Eat to the beat

It's been the seat of the Duke of Argyll, chief of Clan Campbell, since the 17th century, and its newest Duchess, the feisty Eleanor Argyll, nee Cadbury, is 41 and a niece of the founder of the famous chocolate brand.

She married Torquhil Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll, in 2002 and they have three young children. When they took over Inveraray Castle the first thing they did was put in a biomass central heating system: up until then it had been heated only by open fires and was "freezing and not child-friendly".

Eleanor has also overseen a modernising of the tea-room menu to include home-made dishes and home-baking using ingredients from local suppliers from Argyll under the direction of a new in-house cook.

The Castle attracts around 85,000 visitors each year, and this summer has been one of the busiest ever: an unprecedented 1251 people passed through its doors in one single day in August.

Part of its renewed popularity is due in part to the Downton Abbey effect, following the Christmas 2012 two-hour special episode being filmed here by ITV. (In it, the Grantham family and staff travelled north to the home of their cousins, the Marquess and Marchioness of Flintshire, in their mythical Scottish home, 'Duneagle Castle'.)

Many are Campbells on the genealogical trail from Australia, New Zealand, North America and Canada. In fact, Eleanor points out that Argyll has more clan chiefs than anywhere else in Scotland, and as many miles of coastline as France. She is adamant that local is best when it comes to feeding them.

"When I first arrived it wasn't so fixed on local, but people who come from as far away as New York expect that now. They want their smoked salmon bagel to be Scottish and as local as possible."

To prove her point, a recent delegation of 50 American Campbells was treated to a lunch of smoked salmon, venison and lamb and raspberries with shortbread, all sourced from the area.

Conscious that not everybody is obsessed with visiting stately homes, Eleanor launched Best of the West in the castle grounds four years ago, and already ticket sales have increased from 1800 in year one to 5000 last year; it's hoped that record will be broken again this year.

Since spending more time in the area she has come to love the local natural larder, and a dish of grilled Loch Fyne langoustines simply served with French fries and a green salad from a friend's garden was her first proper taste of what was available - and what it was possible to do with it.

In fact, it was the local food that inspired her to start Best of the West. "I realised we were sitting on this amazing local produce - Loch Fyne oysters, langoustine, salmon; amazing cheeses from Campbelltown, Mull and Arran. Real Mackay Stovies using lamb reared at Stronmagachan Farm, Inveraray; Inverawe Smokehouse near Oban, which does delicious pates and smoked trout, and Winston Churchill venison in Dunoon.

"We have all around us the best beef and lamb, fantastic craft beer from Fyne Ales and a staggering 20 distilleries in our area.

"This year we have the Wee Kelpie fish and chip shop from Helensburgh returning with their famous pulled pork and hand-cut chips, veal from Nethergate Farm in Dunlop, Smoked Gigha halibut and Bumble puddings from Lochgilphead. Argyll is a huge and varied area and we're so lucky to have all this on our doorstep, but we've not been so good at shouting about it."

One brand that won't be there is Cadbury's, as the Duchess's family is no longer involved following a hostile takeover by Kraft a few years ago.

Best of the West effectively replaces the Connect Music Festival that took place in the grounds of Inveraray Castle in 2007 and 2008, with headliners such as the Beastie Boys, Björk and Franz Ferdinand. Now Run by the musician Craig McIntyre of Cairndow, this year's BOW live line-up includes folk legends Capercaillie, the Celtic bands Skerryvore and Skipinnish; the girls' Gaelic choir Coisir Og Dalriada, Taynuilt Gaelic Choir and Inveraray young musicians. McIntyre's own band The Camans are also performing.

Everything is under canvas to cover all weather eventualities, and an indication of the significance of Argyll produce to the event is that the food tent takes up a third of the entire space. It's organised by the progressive Food from Argyll collective.

"People have got fussy when it comes to festival food and will no longer tolerate being charged a tenner for a filthy burger in a bun," says the Duchess. "They want really delicious, good quality food they can give their children because they don't want to fill them with rubbish. They are much more discerning than ever, and local is the all-important buzz word."

New this year is a chefs' demonstration theatre, and local guest chefs Ross Stovald of Isle of Eriska; Andrew McGlugash of Samphire seafood restaurant in Inveraray; Edii Scott, a Thai chef; and Jamie Nicholson of Loch Fyne Oyster Bar are among those who will perform for the audience.

Another significant presence will be Jamie Delap, the passionate MD of Fyne Ales - which is about to increase production eight-fold with new investment of some £2m in a new state of the art brewery at Cairndow.

Bold, bright and fresh flavours are promised in every pint, and he is passionate about the potential of craft beer to better match food than wine, particularly spicy food, chocolate and even oysters. Many good chefs already recognise that: "Beer reaches many of the tastebuds that wine doesn't," he says. He's considering launching a smoked beer and an oyster stout to prove his point.

The Duchess is keen that her festival puts Argyll on the international map. "People ask, 'where is Argyll?' and are amazed when they learn it's only one and a half hours from Glasgow Airport by car," she says.

"In relative terms ours is a little fledgling festival, but it has huge potential."

The Best of the West Festival takes place at Inveraray Castle on September 13 an 14: bowfest.co.uk