07 June 2025Attadale Gardens
On Saturday 7th June seven members of Dingwall Field Club travelled on the Kyle Line train. Our destination was Attadale with its tiny request stop station. Entering Attadale Gardens by the gate near the station meant finding our way to the ticket office at the other side of the 20 acre gardens. It was drizzling and we were met by the present owner, Johanna Macpherson, who kindly offered umbrellas.
The ticket booth has quite an assortment of goods for sale including midge repellent, which some of us took advantage of. The DIY Midge Bite Café was a welcome respite from the midges and wet with ice cream, cake, coffee and tea available.
Attadale Gardens is on the south side of Loch Carron. In the mid 18th century the Victorians planted rhododendrons over the hillside. The oldest part of the present house can be dated by a love stone above the central window with the date 1755.
In 1952, Ian Macpherson acquired Attadale and it remains under the stewardship of the Macpherson family today. Over 40 years Nicky and Ewan Macpherson transformed the gardens with the creation of water gardens with Monet bridges and waterfalls. There is a Japanese garden, a fern collection and a kitchen garden.
The oldest part of the garden is the sunken garden with the giant sundial nearby. A fascinating collection of hidden animal sculptures is scattered throughout the garden. Two ‘humanoid’ sculptures also caught our attention – an ugly reclining figure, and a large black ‘bottom’ with a notice saying ‘Do not touch my bottom’.
By lunch time the rain had stopped and we were able to make use of the attractive wrought iron tables and benches outside the café. Just after 2 pm we wandered back to the station in good time for our return train at 14:22. As the train approached we held up our hands to alert the train driver that we wished to get on. We had been advised not to wave, as a friendly train driver would simply wave back!
The railway personnel in both directions were most entertaining and the journey proved almost as enjoyable as our visit to the Gardens. This has prompted us to consider other outings by train – Plockton on the Kyle Line and Forsinard on The North Line.
