Sometimes you don’t need to put much effort into standing out from the crowd. When visiting a vast, wooded estate in Scotland, with forests and gardens, many visitors opt for sensible footwear, waterproof trousers, and warm jackets. I… did not.
Benmore Gardens isn’t really on the way to anywhere, and it’s not an obvious destination in itself, unless you’re a completionist for visiting places around the country. It’s up in the hills of Argyll, which you can sort-of, kind-of glimpse from the Firth of Clyde on a good day.
As with any vast estate (this one’s 120 acres), you can guarantee it was never established by people being nice (in the 19th century it was bought by a slaveowner who’d made money off Caribbean sugar plantations). In the 20th century, though, it ended up becoming a western outpost of Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Gardens, who look after it these days (same with Logan Botanics, where I’ve also been!).
My way of standing out from the crowds here was a favourite of mine: a stretchy Black Milk galaxy-pattern dress. It didn’t seem – OK, it absolutely wasn’t – the most practical thing to wear, given the chilly, damp start when we arrived. But the day warmed up and after climbing up the hillsides I was glad of the boob window providing a bit of fresh air…
There’s a lot to explore here, with sections dedicated to trees from around the world. My complete ignorance of arborial matters meant that as far as I was concerned, I was moving from one area of greenery and shrubs to another area of greenery and shrubs. I’m a city gal; what do I know?
Walk around long enough and you’ll probably find a fernery, which had once fallen into disrepair before being fixed up in recent years. (You can walk about with a map if you like, but sometimes it’s more fun just to get lost and take wild guesses. I like to think this is good for the imagination.)
Between the low, flat gardens, avenues of trees, curious decorations, hills to climb (and scenic views), Benmore provides enough variety to justify driving out for a visit.
Just make sure you dress properly…
Miss Twist speaks her brains 
“When visiting a vast, wooded estate in Scotland, with forests…”
Not forgetting a litre of midge repellent. Or, a friend who’s irresistible to the invisible vampires! 😉
Still, more chance of seeing the sundial work than the one in Aberdeen 🙂
I think we got lucky with the midges – at least we weren’t near any water!
That’s a great dress; works well with the leggings, and in the setting. Seems like a nice place. Sue x
Cheers Sue!
I wore it out with friends last year and it made a waitress feel all nostalgic. I can’t believe it’s considered ‘retro’ already!!!