance its appeal. Other highlights include riverside walks through the fine arboretum and a restored Victorian glasshouse. Our second visit of the day is to Inverewe Gardens, undoubtedly one of the country's most outstanding gardens. The mild Gulf Stream Drift Climate encourages lush growth and today it resembles a jungle of mature exotic trees and shrubs, interwoven with winding paths that rise and fall, offering sudden glimpses of shimmering water through the foliage.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Gairloch Hotel

We depart our hotel and head towards Inverness, stopping in Munlochy for a visit to Old Allangrange. Here, there is an ornamental garden surrounding the 17th-century house and a three-acre productive garden with two Keder greenhouses, designed using agroforestry and permaculture principles and gardened bio-dynamically using the no-dig technique. The ornamental garden has different areas with distinctive characteristics. There is a parterre in front of the house with informal planting, a lower garden, an ornamental propagation garden, a mound and an orchard.

Afterwards, we continue our journey home, stopping en route at the Simpsons Garden Centre, just outside Inverness, where lunch facilities are available. Following our visit, we continue back to our original pick-up points, where we expect to arrive in the early to late evening.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation

"Nestled beside Gairloch Bay, The Gairloch Hotel overlooks several quiet, secluded beaches, as well as offering spectacular views of the world famous Isle of Skye. Surrounded by a landscape rich in wildlife with unspoilt shores, lochs and mountains, The Gairloch Hotel provides a perfect base for holiday makers to take in some of the most beautiful scenery to be found in Britain. With 70 bedrooms, as well as a restaurant and lounge bar, guests can enjoy a calendar of live entertainment on site, alongside all the tranquillity associated with the beautiful scenery of Wester Ross. Raasay, and the Western Isles."

With free WiFi throughout, all rooms are equipped with freeview TV, tea and coffee making facilities and a private bathroom fitted with a bath or shower. Breakfast and dinner are served in the restaurant and the adjacent bar also hosts evening entertainment on some nights which guests are invited to attend

Availability & Booking

2027

18th May from $1,770

Call to Book

29th June from $1,815

Call to Book

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