Dunans Heritage Project

Change of website address

Charles — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 10:31:52 +0000

For various technical reasons we are now dunanscastle.org, rather than dunans.org. We hope to return to the latter, but for now the former is our home on the www.

Dunans Castle Signage

Charles — Sun, 01 May 2011 10:22:22 +0000

Just to announce the new signage is going up. We’re really pleased with it, and it is bilingual:

Come and have look — the rest are spectacular!

Our New Signage for Dunans Castle

Charles — Sat, 02 May 2009 15:39:39 +0000

Thanks to funding from the Cruach Mhor Windfarm Trust we have now installed (albeit using a temporary frame) the new Dunans Castle signage. We’re thrilled with it, and hope it will ensure that no-one ends up driving past our entrance three or four times before finding us — and doesn’t the SGS sign look good in contrast?

You Can Now Make Donations to the Dunans Charitable Trust (dunans.org)
Dunans Castle Views the tallest tree in the UK – it’s official (dunans.org)
Views of the Tallest Tree in the UK at Dunans Castle (lairdofdunanscastle.com)
We’re part of Scotland’s Gardens Scheme (dunans.org)
It’s a YES. Argyll has the tallest tree in the UK – see it from Dunans Castle in Glendaruel (forargyll.com)
All a sweetly twitter my Laird! (scottishlaird.com)

Climbing the Tallest Tree on Video

Charles — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:34:14 +0000

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uzDY5fbMUk

Video of Chris Hunter’s ascent of the UK’s tallest tree, the Stonardron Douglas Fir, filmed from Dunans by Charles Dixon-Spain on 19th February 2009.

We’re part of Scotland’s Gardens Scheme

Charles — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:55:16 +0000

Dunans has been accepted onto the Scotland’s Gardens Scheme. We’re having three official open days with the SGS and are also available by appointment:

Opening Times:
Saturday 02 May : 3:00pm
Sunday 04 October : 11:00am
Monday 05 October : 11:30am
By Arrangement Guided Tours Available (TEL: 01369 820115)

Admissions:
¬£2.50¬† Accompanied children under 16 free

It’s a YES. Argyll has the tallest tree in the UK – see it from Dunans Castle in Glendaruel (forargyll.com)
Argyll’s wildlife photography experience business, Loch Visions, nominated for Scottish Countryside Alliance award (forargyll.com)
House Tours and Guided Walks at the Ardkinglas Estate, Cairndow (forargyll.com)

Big Snow at the Tallest Tree

Charles — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:13:28 +0000

Snow flakes like plates. White out conditions. Argyll gets a big fall in early March again. All too familiar you might say, but this time, the electricity didn’t go off, there’s no sudden cracking of broken tree limbs, and the traffic is still running, more or less. But all of this is an excuse to reproduce this photo of our view of the tallest tree in the UK.

Views of the Tallest Tree in the UK at Dunans Castle (lairdofdunanscastle.com)
How long will Argyll’s Stronardron Douglas Fir hold on to the ‘UK’s Tallest Tree’ title? (forargyll.com)
Britain’s tallest tree is 209ft Douglas fir (telegraph.co.uk)
It’s a YES. Argyll has the tallest tree in the UK – see it from Dunans Castle in Glendaruel (forargyll.com)

Dunans Castle Views the tallest tree in the UK – it’s official

Charles — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:22:17 +0000

The charitable trust has just heard that the Douglas Fir planted in 1849 by Archie Fletcher is now officially the tallest tree in the UK at 63.79 metres! Rechristened recently by the owner of the ground it stands on as the Stronardron Douglas Fir, the title tree has long been thought to be a contender for the title of the tallest tree in the UK, but this is the first time it has been accurately measured.

The Sparsholt Team stand at Dunans Castle looking at the Douglas Fir they are about to climb

The tree, which is best viewed from Dunans Castle across the Chaol Ghleann gorge, was climbed by a team of five arborealists from Sparsholt College on the 19th of February. On subsequent days the team measured trees at Dunkeld, Blair Castle and Inverness (we list the results below).

