Glorious woodland and extensive parklands characterise the grounds.

Located beneath Ben Wyvis, Castle Leod is in a majestic location. Parklands surrounds the castle to the south and east, bordered by the river Peffery. They are used in part for grazing prize-winning Aberdeen Angus cattle.

These ‘Policies’ include a fine woodland walk: a winding path through a wide range of tree species including Birch, Lime, Sycamore, Chestnut, Oak, Ash and Fir, the ages of which span from the 16^th century to the 21^st. Significant trees are marked by plaques providing information on the species, the planting date and often the individual(s) who planted it. Many of the trees have been planted by family members and close friends to commemorate special occasions. Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander book series, planted a flaming Rowan that lies along the tree walk and the tree park also contains a stone to commemorate Clan Mackenzie.

The oldest tree is the Spanish Chestnut with its extraordinary, huge spiralling trunk. This was recently chosen as one of 70 trees officially dedicated to the late Queen Elizabeth II as part of her Platinum Jubilee. It was planted in 1553 by John Mackenzie of Killen to mark the confirmation of Saisin of Castle Leod by Mary Queen of Scots at Inverness. The tree has the oldest recorded planting date in Scotland. 

Behind the castle to the north are a pair of Giant Sequoia; the one on the left is the largest tree in Britain in terms of bulk and is supposedly the largest in the world at its latitude. It was planted in 1853 to celebrate the first birthday of Frances Mackenzie. Both the Sequoia and the Chestnut are well-known and included in the book 100 Best Trees of Scotland. Tom Christian from the National Tree Collections of Scotland, discussed the grounds of Castle Leod on BBC Scotland’s Landward series, commenting that the whole area is remarkable due to the wide variety of species and also because our Sweet Chestnut isn’t normally found this far north.

In recent years we have been actively engaged in planting and protecting some of the world’s most threatened conifers in partnership with the International Conifer Conservation Programme. The ICCP, under the leadership of Martin Gardner, has created an inventory containing information about threatened conifer habitats in over 50 countries with the aim to protect and restore them. We are proud to work in partnership to protect Highland habitats and some of our rarest trees.