Ardkinglas Estate

Ardkinglas Estate currently covers around 12,000 acres, mostly of hill ground, home to 1,000 ewes, 20 cattle, many deer and other wild animals, sealife and birds. During the thirty years when Johnny Noble was running the Estate he attracted new businesses to the area, as well as starting Loch Fyne Oysters, providing both new employment for the community and new commercial tenants for the Estate. Since 2002 his nephew David Sumsion has continued this process of change. Future plans include new housing, self-catering holiday accommodation, sites for new commercial businesses, development of the Tree Shop & Cafe, an increasing number of events at Ardkinglas House, major renovation of many buildings and also repairs to the exterior fabric of Ardkinglas House. A new windfarm site has been developed in conjunction with Argyll Estates and nine turbines are due to be commissioned in 2008.

Forestry has always played an important role in the Estate and the commercial woodlands to the south of the house continue to be managed for timber production as well as for their landscape qualities. In addition there are old oak woods on the west side of Loch Fyne, an ancient hazel wood in Glen Fyne and, more recently, a number of natural regeneration schemes and newly planted areas of native species have been established.

The Estate Office at The Square is staffed by Jean Maskell, Estate Manager, and Moira Sinclair.