Chris Hunter near the top of the Douglas Fir, with views down Glendaruel behind him

Evidently it is a great boost for the Dunans Charitable Trust, for the community of Colintraive and Glendaruel and for the Cowal Peninsula to have the tallest tree in the UK.

The announcement has been greeted by a large number of blogs and articles in the regional and national press.

The 210ft Stronardron Douglas Fir That’s Been Crowned Britain’s Tallest Tree (The Daily Mail)
Kings of the Forest (John Vidal, The Guardian)
The Stronardron Douglas Fir is the Tallest Tree in the UK (Landscape Juice)
Scots fir is ‘tallest tree in the UK’ (New York City News)
Douglas Fir is ‘tallest tree in UK’ (Take Cover)
UK’s Tallest Tree Found (Wildlife UK Forums)
Scots fir is ‘tallest tree in UK’ (BBC)
Trees worth meeting (The Telegraph)
It’s a tall order measuring the biggest tree in Britain (The Scotsman)
The tallest tree in the UK… by Fir (The Sun!)
Douglas Fir in Argyll named tallest tree in Britain (Herald)
Britain’s tallest tree is 209 ft Douglas Fir (Telegraph)
The 210ft fir that’s been crowned Britain’s tallest tree ‚Äì and is still growing (Mail)
Sparsholt Lecturers Find Tallest Tree (Hampshire Chronicle)
Is the Tallest Tree in the UK Argyll‚Äôs – in Glendaruel? (ForArgyll)
Views of the Tallest Tree in the UK at Dunans Castle (LairdofDunansCastle.com)
It‚Äôs a YES. Argyll has the tallest tree in the UK – see it from Dunans Castle in Glendaruel (ForArgyll)
How long will Argyll‚Äôs Stronardron Douglas Fir hold on to the ‚ÄòUK‚Äôs Tallest Tree‚Äô title? (ForArgyll)
Dunans Castle Views the Tallest Tree in the UK ‚Äì it’s official! (Dunans Heritage Project)
Arborist’s to Search for Britain’s Tallest Tree (HortWeek)
Sparsholt College Lecturers Search for Britain’s Tallest Tree (Sparsholt College)
Scots Fir is ‘Tallest Tree in UK’ (Care2)
UK’s new tallest tree (GardenWeb)
UK’s Tallest Tree Climbed (The Treehouse)
Tallest trees climbed and measured (Tree Climbers International)
UKs Tallest Tree Record (My Meetings with Remarkable Trees)

RESULTS:

Stronardron Douglas Fir, Argyll (previously the Dunans Douglas Fir)

No accurate ground based measurements possible due to time constraints & tree location
Climbed measurement from tip to highest point at base was 63.79m

Hermitage Douglas Fir, Dunkeld

2 x ground based measurements at 60.95m & 60.68m
Climbed measurement from tip to highest point at base was 61.31m

Diana‚Äôs Grove Grand Fir, Blair Castle

3 x ground based measurements at 62.32m, 62.60m & 62.47 ‚Äì other measurements were taken but were discounted due to being unable to clearly sight the stem base
Climbed measurement from tip to highest point at base was 62.70m

Dughall Mor Douglas Fir, Inverness

10 x ground based measurements from a range of positions:
Position 1 ‚Äì 61.68 & 61.46
Position 2 ‚Äì 63.15 & 62.64
Position 3 ‚Äì 60.13 & 58.62 ‚Äì Measurements discounted due to site ‚Äì unable to confidently see the tree tip
Position 4 ‚Äì 61.53 & 62.21
Position 5 ‚Äì 62.07 & 61.91
Average height taken from positions 1,2,4 & 5 ‚Äì 62.02m

