Explore Scotland - The Romantic Island of Gigha

Achamore Gardens, Ardminis, Kilchattan Chapel,Castles and Lochs

Jun 21, 2007

One of Scotland's most romantic places, Gigha has sub tropical gardens, beautiful beaches, pre-historic sites. and you can stay in a 19th-century baronial mansion.

Castles and lochs galore and dozens of small coastal villages where you can jump on a boat to any number of charming islands.

Scotland - Gigha - Getting there One of these small ports is Tayinloan where you are only a twenty-minute ferry ride to one of the most enchanting places of all: the tiny island of Gigha (pronounced ‘gear’), Seen for the first time, from across the water, it looks like a giant basking whale.

Most visitors leave their car in Tayinloan and take the twenty-minute ferry ride into Gigha’s small harbour. It’s just a few minutes walk to the hub of the only town, Ardminis. Here you will find the post office, which is also the island shop, tourist office, B&B and the place where one can hire a bike. The island is only seven miles long and biking it is by far the best way to see it.

In the eighteenth century Gigha’s population was around seven hundred but by the twenty-first century it was down to under one hundred. During that time ownership of Gigha changed many times and this situation left little room for proper development of the island. This situation changed in 2002 when the islanders managed, with the help of grants from various organisations, to purchase the island and they now own it via a heritage trust. By October 2006 the population had reached 150.

The baronial mansion, Achemore House, was built in 1884 and became home to various ‘lairds’ over the years. During Sir James Horlick’s reign he created the magnificent Achamore Gardens; approximately fifty acres of natural woodlands, including a beautiful walled garden. The gardens are virtually frost free and are crammed with subtropical plants, trees and shrubs and masses of rhododendrons. To the southwest of the gardens, the ruins of the 13th-century Kilchattan Chapel are floored with weathered medieval gravestones; the ogam stone nearby is the only one of its kind in the west of Scotland

To help with the purchase of the island, the Achemore House was sold in December 2003 to an American who runs a small flower essence importing business from Achamore. He also welcomes people as B&B guests. Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a young trainee architect at the Glaswegian firm of architects that designed and built Achamore House, and there are various elements to be found here that are believed to be the work of the young Mackintosh.

There are a surprising number of things to do on Gigha and you will have no problems whiling away the time. The island is known for its fine sandy beaches, there are prehistoric sites to explore, including cairns and standing stones. It’s a place for wandering and discovering.

The copyright of the article Explore Scotland - The Romantic Island of Gigha in Historical Travel is owned by Cathy Smith. Permission to republish Explore Scotland - The Romantic Island of Gigha in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.