Ardross Castle

Ardross Castle stands in the quiet Alness river valley, eight kilometres north-west of Alness. It is a large country house set among rolling farmland in the Ardross district of the Scottish Highlands. The building itself is listed at the highest historic category in Scotland. The estate was once a vast 240-square-kilometre property bought by the first Duke of Sutherland late in the 18th century. By 1875 the number of tenants had grown fivefold to more than five hundred, and nearly five square kilometres of new arable land were created. The castle was remodelled in the Scottish Baronial style by Alexander Ross, with Irish workers from nearby Dublin carrying out the work. Later owners included the Matheson family, Charles Dyson Perrins of Lea & Perrins fame, and finally the Mardon and McTaggart families who restored the house and grounds. Visitors today find a restored country mansion framed by mature woodland and open fields. The castle’s interiors reflect its Victorian and Edwardian past, while the surrounding designed landscape is recognised in Scotland’s national inventory of gardens. Long drives and parkland paths lead to the house, offering views across the valley towards the Cromarty Firth.