Photography courtesy of LWimages.co.uk

Is the Tallest Tree in the UK Argyll’s – in Glendaruel? (forargyll.com)
Views of the Tallest Tree in the UK at Dunans Castle (lairdofdunanscastle.com)
It’s a YES. Argyll has the tallest tree in the UK – see it from Dunans Castle in Glendaruel (forargyll.com)
Art Prints for Lairds & Ladies (scottishlaird.com)

You Can Now Make Donations to the Dunans Charitable Trust

Charles — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:34:02 +0000

Image via CrunchBase

If you would like to support the trust in its work to renovate and repair the A-listed Dunans Bridge, maintain and preserve the grounds and help with the ongoing restoration of Dunans Castle, then you’ll be delighted to hear that we have implemented a way for you to donate online.

We have created two ways of giving on the Dunans.org website, both using the secure and well-known e-commerce solution paypal.com. You can make one-time donations, or you can make a monthly donation of ¬£5. We have kept this latter figure quite low, but would love to hear from anyone who would like to contribute more as we’ll make a new button especially for them.

The Fletcher Archive is to be Updated

Charles — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:54:42 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

We are pleased to announce that we have been contacted recently by Gordon Fletcher with regard to our reproduction of Margaret Mason’s book on the Fletchers. Margaret is alive and well and living in Devon, and if you have any academic queries with regard to the clan or her book, please contact her (see our archive pages).

Gordon also tells us that research on the clan is ongoing and more material may become available in the future.

Walks at Dunans with Cowalfest

Charles — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:50:45 +0000

This Cowalfest (October 3rd – October 12th) the following walks are happening at Dunans:

Walk 53 – Wild Fungi, Plant Lore and Poetry with Backwoods Lunch
09 Oct 2008¬† — ¬£12.00

Real Food Consultancy & The Walking Theatre Company
Distance/time – 1 mile/1.5 hours followed by lunch
Start – 11.00¬† Dunans Castle, Glendaruel
Finish – As above
Numbers Limit – 30¬† Cost per ticket – ¬£12
Dogs on lead
Booking – essential¬† Info 01369 830115
About the walk – A wild food walk with poetry followed by a cookery demonstration and backwoods lunch.

Walk 68 – Macbeth
11 Oct 2008 — ¬£10.00

The Walking Theatre Company
Distance/time – 1.5 miles/1.5 hours
Start – 19. 30 at Dunans Castle, Glendaruel
Finish – As above
Numbers Limit – 40
Dogs on lead
Booking – essential¬† Cost per ticket ¬£10. 00, children free
About the walk – Based on a Shakespearian great, a tale of murder, intrigue and dark magic served with a twist set in the romantic and mysterious surroundings of Dunans, the onetime home and grounds of the Jacobite Fletcher family.¬† Further info 01369 820115

If you fancy a real treat come to the evening performance of Macbeth with the Walking Theatre Company’s acclaimed (and very spooky) witches!

Walk 74 – Wild Food and Poetry with Backwoods Tea
12 Oct 2008 — ¬£12.00

Real Food Consultancy and The Walking Theatre Company
Distance/time – 1 mile/1.5 hours followed by tea
Start – 14.00¬† Dunans Castle, Glendaruel
Finish – As above
Numbers Limit – 30
Dogs on lead
Cost ¬£12 per ticket
Booking – essential¬†¬†¬† Further info 01369 820115
About the walk – A wild food walk followed by a cookery demonstration and backwoods tea in the beautiful and historic grounds of the onetime home of the Fletcher family.

Dunans Heritage Project

Change of website address

Dunans Castle Signage

Our New Signage for Dunans Castle

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Climbing the Tallest Tree on Video

We’re part of Scotland’s Gardens Scheme

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Big Snow at the Tallest Tree

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Dunans Castle Views the tallest tree in the UK – it’s official

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You Can Now Make Donations to the Dunans Charitable Trust

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The Fletcher Archive is to be Updated

Walks at Dunans with Cowalfest