Gardens of Scotland’s West Coast

A FIVE NIGHT HOLIDAY | 22 MAY 2023

Join Paddy Scott for a spring tour of Scotland’s glorious West Coast, including visits to the region’s finest houses and gardens. Travelling by road and ferry, we will traverse the West Coast from (Dumfries) Ayrshire to the Isle of Arran, Oban and back to Glasgow, exploring ancient castles, Palladian mansions, formal gardens, woodland landscapes and some of the country’s most spectacular natural scenery.

Brodick

the itinerary

The tour starts late morning at the Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel in Central Glasgow. Please make your own way to Glasgow this morning – we would be delighted to book a room for you at the hotel if you prefer to arrive the night before. We will travel south to Dumfries House Lodge on the estate of the 18th century Dumfries House, where we stay for one night. We will have lunch here before a guided tour of the gardens. A consortium led by HRH King Charles led a vast restoration programme over the past 15 years, which has restored the house and gardens to their original splendour. In the evening, after exploring the house and its collections, which include the finest collection of Chippendale furniture in the world, we shall sit down for a grand dinner in the elegant Dining Room.

Checking out of the hotel we will travel across the Firth of Clyde by ferry to visit Brodick Castle on the Isle of Arran. There has been a fortress on the site at Brodick since the 5th century and we will see its 80-acre woodland garden which includes three National Collections of Rhododendrons, in addition to a walled garden beneath the Castle. We will continue by coach and ferry to Stonefield Castle, overlooking Loch Fyne, where we stay tonight.

This morning begins with a visit to nearby Baravalla, with its world-class collection of rare shrubs and Rhododendrons brought back from Asia to the UK by plant hunters over the last 50 years, followed by lunch at Stonefield Castle. We continue to Arduaine, an outstanding 20-acre coastal garden with superb views out to sea. Plants from all over the world can be found at Arduaine, from a magnificent collection of Rhododendrons and a National Collection of Maddenia hybrids to Magnolias, Camellias, Azaleas and rare trees and shrubs. We stay for the next two nights at the Loch Melfort Hotel.

Inveraray Castle

4

30 acres of woodland gardens overlooking Loch Etive stretch out from the 19th century house at Achnacloich, where we will see trees and shrubs from Asia, China, Japan, North America and New Zealand and a remarkable collection of Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Magnolias, Maples and Sorbus. There are several interesting trees including native Oaks, Scots Pine, European Larch and a giant Douglas Fir which was part of Douglas’s original introduction to this country. After lunch we visit Ardmaddy, a 15th century castle on the coast with wonderful views out to sea, which overlooks a formal walled garden which was created on the site of a barracks dating back to the 1745 Jacobite rebellion.

5

Checking out of the hotel this morning we head south to Glasgow, calling first at Inveraray Castle on the shores of Loch Fyne. Seat of the Dukes of Argyll, the castle dates back to the 1740s and was inspired by Vanbrugh, the architect of Castle Howard. The garden covers sixteen acres of formal lawns and flowerbeds, park and woodland. After lunch here we will continue to Ardkinglas with dramatic views over Loch Fyne and a spectacular background of mountains and forest. We will arrive in the late afternoon at the Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel in Glasgow, where we will enjoy a final dinner together in a private dining room.

DAY

The tour concludes after breakfast this morning.

DAY

DAY 6

TOUR INFORMATION

DEPARTURE DATE & PRICES

DATE PRICE SINGLE SUPP

22 May £2,359 £270

Our prices are per person, based on the shared occupancy of a twin/double room. Supplement for single occupancy as shown.

WHAT WE INCLUDE

• Five nights’ accommodation with breakfast • Five dinners • Five lunches • All sightseeing, entrance fees and gratuities • The services of the Kirker Tour Leader, Paddy Scott, and a tour escort