Scotland’s Glorious West Coast Gardens Tour
May 18th to 24th, 2025
You are invited to join The National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA for six nights on the stunning west coast of Scotland.
Arduaine Garden
We will visit private and National Trust for Scotland gardens in Ayrshire, Argyll, and the Isle of Arran, experiencing the region’s wild and rocky coastlines, grand houses and castles, spectacular countryside, and dramatic mountain vistas. Our tour takes place at peak season for some of the greatest collections of rhododendrons in the world.
Interior from Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s masterpiece, Hill House
Our Tour Features:
- Dinner at Mackintosh at the Willow (NTS), the last surviving Tea Rooms designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh
- VIP tour at Hill House (NTS) just outside Glasgow, created by architects and designers Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh in the British Art Nouveau style. It is currently undergoing a long-term conservation program, which we will learn about from NTS experts.
- Stays at the five-star Blythswood Square Hotel in Glasgow before and after our West Coast adventure; and the atmospheric Crinan Hotel, a 300-year-old inn set on the sea with views of the Sound of Jura
Brodick Castle
Highlights of the Tour Include:
- Exclusive tours of private gardens at Glenarn, famous for its collection of species rhododendrons; and Ardmaddy Castle, with its remarkable 60-foot hydrangea
- Guided walk through Arduaine, a 20-acre coastal garden with a world-famous plant collection and glorious views to the Sound of Jura and the ocean beyond
- Ferry ride to the Isle of Arran for a visit at Brodick Castle, with its 18th-century walled garden and 74 acres of specimen plants and woodland walks; and Dougarie Lodge to see rare, semi-topical plants
- Visit to the gardens of Inveraray Castle, one of the most important designed landscapes in Scotland
Inveraray Castle
The west of Scotland is famous for its rugged coast and beautiful gardens. Buffeted by Atlantic gales, but warmed by the Gulf Stream, the designed landscapes feature a remarkable mix of tender and exotic plants as well as natives.
The tour will be of particular interest to rhododendron lovers and dendrologists. It will take us through landscapes of extraordinary natural beauty and few roads, necessitating hotel changes but offering an unforgettable experience of this remote and captivating corner of Scotland.
For questions about the tour, please email [email protected] or call 617-227-7500. For questions about registration and payments, please email [email protected], or call 617-480-0250.
Brodick Castle Garden