Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland, United Kingdom

Rothesay, standing along the Firth of Clyde, presents the visitor with a combination of illustrious gardens and grand architecture. The magnificent ruins of Rothesay Castle, which date from the 13th century, are what most people visualize when they think of a medieval castle. With a drawbridge, encircling moat, immense circular curtain wall and tall stone towers, Rothesay is unique in Scotland for its circular plan. The ruins of St Blane's Chapel, a 6^th century monastery, sit atop a hill with views over the Sound of Bute. For true elegance, visit the country estate of Mount Stuart House with its colonnaded Marble Hall and extraordinary Marble Chapel. Built in the late 1870’s in the Gothic Revivalist style, it was constructed of reddish-brown stone and houses a library of 25,000 books.

The Ardencraig Gardens, sitting atop Canada Hill, feature a walled garden and exotic aviary. Ascog Hall Fernery, located on the grounds of a baronial-style house from 1844, is a beautiful garden with the oldest ferns in Britain.