Aldourie Castle Garden

Description: Aldourie Castle garden has been designed by Tom Stuart-Smith and is an ambitious modern re-imagining of a traditional castle garden and grounds. The grounds include a walled garden, formal castle garden, arboretum and parkland. The 1.3 acre walled garden contains a large productive area which hosts a range of vegetables and cut flowers. There are espaliered apples and pears as well as soft fruit. Surrounding this area are extensive naturalistic borders, covering a range of habitats. The historic glasshouses are used to grow vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers, figs and herbs. The castle itself is surrounded by two acres of gardens. These consist of large, late season, naturalistic herbaceous borders with beech topiaries and a central lawn with views of Loch Ness. There is an extensive terrace and smaller flower beds around the castle. Nearby is the Dell which is woodland in character and has more natural, native inspired planting. The four acre arboretum, containing some old tree specimens, is currently the subject of an interesting regeneration project.