Winter at a Scottish Castle 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Ardross Castle lies north-west of Alness, in the Averon valley. It began life as a hunting lodge, built for the 1st Duke of Sutherland in late 1700s. In 1845, the 2nd Duke sold the estate to Alexander Matheson, a partner in the firm Jardine Matheson, which traded in tea and opium. After amassing considerable wealth he returned to Scotland and purchased the 60,000-acre Ardross Estate for £90,000. The architect Alexander Ross was commissioned to re-design