One of the great things about living in Scotland is that no matter where you are, an hour's drive can take you into a part of the country that looks like a picture postcard version of Alba.

The Glasgow to Loch Fyne route fits that sentiment well. When the journey begins, rosy sandstone buildings are the most frequent sighting from car windows until they become rarer and a new kind of environment starts to appear, one that counts natural things as tall structured focal points instead of buildings.

I don't know about you but that part of the country - Argyll and Bute, where Scotland appears frayed at the sides on the map - is one of my favourites. And not just because of the trees and lochs (though there's no denying that this is a huge part of it), but because what is grown there and what can be harvested.

Loch Fyne, one of the country's most successful food stories, can count itself as part of the reasoning behind this favoritism. It appears unexpectedly in the distance as a small white dot the other side of a hairpin kink in the road neighboured by sheer mountain one side and the still surface of the loch to the other. As locations go, it's a spot that's hard to beat.

As with most notable business, the company has undergone a gradual evolution in its 25 years to ensure that it remains a destination for food lovers the world over while also retaining many of its most-loved features for its loyal client base. The brand counts an annual food festival and regular workshops as ways it has diversified its offerings, but arguably the best way to experience everything Loch Fyne has to offer is through its tasting day.

A taste of Loch Fyne however, isn't just restricted by what is there to eat (though of course, the five-course lunch in the restaurant is a highlight). The company works with schools in order to educate children about seafood and eliminate fear or anxiety of trying oysters and it's this idea of learning about what we're putting into our bodies that it really excels in, and forms the basis for the tasting day itself.

Marketing manager Virginia Sumsion is for the day my teacher. Sumsion's uncle Johnny Noble began Loch Fyne in 1978 and she continues to market the company alongside around 150 other employees. Sumsion's brother, David, lives with his family in half of nearby Arkinglas House, a castle open to the public for weddings and private tours. Arkinglas House's gardens are home to the tallest tree in the UK - a magnificent conifer several hundred years old. After nosing around the lochside sheds where the oysters are matured and noting their stablemates -pools of teeny mussels as glossy and identical as a pocket of black marbles - it is to Arkinglas House that we take our craggy pals in order to learn to shuck them.

Arkinglas House alone is worth travelling from any far-flung city to visit. Each room reveals treasure after treasure - a gentleman's games room holds a pianola in need of some TLC but which still can play itself with a little effort invested into pumping the pedals. Dutch tiles with illustrative detailing clad a fireplace the height of a man, while elsewhere a ceiling features an original painting of flying horses not tarnished by age or light exposure.

Amongst the curated fripperies, the row of miniature armchairs, the oval room filled with the scent from flowering plants and the bathtub deep enough for a small child to stand in, the ornate dining room is the perfect spot to learn about an oyster's curious factfile.

The oyster has hidden depths. Every day, an oyster filters through itself an entire swimming pool-worth of water. It's too cold in Loch Fyne for its oysters ever to produce pearls, I am told, but once Sumsion's uncle did indeed find the tiniest pearl inside one. He sent it away to Christie's to be assessed, not entirely seriously, and it was sent back unvalued. It still lives (somewhere) in Arkinglas House.

Best of all, while we are shucking, Sumsion explains that each oyster is totally unique. Its shell is like our bodies - with differing appearances depending on the environs each has been grown in - but its meaty innards are more like our fingerprints. Oysters aren't stupid, either. Inserting the tip of the knife into the gap between the shells, an oyster will immediately clamp itself together and make it as difficult as possible for the intruder to prise it apart. It's the best kind of natural protection except unfortunately (for the oyster, less for us), the average human being is stronger than a common mollusc. Each oyster has a different taste, too, depending on where it was grown. Some are meatier, some hold more of a creamy juice inside, and some are salty.

Possibly most surprisingly of all is an oyster's age - though perhaps its craggy face is a giveaway sign. An oyster is around 6-10 years old. It is the magnificent conifer of the water not in size but in history relative to its seafood friends.

I think about that later at lunch when we are presented with a deep fried oyster served with horseradish mayo in a scrubbed out shell gleaming with iridescent mother-of-pearl. How things need time to grow and space to develop to become the best they can be. The oysters at Loch Fyne have been given the chance to do that, because the process is respected and understood.

What's more, it seems as though the business itself is also taking a leaf out of the oyster's book when it comes to evolving and organically shifting, too.

How to shuck an oyster

1 Place the oyster on a non-slip surface (a dish towel is fine) and cover the bottom end with a cloth to keep it secure.

2 Insert the oyster shucking knife into the lip of the oyster and bear down, turning the knife. The oyster in turn will seal and make it difficult for the knife to enter so apply some pressure.

3 The oyster will make a popping noise as it opens. Slide the knife along the inside of the shell at the top to severe the muscle attached, scraping until the muscle is detached.

4 Turn the knife until the blade is in a vertical position. This will open the shell further. Remove the top part of the shell completely

5 Serve with lemon or Tabasco to taste - or as it is.

The Loch Fyne tasting day which includes visiting the oyster farm, a lesson in shucking, champagne and oyster tasting plus a five-course lunch costs £95. The Loch Fyne tasting day runs Friday October 3 - for more info visit www.lochfyne.com