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.
03 May 2025Falls of Shin
After several warm days it was disappointing when Saturday 3rd May dawned overcast and cool. However, at around 11 am, three cars and eight people arrived at the Visitor Centre at Falls of Shin, near Bonar Bridge and Lairg in Sutherland.
The Visitor Centre, which has a chequered history, has been closed since it suffered an electrical fire at the end of December 2024. On 21st May 2013 fire destroyed Mohamed Al Fayed’s Highland Visitor Centre – Harrods of the North - where there was a waxwork model of Al Fayed. Balnagown Estates worked with Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust to create a new visitor attraction.
In May 2017 the present salmon-shaped building was completed. Having decided to enjoy our picnic lunch at the tables behind the car park, we were relieved not to have to carry our lunch with us. We started up the yellow and green route intending to split at the junction to allow those who preferred to do the shorter yellow walk to separate from those wanting to do the longer green walk. Somehow we missed the turn off and all of us managed the longer green walk. There were wild primroses everywhere in full bloom. We also found a clump of tiny, pale pink fungi in a damp ditch which no one could identify. We were back to the car park by 12:30, a perfect time for lunch.
Once ready to continue, we went down the steep zig-zag path to the falls which, although they have been dynamited to improve the salmon access, are still impressive. Some of the group opted out of the blue walk which actually proved the more interesting. At the start we found a patch of cuckoo flowers and along the way wood anemones, violets and yet more primroses. We spotted a rotten log covered with strange, pear shaped fungi about the size of the first joint of your thumb. We couldn’t get close enough to inspect them properly but managed some photos. Also, we found a rock ‘table’ with six ‘seats’, perfect for a picnic. We were fortunate that the rain held off and a weary but happy group drove back to Dingwall.
