Benmore Botanic Garden (formerly known as the Younger Botanic Garden) is a large

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

situated in Strath Eachaig at the foot of Beinn Mhòr, on the

Cowal Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde. The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arrochar ...

peninsula, in

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The gardens are on the west side of the A815 road from

Dunoon Dunoon (; gd, Dùn Omhain) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in the south of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well ...

, between the

Holy Loch The Holy Loch ( gd, An Loch Sianta/Seunta) is a sea loch, a part of the Cowal peninsula coast of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there afte ...

and

Loch Eck Loch Eck (Gaelic: ''Loch Eich'') is a freshwater loch located on the Cowal peninsula, north of Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is long. Along with Loch Lomond, it is the only naturally occurring habitat of the Powan (fish).Freyhof, J. & ...

, and include footbridges across the

River Eachaig The River Eachaig is a river on the Cowal peninsula, Argyll and Bute, in western Scotland. The river flows from Loch Eck to the Holy Loch, passing Benmore Botanic Garden, Rashfield and Cot House. It is joined by the Inverchapel Burn and the R ...

. It is one of the sites of

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

. Features include a Redwood Avenue of

Giant Sequoias ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus ''Sequoiade ...

planted in 1863, large square walled gardens, a waterfall, a

fernery A fernery is a specialized garden for the cultivation and display of ferns. In many countries, ferneries are indoors or at least sheltered or kept in a shadehouse to provide a moist environment, filtered light and protection from frost and other ...

, ponds and walks up the hillside to where you can look out across the

. The garden is located within the

Argyll Forest Park Argyll Forest Park is a forest park located on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. Established in 1935, it was the first forest park to be created in the United Kingdom. The park is managed by Forestry and Land Scotland, a ...

, which is itself within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.

History

Most of

, originally

Clan Lamont Clan Lamont (; gd, Clann Laomainn ) is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan is said to descend from Ánrothán Ua Néill, an Irish prince of the O'Neill dynasty, and through him Niall Noigíallach, High King of Ireland. Clan Ewen of Otter, C ...

territory, was taken over by

Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( gd, Na Caimbeulaich ) is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...

, including lands in Strath Echaig shortly after 1400. The area once called "Innasraugh", meaning "the sheltered valley", was part of the hunting grounds of the Dukes of Argyll, belonging to the Campbells of Ballochyle. It was reached by a ford across the

at Uig, near modern Eckford house. Around 1820, Ross Wilson introduced tree planting with the first known

coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...

plantation of forest trees in

. In 1849 the estate was bought by

John Lamont John Robert Lamont (born 15 April 1976) is a Scottish Conservative Party politician and solicitor who has served in the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk since 2017. Lamont previou ...

, a wealthy sugar planter and slaveowner in Trinidad who had emigrated from

Toward Toward; ( gd, Tollard) is a village near Dunoon, Scotland, at the southern tip of the Cowal peninsula. During the Second World War, the Toward area was a training centre called HMS Brontosaurus also known as the No 2 Combined Training Centre (C ...

(near Dunoon) 48 years earlier. He arranged replacement of the previous

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

with the larger Benmore House, but died in 1850, a year before the house was completed. His nephew James Lamont inherited the estate, but then sold it and it went to various other owners in succession. Benmore Estate was bought in 1862 by James Piers Patrick, a wealthy American who carried out extensive work to Benmore House, including construction of the tower, designed in the

Scottish baronial style Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...

by the architect Charles Wilson. He developed the garden, and in 1863 planted the Redwood Avenue of

. In 1870 the Greenock sugar refiner and philanthropist James Duncan bought Benmore Estate, which he extended to include the adjacent

Kilmun Kilmun ( gd, Cill Mhunna) is a linear settlement on the north shore of the Holy Loch, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands.It takes its name from the 7th century monastic community founded by an Irish monk, St Munn (Fin ...

and

Bernice Estate Bernice may refer to: Places In the United States * Bernice, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bernice, Louisiana, a town * Bernice, Nevada, a ghost town * Bernice, Oklahoma, a town * Bernice Coalfield, a coalfield in Sullivan County, Pennsy ...

