Armadale Castle Gardens
Armadale, Sleat, Isle of Skye IV45 8RS
Armadale Castle Gardens sit in a dramatic position on the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye. Forty acres of magnificent woodland gardens surround romantic castle ruins overlooking the Sound of Sleat and mountains of Knoydart.
The castle and wider estate were once the seat of the Macdonalds of Sleat and are now run by a charity, the Clan Donald Lands Trust. The Trust took over the estate in the 1970s and set about restoring the historic gardens planted by Lord Macdonald in the 19th century, while also developing new areas of landscaping. Today visitors can enjoy the scents and colours of herbaceous borders, stroll along scenic terrace walks, and relax by tranquil lily ponds.
Specimen trees and exotic plants thrive here due to the gardens’ sheltered location and the mild climate created by the Gulf Stream. The tree collection dates to the 19th century and includes Giant Redwood, Silver Firs and Monkey Puzzles. More recent additions such as Acers, Sorbus and Birch have been planted, some in memory of loved ones.
Complementing the planting, a number of interesting sculptures are dotted throughout the grounds. These include ‘The Homecoming’, a much-loved pair of bronze Skye Terriers, and ‘Teko the Swimming Otter’ by Laurence Broderick.
Garden visitors can also explore the fascinating Museum of the Isles, which tells the story of the Highlands & Islands through the eyes of Clan Donald. There are also family activities and an adventure playground. Beyond the gardens are three nature trails through beautiful mixed woodlands, with plenty of opportunities for wildlife-spotting.
Armadale Castle Gardens is taking part in this year’s Scottish Tree Festival. Events include a tree advice session and tour on 31 October, and family activities in half term. Visit the Discover Scottish Gardens website to find out more.
Website: www.armadalecastle.com
Telephone: 01471 844305
Opening times: 1 April - 31 Oct, daily 9.30am - 5.30pm; November & March, Mon-Fri 10 - 3pm
Admission costs: Adult £8.75, Children/senior/students £7.20, family £25
Garden of the Week is in association with Discover Scottish Gardens. For more information, advice and day-out ideas, visit discoverscottishgardens.org
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here