NR6447 : Giant Viper's Bugloss at Achamore
taken 7 years ago, near to Ardminish, Isle of Gigha, Argyll And Bute, Scotland
Achamore has 50 acres of woodland, lawn, and flower borders and is notable for azaleas and rhododendrons. The woods were planted as shelter by William Scarlett (Lord Abinger) before 1900. Sir James Horlick bought the estate in 1944 and started a notable collection of rhododendrons. He left some of these to the National Trust for Scotland when he died. In 2002 there was a community buyout of Gigha, and the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust is restoring the gardens.
A small island off the west coast of Kintyre, reached by an hourly 20-min ferry ride from Tayinloan. Gigha was bought by the Scarlett family in the 19th century, who built Achamore House; it was then bought by Colonel Sir James Horlick [of ‘Horlicks’ drink fame], a Rhododendron breeder, who filled the gardens of Achamore with rhododendrons and rare and unusual plants from around the world. They also host at least seven British or Irish ‘Champion trees’. In 2002 the islanders of Gigha bought the island in a community buy-out and, amongst other things, began a restoration project of the gardens.
The island is 10km long [N-S] x 3km [W-E], a mix of farmland and low rocky outcrops. There is magnificent coastal scenery and views westward to Jura and Islay.