s. He arranged extensive plantings in the grounds, including more than six million trees around the estate, and added paths leading up a ravine to the south on the east side of the road, making

Puck's Glen Puck's Glen is a river-formed ravine on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, with a popular scenic walking trail beside the Eas Mòr stream (Gaelic for "big waterfall"). In 2020 the glen and adjoining trails were closed temporaril ...

a scenic attraction. He extended the east wing of the house with a gallery to house his major collection of paintings: during the summers of the summers of 1881 and 1882, these were seen by more than 8,000 visitors. In 1889 he had to sell his assets, including Benmore. Henry Younger of the Edinburgh brewer Younger's bought the estate in 1889, and with his son Harry George Younger made many improvements to the woods and gardens, with 40 staff employed to carry out maintenance. They introduced many exotic shrubs and trees, and also demolished the gallery and conservatory at the house. In 1924 Harry George Younger gifted the estate to the nation for science and education purposes: the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

took over most of the woodlands. In commemoration of the improvements James Duncan had made to the estate, Younger provided a hut high on the hillside above the gorge of Puck's Glen, to a special design by Sir

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Gothi ...

, and "Puck's Hut" was dedicated to the memory of the botanist Sir

Isaac Bayley Balfour Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour, KBE, FRS, FRSE (31 March 1853 – 30 November 1922) was a Scottish botanist. He was Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Glasgow from 1879 to 1885, Sherardian Professor of Botany at the University of Oxfor ...

. The

(RBGE) was looking for a place to take the large collection of plants which the botanist George Forrest had brought from China, and the high rainfall at Benmore was ideal. In 1929 the Younger Botanic Gardens were opened as the first outstation of the RBGE. In the 1930s the Forestry Commission established Kilmun Arboretum, to try out tree species in the humid climate conditions, planting large groups of trees rather than individual specimens. Benmore house was used by the Forestry Commission for apprentice training, then in 1965

Edinburgh Corporation The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...

took it over as a schools outdoor education centre. In the winds brought by Storm Ali in September 2018, four large trees at the Garden were felled.

Features

Benmore is a satellite garden under the management of the

, as is its sister garden

Logan Botanic Garden Logan Botanic Garden is a botanical garden near Port Logan on the Rhins of Galloway, at the south-western tip of Scotland. The Botanic Garden was established in 1869 and was gifted to Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1969. It is now operated a ...

and

Dawyck Botanic Garden Dawyck Botanic Garden is a botanic garden and arboretum covering at Stobo on the B712, south of Peebles in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, OS ref. NT168352. The garden is situated in the Upper Tweed Valley, a National Scenic Area. ...

. The Fernery, constructed in the early 1870s, fell into ruin after James Duncan lost his fortune. In 1992,

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...

designated the fernery a category B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, describing it as "a rare structure and important as an integral part of the gardens at Benmore". It has since been restored, and re-opened to the public in September 2009. Benmore Outdoor Centre, in the former Benmore House, is an outdoor training centre for school groups, and for other organisations and family groups. It is managed by the Children and Families Department of the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...

Gallery

File:Puck's Glen alternative path down to car park.jpg, Benmore forest File:Puck's Glen winter ravine.jpg, Puck's Glen ravine, in winter File:Glenbranter morning mists.jpg, Glenbranter File:Benmorefernery2.jpg, View of the fernery File:Benmore Botanic Garden (475876315).jpg, Benmore Botanic Garden File:Rhododendron benmore 2005.jpg, Rhododendron in bloom File:Sundial in the Formal Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 924246.jpg, Sundial in the Formal Gardens File:Rhododendron 'James Barto' at Benmore Botanic Garden (475865358).jpg, Rhododendron 'James Barto' at Benmore Botanic Garden File:2015 October Holidays (21987068788).jpg, The refurbished fernery

References

External links

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - website

Benmore Botanic Garden - website

Images and some highlights of Benmore Botanic Garden - Monumental Trees - website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benmore Botanic Garden Botanical gardens in Scotland Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Gardens in Argyll and Bute 1863 establishments in Scotland Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Cowal

History

Features

See also

Gallery

References

External links