Ardtornish – A Victorian Hill Garden and Lunch from the Estate
A few hours.
The route
Ardtornish sits at the head of Loch Aline in Morvern, and its garden has been growing on the hillside round a Victorian mansion of pink sandstone since the 19th century.
Wander its lawns, glens and woods at your own pace, with the view down the loch towards Mull. Then have lunch at the Coal Shed, the estate's café, where much of the menu comes from the farm and the hills around you. Dogs are welcome at both.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The day
Ardtornish
A garden morning, and lunch from the estate's own farm.
About two and a half hoursAbout 1.5 miles on foot
Ardtornish Gardens
Park in the estate square at Achranich, where the Old Dairy gift shop and the Coal Shed stand side by side. It's about seven minutes' walk from the square to Ardtornish House, a Victorian mansion of pink sandstone at the garden's heart. Round it, lawns, rockeries, woodland glens and a pond climb a rocky hillside, planted since Victorian times with trees and shrubs from Asia, the Americas and Australasia under old larch, fir and pine. From all over the garden, the view runs south-west down Loch Aline to the hills of Mull. The Rhododendron Glen is at its best in May and early June, so its colour belongs to a spring visit. Allow an hour and a half.
The Coal Shed Café
Lunch
The Coal Shed is the estate's own café, in the square beside the gift shop and a minute from the car. Much of what it cooks comes from the estate: lamb and beef from Old Ardtornish Farm, venison from the hills and vegetables from the estate's kitchen garden. There are venison burgers, vegetarian and vegan plates, breakfasts and home baking.
If it rains
On a wet day, the Coal Shed is under cover.
On the way
- The carved stones at Keil Church
Keil Church stands on the hillside above Lochaline, looking over the Sound of Mull. The carved stones are kept in the Old Session House beside it, a schoolhouse from 1780: medieval grave slabs, most from the 1300s to the 1500s, carved with great two-handed swords, hunting scenes and West Highland galleys, and the shaft of a cross carved with a bishop. Park by the church. It adds about 20 minutes' driving there and back.
Photographs by Ardtornish Estate and The Coal Shed Cafe via Google