Inverewe

Poolewe, Highland
★★★★★

This verdant oasis is the last thing you’d expect to find on a windswept headland on Britain’s rugged northwestern seaboard, and surely Scotland’s most impressive garden north of the Great Glen. Inverewe awes in both variety and scale, with resplendent walled garden, rhododendron and azalea walks, secluded ponds, forested groves, bambooselem and more, all with the unusual coastal backdrop of Loch Ewe – which can be explored further on boat trips departing from the garden’s jetty. This extraordinary botanic masterpiece is the creation of Osgood Mackenzie, who began planting the garden in 1862 when he inherited just one tree, and not even a smidgeon of shelter from the wild Atlantic Ocean. Inverewe House lies at the centre and is the perfect location to shelter from a passing shower; one-time home of Osgood’s daughter, Mairi, it’s now an interactive museum dressed up as a historic property visit.

Location

By the A832 1 mi north of Poolewe

O.S. Grid Reference: NG 861819

GPS coordinates: 57.775510,-5.599075

Extremely infrequent bus stops at garden entrance

Car park

Key info

Daily, 29 March to 15 November 2024 – best in late spring / early summer

£15 / free for National Trust for Scotland members

nts.org.uk