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A waterfall in the gorge among lush planting.
Argyll and Bute

Crarae Garden

A Himalayan-style woodland garden in a burn gorge by Loch Fyne, with waterfalls, champion trees and 600 rhododendrons.

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Welcome

Crarae Garden is a Himalayan-style woodland glen on the shore of Loch Fyne, ten miles south of Inveraray, planted around the steep, rocky gorge of the Crarae Burn.

Paths follow the burn up past waterfalls, cliffs and wooden bridges through thickets of maple, birch and evergreens, and some of the trees are champions of their kind, among them Californian redwoods.

It is a garden for every season, but it is best known for more than 600 kinds of rhododendron and azalea, at their height in spring and early summer, and for the autumn colour that follows. The National Trust for Scotland looks after it, and it is a fine place for a family walk. There is a café with soup, sandwiches and home baking. The garden opens daily from 10am to 5pm, with last entry at 4pm; adults pay £10, children £5, and members of the Trust go free.

A little further outCampbell CoffeeOn Main Street in Inveraray, Campbell Coffee roasts its own speciality coffee.17 min by roadSee itShelves of pink and orange bottles beside a wooden coffee shop counter
Before you go

The garden opens 10am to 5pm (last entry 4pm); the visitor centre, shop and café 10am to 5pm, last café orders 4pm.

Adults £10, children £5, families £25; free for members.

Hours
10:00 to 17:00; last entry 16:00.
Prices
Adult £10, child £5, family £25.
Where
Crarae, Loch Fyne, PA32 8YA.

Opening hours

Monday
10am–5pm
Tuesday
10am–5pm
Wednesday
10am–5pm
Thursday
10am–5pm
Friday
10am–5pm
Saturday
10am–5pm
Sunday
10am–5pm
Where it is

Crarae, on Loch Fyne south of Inveraray.

Close byOn Loch Fyne.
  1. Stone buildings of Auchindrain with hens in the yard.Auchindrain TownshipThe last Highland farming township to survive the clearances, an open-air museum six miles south of Inveraray.6 miles9 min by road
  2. The courthouse front between whitewashed houses at the top of the town.Inveraray JailInveraray's courtroom of 1820 and its two prisons, kept as they were, with the stories of the people tried and held there.11 miles17 min by road
  3. The white houses of Inveraray on their point in Loch Fyne, from above.InverarayThe Duke of Argyll's white Georgian town on Loch Fyne, rebuilt from 1745, with a church divided in two.11 miles17 min by road
  4. The castle among woods beyond the River Aray and its bridge, from above.Inveraray CastleThe Gothic Revival home of the Dukes of Argyll on Loch Fyne, with the tallest ceiling in Scotland over its Armoury Hall.12 miles21 min by road
  5. Achnabreck Rock ArtAchnabreck Rock ArtCup and ring marks carved into the rock some 5,000 years ago, among the finest prehistoric rock art in Scotland, in Kilmartin Glen.15 miles23 min by road
Directions
Shelves of pink and orange bottles beside a wooden coffee shop counterCafeCampbell Coffee11 miles
A dark timber cabin with a pitched metal roof stands among ferns and birch trees.CairndowKabnSleeps 2 · 24 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near the garden, and when each is next free.

Red Squirrel Cabin, Argyll and ButeRed Squirrel Cottage
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Argyll and Bute
  • 13 miles from Crarae
Check datesSeal Cabin, Argyll and ButeSeal Cabin
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Argyll and Bute
  • 13 miles from Crarae
Check datesA dark timber cabin with a pitched metal roof stands among ferns and birch trees.Kabn
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Cairndow
  • 13 miles from Crarae
Free 17–19 NovA white harled house with crow-stepped gables catches the sunset glow above a loch, yellow flowering shrubs in the foreground.Glenstriven House
  • To stay
  • In Argyll and Bute
  • 14 miles from Crarae
Free 25–27 OctPlaces to stayEvery stay in Argyll and ButeAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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