AGRITOURISM – WHERE FARMING MEETS TOURISM With such rich farm land and local producers throughout Argyll, on the mainland and the islands, we also have a healthy agritourism sector, which is the marriage of tourism with farming. It really is all about bringing visitors to their farms to stay, to eat, to drink, to buy or to do some fun activities!
Four of our Go Rural agritourism businesses tell us more about what they have each been doing during lockdown, what they love about what they do and how things are shaping up this summer. Q&A WITH SUE FROM ARDARDAN ESTATE, NEAR HELENSBURGH When did your farm diversify into tourism and in what way? We’ve been here for 22 years and originally started as poultry farms, we sold eggs and had a small shop, which has developed into a larger shop/deli, garden centre and café. Our next step is the farm park attraction - which is still to come! How has this benefited the farm as a business overall? We wouldn’t be where we are if we hadn’t diversified the farm. Unfortunately, the farm on it’s own isn’t justifiable, moving into the tourism sector has been a main part of our income. How did lockdown impact on the tourism aspect of your business? We essentially came to a halt but managed to keep the shop opened partially, and provide deliveries to locals. Tell me about the GoRural live farm visit? It’s awesome! Caroline and the team have been so valuable to us. We saw that the site was getting lots of traction and interest so it was great to be able to show what we do. Everybody’s business is different and you can learn so much from each other.
I think it’s so important to have a focus on the mental health aspect as well, for both your visitors and staff, it can be a stressful time for lots of people. Have you changed anything as a result of lockdown which you’ll continue with? We’ve started to provide more fruit and vegetables as we’re seeing lots more people buying fresh products. We’ve also started offering takeaway coffee and cheese tasting boxes. What impact does your business have in the community? When we first came here it was derelict so it’s really brought it back to life. I’d like to think we are an integral part of the community with all the work we do with the locals and schools. And hopefully we’ve brought people to the area, that perhaps haven’t visited before. Q&A WITH KAY FROM LENNOX OF LOMOND, LOCH LOMOND When did your farm diversify into tourism and in what way? We have over 5,000 acres and hill sheep farming is a long process, so we needed ways we could diversify and push into new sectors. Around 1972 my gran started to do self-catering which is when Lennox of Lomond started to branch out. We run tours, accommodation and have now started to provide quadbike trail tours - no one else has done this yet here!
How did lockdown impact on the tourism aspect of your business? Greatly. We have no government funding so we had to support ourselves. It was difficult as a lot of the money we made was getting reinvested into the farm. It also affected the farming industry with wool severely losing its value. On a more positive note, it gave us headspace to re-evaluate and support other businesses. Tell me about the GoRural live farm visit? It’s been incredible and a great teaching platform. For us, we were trying to find a new brand for the farm so we were able to have weekly meetings, which we found so helpful. There were 14 days of live Lambathon tours across the world showcasing different farms. How are things going now lockdown is lifting? We started to take bookings again around the end of June, so a lot of accommodation is now fully booked. We’re finding that people are really seeking more space than ever before. We’ve got great hills, which sit above Loch Lomond and you get the best panoramic views. Have you changed anything as a result of lockdown which you’ll continue with? We’re looking to pursue all the new ventures mentioned above - I believe we’re going to see a surge continuing on into the winter months as people have holidays they need to use up.
What part of tourism do you love the most? Meeting people. I was always taught from a young age to communicate with people. It’s How are things going now lockdown is lifting? great to see how interested people are in We’ve reopened our café and have converted meeting the farmers and grounds that date all our outdoor sheds into further seating areas. the way back to the 1750’s.
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