PICTURES: Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice accolades for Wester Ross attractions Inverewe Garden and Corrieshalloch Gorge run by National Trust for Scotland

TWO jewels in the glittering crown of Wester Ross visitor attractions have scooped prestigious Tripadvisor accolades marking them out as top tier draws.

Attractions at Inverewe Garden and Corrieshalloch Gorge – both run by the National Trust for Scotland and on the NC500 route – have picked up Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice 2023 awards.

The awards celebrate places that have consistently received great traveller reviews on Tripadvisor over the previous 12 months, meaning that both of these special places cared for by the conservation charity are among the top 10 per cent of all listings on Tripadvisor globally.

For Inverewe Garden, the award follows on from its 2022 achievement to win 5 star Visit Scotland status for the first time ever.

WATCH: Bird's eye view of Corrieshalloch Gorge after visitor centre makeover

Magic encounter in Inverewe Garden in the frame

Both Inverewe Garden and Corrieshalloch Gorge are on the NC500 route, with less than an hour’s drive between them.

Martin Hughes, the National Trust for Scotland’s operations manager for Inverewe and Corrieshalloch, said: "These awards are wonderful news for our charity’s hard-working team at Inverewe and Corrieshalloch and for the local area and community, reflecting our hard work to conserve, care for and share the remarkable nature, beauty and heritage of these special places with everyone.

"Together with the recently launched West is Best initiative, these awards encourage visitors to slow down, appreciate all that Wester Ross has to offer, and learn, understand and share the rich tapestry of stories from this part of Scotland.

"Through the National Trust for Scotland’s wide-ranging activity to conserve and enrich these places – from restoring walls and borders in the heritage garden at Inverewe to opening the spectacular Corrieshalloch Gateway to Nature Centre earlier this year – we aim to make a valuable contribution to the Wester Ross area and all the people who live and work here.

"We’re grateful to the National Trust for Scotland members, supporters and partners whose financial support makes it possible for our charity to do this and ensure that they can be enjoyed by visitors and the local community for generations to come."

For more information about Inverewe Garden and Corrieshalloch, go to https://www.nts.org.uk/

The National Trust for Scotland’s Gateway to Nature Centre at Corrieshalloch Gorge National Nature Reserve opened to the public in April this year, and includes low-impact visitor facilities, over 800m of new pathways and four viewing points to allow visitors to discover previously unseen parts of the nature reserve, while protecting the flora and fauna around the site.

Visitors are able to use a takeaway café, a covered outdoor seating area and toilets, as well as electric vehicle charging points, and blue and grey waste disposal facilities for touring vans.

The £3.1 million project was made possible by £1,297,071 funding from the Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund which is led by NatureScot and part-funded through the European Regional Development Fund. In addition, work on the paths and interpretation on-site has been supported by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery through the Love Our Nature project.

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