Best Scottish Tours of Ardkinglas Argyll

Best Scottish Tours of Ardkinglas Argyll. Loch Fyne is Scotland's longest sea loch and it reaches far inland to deep within the Highlands. Ardkinglas Estate encompasses the upper four miles of Loch Fyne and the full length of Glen Fyne and this mixture of sea shore with high rugged hills gives the area a unique atmosphere.

Ardkinglas House sits to the east of the loch, on a fairy tale site amongst ancient woodland. Nearby, the famous Ardkinglas Woodland Garden follows the tumbling waters of the River Kinglas.

Clachan, at the head of the loch, is home to Ardkinglas's Tree Shop and Cafe and to Loch Fyne Oysters' restaurant, smokery and shop. Also at Clachan is Here We Are, an information and community resource centre.

Beyond Clachan, the River Fyne winds northwards past rare hazel woods towards the uninhabited regions of the upper glen, culminating in Ben Lui, the Queen of the Scottish hills. Ardkinglas Estate currently covers around 12,000 acres, mostly of hill ground, home to 1,000 ewes, 20 cattle, many deer and other wild animals, sealife and birds. During the thirty years when Johnny Noble was running the Estate as well as starting Loch Fyne Oysters he attracted new businesses to the area, providing both new employment for the community and new commercial tenants for the Estate. Since 2002 his nephew David Sumsion has continued this process of change. Future plans include new housing, self-catering holiday accommodation, sites for new commercial businesses, development of the Tree Shop & Cafe, an increasing number of events at Ardkinglas House, major renovation of many buildings and also repairs to the exterior fabric of Ardkinglas House. A new windfarm site has been developed in conjunction with Argyll Estates and nine turbines are due to be commissioned in 2008.

Forestry has always played an important role in the Estate and the commercial woodlands to the south of the house continue to be managed for timber production as well as for their landscape qualities. In addition there are old oak woods on the west side of Loch Fyne, an ancient hazel wood in Glen Fyne and, more recently, a number of natural regeneration schemes and newly planted areas of native species have been established.