Wildlife
Islay is the migratory home to thousands of Barnacle and
White Fronted geese, which can be viewed at the acclaimed
RSPB nature reserve at Loch Gruinart. Keep your eyes peeled
for sightings of seals and deer in Kintyre.
Golf
Machrie Golf Course on Islay and the world famous Machrihanish
Golf Club are just two of the challenging links courses
the area has to offer.
Fishing
Excellent trout and salmon filled rivers & lochs can
be found on Islay and Kintyre.
Sailing
The Crinan Canal, built by Thomas Telford at the start
of the 19th Century, is a great place to view the colourful
spectacle of yachts taking this popular shortcut between
Loch Fyne and the Hebridean islands. A spectacle not to be missed is the West Highland Yachting Week (July/August) when the boats arrive in Tarbert
Horse-riding
Where better to experience riding of all disciplines than
in the beautiful Mid Argyll & Kintyre countryside,
with centres at with centres at Ardrishaig, Tarbert, Inveraray and Glenbarr.
Unspoilt landscape of glens and bays, traditional Kingdom
of the Scots; cradle of early Gaelic culture, home to some of Scotland’s
most sought-after and distinctive malt whisky - Mid-Argyll, Kintyre and
Islay all these and more.
In the 6th century a tribe of Irish settlers, the "Scots",
set up home in Dunadd Fort near Kilmartin. From this Argyll
base, the early Scottish Kings went on to found the nation of
Scotland.
The whitewashed houses of Inveraray seem almost continental
against this historic backdrop, with Inveraray Jail offering
a glimpse into the austere 1820’s, and the turreted Inveraray
Castle, home to the Dukes of Argyll, recalls the power of the
once mighty Clan Campbell.
The Kintyre peninsula meets the Argyll mainland at the lively
fishing village of Tarbert, joined only by a narrow isthmus,
a “tarbert” in Gaelic.
Isle of Gigha
Swept by the warm
Gulf Stream and studded with quiet inns and hamlets, the Mull
of Kintyre has already been immortalised in song by Sir Paul
McCartney and offers a glimpse of a gentler corner of Gaeldom.
Campbeltown has a history and landscape all its own - scene
of Viking repulsions at Saddell Abbey, and nearby the stunning
beaches of Carradale.
It was near Campbeltown that St Columba first landed, bringing
Christianity from the “Scots” in Ireland, and a ferry
trip to Gigha will bring you to “God’s island”,
and a bird-watchers paradise.
Islay and Jura too are but brief ferry trips away. The island
of Islay is world renowned for its fine single malt scotch whisky.
Lagavullin, Laphroaig and Bunnahabhain are just three of Islay’s
many whisky distilleries. The Paps of Jura, visible for miles
around, are untamed mountainous terrain, home to the Isle of
Jura Distillery, producing another distinctive Island Malt whisky.
