Inverewe Garden and Peninsula, Wester Ross
This is a leisurely stroll suitable for all and I have decided to include it because of the spectacular gardens and views from the peninsula to Loch Ewe.
Note: National Trust for Scotland manages the garden. See NTS website for details.
Ordnance Survey Explorer Map (1:25,000):
434 Gairloch and Loch Ewe
Stage Report
The walk was pleasant from start to finish. Inverewe Garden is beautiful and a real compliment must be paid to the visionary Osgood Mackenzie, the creator of the gardens that he began transforming in 1864. The gardens were once a barren windswept landscape, but he changed it into a thriving oasis of colour by recognising that the secluded bay and North Atlantic Drift allowed for the introduction of exotic plants from much southerly places — plants like giant rhododendrons, gum trees, daisy bushes, flowering bulbs, and many, many more. Lil and I loved our couple of hours meandering through the gardens and the surrounding peninsula.
The day was incredibly beautiful with a blanket of blue sky above us which made the colours more vivid than normal. We were so lucky, as the populated regions of Scotland and all of England were suffering a dismal day, and so in that knowledge we enjoyed our walk even more. We ventured out of the garden grounds to walk on the peninsula pine plantation too; all was good on this stroll. Back in the gardens we tracked down to the jetty and another view over Loch Ewe. At another vantage point by the shoreline we looked out over the crystal blue water to Poolewe. Glorious.
In all we walked over two miles through a walled garden, a rock garden, a woodland walk, a pond garden, a woodland plantation, a bamboosetum, to a jetty and a viewpoint, and thoroughly enjoyed it all. I am sure you would too should you venture this far north on the British mainland. You should; the weather is a lot better.
