First look at Scottish sculpture park in grounds of stately home overlooking picturesque loch

It is an historic property that was used as a home for children evacuated from Glasgow during the Second World War and later turned into a residential school for city children with diseases such as rickets.

Now the owner of Caol Ruah House on the Argyll coast has unveiled some of the artworks that will make up its annual sculpture park this year.

Set on the shores of Loch Riddon with stunning views down the Kyles of Bute, the park covers 18 acres of landscaped gardens around the grounds of the distinctive redbrick mansion, which dates back to 1898.

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The sculpture park was first opened to the public in 2012 by owner and curator Karen Scotland.

This year’s exhibition features artworks from artists Janice Affleck, Pauline Muir, Katie Low, Louise McVey and Charlott Rodgers from Glasgow.

Tom Allan from Bute, West Kilbride artist Frances Clark Helen Denerley from north-east Scotland, Guy Elder from Ardentinny, Moira Ferguson from Kilmun, and Vanessa Lawrence from Ayrshire also feature.

Other artists involved include Illona Morrice from Aberdeen, Karen Westerbeek and Bill Williamson from Ardentinny, and Charles Young from Edinburgh. A piece by Sara Cunningham Bell from Coleraine in Northern Ireland also features.

Ms Scotland said: “We are looking forward to welcoming local people and visitors to the region and keeping our fingers crossed for some good weather. All of the artworks and installations will be available to buy and we will also be hosting a number of weekend workshops where budding artists can learn from the experts.”

Initially built for the Clyde shipbuilder William Connel in 1898, the property was sold in 1907 to Thomas Hinshelwood an oil refiner, paint manufacturer and drysalter from Glasgow. In 1917, with its name changed to Feorlin, the house passed into the ownership of Sir Colin and Lady Margaret McCrae.

It was later owned by engineer George Bennie, who was the inventor of a form of transport that paved the way for the monorail and ultimately became the Loch Ridden Hotel.

Mr Bennie was the creator of the invention that became known as the Bennie railplane, with a prototype trialled at Burnbrae Dyeworks near Milngavie in 1930.

He believed his invention could have been capable of travelling at 120mph, which would cut the journey between Edinburgh and Glasgow to just 20 minutes. However, Mr Bennie went bankrupt in 1937 after spending all his own money on the project. The test track was pulled down for scrap in 1956, with Mr Bennie himself dying just a year later.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, the house was requisitioned for children evacuated from cities at risk of bombing raids. In 1944, it was bought by the local council in Glasgow, opening in 1945 as a residential school for boys from Glasgow aged eight to 11 who had been disabled by illnesses, including tuberculosis, asthma or rickets. The children convalesced in the open air during stays of three to six months. The school was eventually closed in 1998.

The sculptures and installations will be on display to the public for two months from May 2, with the grounds open from Thursdays to Sundays.