For the Film Buff

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to follow in the footsteps of Colin Firth or step into the scene of a famous ‘Eastenders’ wedding?

Special guided tours of Ardkinglas highlighting famous locations from its filming past including the current blockbuster release ‘The Waterhorse’ are available year round. Organised for individuals or groups, we can arrange a closer look at the inspiration behind some of our best loved films. There are weekly house tours on Fridays plus weekend tours focused on films. Please see our events page.

"The Crow Road", (1998) a film of the dark novel by Iain Banks, starred Joseph McFadden, Bill Paterson and Peter Capaldi. Ardkinglas featured as the home of Fergus Urvill where the family met a number of times and had the New Year party. "My Life So Far", (1999) starring Colin Firth and Rosemary Harris, starts with Fraser Pettigrew crawling round the parapet of Ardkinglas House. Many of the scenes from this film were filmed in and around the Estate. "Eastenders" (2003) features the drawing room as the location for Barry’s wedding before he meets his end in Glen Fyne; Did he fall or was he pushed? "The Rocket Post" (2006) was mainly filmed on Taransay in the Western Isles but again Ardkinglas featured as the Laird’s house and suffered the indignity of having the terraces blown up, intentionally, when the rocket went astray.

February 2008 has seen the launch of "The WaterHorse" written by Dick King Smith. It stars Emily Watson, Aex Etel and David Morrisey in a story set around the Second World War. It was filmed partly at Ardkinglas and partly in New Zealand in 2006.