Dochfour House, which overlooks Loch Dochfour, features immaculate lawns and gardens created in the 1880s and estate director Alexander Baillie, has credited their 15 Husqvarna Automower robotic lawn mowers for maintaining its impressive estate.  

First fitted in 2018, the robotic mowers now cover approximately 7 acres of the estate’s formal lawns and landscaped parkland, encompassing ground of all shapes, inclines and textures. 

Featured on the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, the estate regularly hosts photoshoots and corporate events, requiring picture-perfect grounds and lawns throughout all seasons. During the summer months the estate experiences the quick speed of grass growth, while the winter months encounter the full force of the Scottish Highland weather, which has proved a perpetual problem over the years.

Alexander Baillie, explained Dochfour’s switch to the robotic mowers saying, “For years we used the forest and groundcare department at MacGregor Industrial Supplies to service our mowers and chainsaws, and once they began selling Husqvarna Automower we knew we wanted to test them out.

“The unpredictable Highland weather was a big push into moving towards Automower, as well as the many steep banks which have long proved a headache in terms of the health and safety issues they present.”

Alexander continued: “During our first year of using Automower we tested it on a small area, but after seeing its remarkable results, we rapidly increased the working area and the number of mowers in our fleet. We’ve been immensely impressed by the all-wheel-drive X-Line model which have tackled our steepest banks with ease. 

“Installation of the mowers has been very straightforward, and thanks to the generation of our own electricity using hydropower, our lawns require no fossil fuel-based inputs. The Husqvarna Temporary Fences have been a great help to cordon off bulbs and wildflower patches, while still achieving lush lawns on the rest of the areas.

“Automower has made such a huge difference to the way we work, providing hours of free time to concentrate on other parts of the estate. We look forward to extending our fleet in the future.”