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Down on the Farm for Scottish Agritourism Month

As we approach the end of the celebrations for Scottish Agritourism month, we’ve got the scoop straight from the fields, courtesy of two Love Loch Lomond members.

Thanks to Lennox of Lomond and Portnellan Farm for contributing to this blog and for all the hard work and enthusiasm that these family agritourism businesses continue to develop, and share with us.

Lennox of Lomond: Our Agritourism Journey

We are the Lennox family who have been tenant farmers on the western side of Loch Lomond since the 1750s. Shemore and Shantron Farm is a hill sheep and cattle farm just over 2000ft, 4000 acres, with 1100 blackface sheep and 25 suckler cows. We are now farming into its eleventh generation and our sheep today are the direct descendant of the original sheep to the farm. Bobby and Anne Lennox, daughter Kay and son in law Dougie Wilson run the family farm together along with their agritourism businesses.

The family have been running agritourism for over 50 years, which started with Kay’s Grandparents Robbie and Ailsa Lennox offering farm tours for vet students, journalists & industry professionals. They also ran a self-catering cottage where guests were also offered farm tours during their stay. Over the years the economics of farming has changed, and the family have continued to diversify to become more sustainable.

We created the Lennox of Lomond brand in 2020. This has combined all the different elements on the farm under one name. Currently we are offering Luxury, adults-only accommodation in our Bonnie Barns which Dougie hand-built on the farm. We also offer a range of tours throughout the year from Travel trade bus tours, Day in the life of a farmer, Lambing experiences, Quad Bike trailer tours and Sheep dog demonstrations.

The family have been involved with Scottish Agritourism since it formalised as a sector in 2020. Kay was a destination leader for Argyll and the Isles and then became a board member for 2 years. We are still involved now as members of Scottish agritourism which is based around working farms all over Scotland. It is made up of businesses that share and support each other’s businesses through the Scottish Agritourism sector.

Portnellan Farm 2024 – Scottish AgriTourism Journey

We’re first and foremost farmers so how did we get into agritourism? The answer is through diversification. Our journey into agricultural diversification started about 20 years ago. We attended Farmers’ Markets with our organic dairy beef – the whole family spent Saturdays/Sundays at markets in Loch Lomond Shores or Queens Park, Glasgow learning how to sell direct to the public. We learned how interested people are in local food, how we produce it, why it tasted so good and how to use raw ingredients. Our mince sold out every week before noon – we had a sign saying, “Remember mince + tatties?” and many people loved reconnecting with that dish of their youth – with fabulous Portnellan organic beef. We had to stop attending Farmers’ Markets (lack of time), but we still sell frozen beef from the farm, and we love to chat to our customers – they are so interested in knowing that the cows and calves have a good life and are well looked after to the point of departure from the farm.

Having been an organic dairy farm and failing to make enough money to justify the 24/7 commitment to milking cows, we decided in 2010 to convert to organic beef, fed only off pasture. However, it was evident that we could not support the family on beef production alone, especially since we were fortunate that our son wished to come back to the farm and that meant another family unit to support. We needed to bring more income onto the farm, so we had to look for other income streams. Situated on Loch Lomond, we had an opportunity that not many farms have - to renovate the boat moorings in the bay in front of the farm and this developed into moorings for hire, boat launching and retrieval services for a small and friendly community of boat owners.

When we stopped milking cows in 2010, the Old Farmhouse was empty and became derelict. In 2013, we commenced a major refurbishment and established a 4* self-catering house in 2014. It has lovely views no matter what the weather, and customer satisfaction is 100% to date.

Chris started Portnellan Farm Speedboat Tours back in 2015, shortly after graduating from the University of Stirling with a degree in Environmental Science & Outdoor Education and returning to work on the family farm. The idea was to use his local knowledge and Portnellan’s unique location to provide a friendly and personalised service for those looking to explore Loch Lomond. Shortly after starting the speedboat tours, he added kayak and stand-up paddleboard hire to the business realising that many people preferred the quieter and less busy location that Portnellan could offer. Chris now runs the boat tours and watersports alongside working on the farm. He loves his job (although he doesn’t often consider it work!) and particularly enjoys meeting new people and talking to them about the farm and surrounding area.

We’ve been offering farm tours since 2010; most farmers struggle to understand why our day-to-day life is so interesting to visitors, but the comments are always that the tour was ‘great’ and ‘so authentic’. Visit Scotland confirm that people love visiting farms and we’re doubly interesting as an organic farm and we’re in a lovely ‘honeypot’ location.

We joined the West Central AgriTourism Group Monitor Farm programme in 2020 and we have been firm supporters of Scottish AgriTourism ever since and we’ve acquired agritourism friends across the length and breadth of Scotland. There is nothing you cannot ask this group of people; a reply will be forthcoming or an offer of help. That’s farming friendship.

Join the Agritourism Adventure: Loch Lomond awaits! Come taste, explore, and celebrate the heart of Scotland’s countryside.