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Garden Owners,
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Armchair Travel Co Ltd
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Garden Name: Ardkinglas Woodland Garden
Last Modified: 01/03/2011
Garden ID: 0551

pic: 0551_Ardkinglas.jpg

Owner: Ardkinglas Estate
Address:
Cairndow


Postcode: PA26 8BH
County: Scotland

tel: 01499 600261
fax: 01499 600241
website: www.ardkinglas.com
email: info {at} ardkinglas.com

Features: 
Garden tours available if booked in advance. Full tour can take 1-2 hours. Whistle-stop tour of 20 minutes on low-level paths can be more appropriate for parties that include the disabled, or for those who want to see just the highlights of the garden.
VisitScotland *** grading for gardens

English Heritage Grade:


Opening Times:
All year; daily; daylight hours.
Ardkinglas House Garden - Private garden, open on selected days or by prior arrangement. Guided tours are available

Best Times of Year to Visit: 
April - June

To see: 
Carpets of bluebells, spectacular rhododendrons, champion trees

National Collection: 


National Garden Scheme days: No
Comments: 

Parties / Coaches: Yes 
Comments: 

Viewing by Appointment: Yes
Comments:  

House Open for Viewing: Yes
Comments: By appointment, guided house tours start in April and include access to the house and garden. Every second and last Friday in the month from April - October

Admission Prices:
Adult £4.50; OAP £3.50; Child under 16 free
House tours
Adult £6.15; Primary school children £3; Child under 5 free.
Season ticket £16.

Parking: Yes
Lavatories: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Shop: No
Plants for Sale: Yes
Lunches: No
Teas: No
Refreshments: No
Picnics: Yes
Dogs allowed: Yes
Only on Lead: Yes
Events: Yes

Other Facilities:
Limited access for the disabled. Shop, refreshments etc. available nearby.


Designer: 
Description of Garden:
The garden comprises 25 acres of hillside with wonderful views over Loch Fyne in some of Scotland's most spectacular landscape. There are a network of paths rising from the waterfalls of the River Kinglas through the gardens and woodland to the hillside above from which the Loch and its surroundings can be viewed.

With near perfect growing conditions, there are a spectacular collection of rhodendrons, conifers and many other trees and shrubs including "the mightiest conifer in Europe" and one of the tallest trees in Britain.

Populating the garden are a woodland lochlan, an ancient mill and a numerous and thriving group of red squirrels. There is also a gazebo, built from local Argyll oak, which houses a scriptorium of tree-related poetry and prose to fire the imagination.

In spring and early summer, in addition to the collection of rhododendrons, one of the finest in Britain, which is in bloom at that time, there is a marvellous carpet of bluebells.


History: 
Originally planted out in the 18th Century, the Callander family established the mature conifer collection around 1875. The estate was purchased in 1905 by Sir Andrew Noble who in 1920 started to plant what soon became an outstanding collection of rhododendrons. This was augmented fifteen years later by the gift of rhododendrons from his fellow enthusiast, Lord Aberconway at Bodnant. With the help of his son Michael, later Lord Glenkinglas, he took delivery of these plants, which were transported from Wales in two railway carriages and can now be found in the garden upon the aptly-named Bodnant Bank. Lord Glenkinglas and his wife Anne continued to garden at Ardkinglas until the mid-1980s and their influence is noticeable everywhere in the garden.

Local Inns: 
Cairndow Inn

Accomodation: 
Cairndow Inn

Restaurants: 
Loch Fyne Oysters

Village/Town/Sightseeing: 
Inverary - 8 miles