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Partner Garden
Free access for RHS members at selected times

Dunvegan Castle
Dunvegan
Isle of Skye
IV55 8WF

1 mile north of Dunvegan village in the North West of the Isle of Skye.

5 acres

Tel
01470 521206

Visit website

Opening Hours

1 Apr–14 Oct. Please see website for opening times and more details on Snowdrop days.

Admission

Please see website for admission prices.

RHS members

Free access (member 1 only for joint memberships) applies when open.

Facilities

  • Accessible garden
  • Children’s play area
  • Dogs welcome
  • Free carer entry
  • Gift shop
  • Parking
  • Picnic area
  • Refreshments
  • Toilets

Features

  • Glasshouse (open to public)
  • Herbaceous border
  • Water garden
  • Woodland

About the garden

Owned by
Hugh Macleod

Dunvegan Castle’s 2ha (5 acres) of formal gardens began life in the 18th century. In stark contrast to the barren moorland and mountains that dominate the Isle of Skye’s surrounding landscape, the castle’s Water Garden, Round Garden, Walled Garden, and woodland walks provide a hidden oasis filled with flowers, exotic plants, shrubs, and specimen trees framed by shimmering pools fed from waterfalls and streams that flow down to the sea.

The Water Garden, with its ornate bridges and islands, is replete with rich and colourful plantings adorning the riverbanks; while the formal Round Garden features a Japanese holly (Ilex crenata) parterre as its centrepiece overlooked by a monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana). The Walled Garden, formerly the castle’s vegetable garden, contains diverse plants and flowers that complement the water lily pond, Garden Museum, Memorial Gazebo, 17th-century lectern sundial, Larch Pergola, Glass House and the ‘Dunvegan Pebble’, a rotating 2.7ton Carrara marble sculpture.

The herbal border and traditional raised vegetable beds illustrate the Walled Garden’s original function to provide food for the Chief, his family and people. The more informal areas of the garden are kept wilder to encourage wildlife and create a more natural aesthetic framed by the beauty of this coastal scenery.

Plants of special interest

  • Agapanthus
  • Asters
  • Begonias
  • Bluebells
  • Cacti & succulents
  • Camellias
  • Clematis
  • Conifers
  • Cornus (for winter stems or spring bracts)
  • Daffodils
  • Dahlias
  • Delphiniums
  • Ferns
  • Fuchsias
  • Grasses
  • Heathers
  • Hellebores
  • Hemerocallis
  • Herbs
  • Hostas
  • Irises
  • Laburnum
  • Lavender
  • Lilies
  • Magnolias
  • Maple
  • Meconopsis
  • Primulas
  • Rhododendrons/azaleas
  • Roses
  • Shade-loving plants
  • Snowdrops
  • Spring bulbs
  • Sweet peas
  • Vegetables
  • Waterlilies
  • Wildflowers

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.