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Loch Eck |
North from Dunoon |
| Alongside the A815 road north of Dunoon
sits Loch Eck which resides within both the Argyll
Forest Park and the Loch
Lomond and Trossachs National Park. It is a fresh
water loch about 5 miles long (see Fishing)
with magnificent steep wooded hillsides around
it. Within its depths are found the "powan",
a freshwater herring trapped in the loch when
glacial moraines blocked the outlet to the sea. This
survivor from earlier ages is found only
in Loch Eck and Loch Lomond. |
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Following the road
northwest, you will pass through Glenbranter and eventually
come to Loch Fyne. South along the shore road, the
B8000, the ruins of Castle Lachlan are near the village
of Strathlachlan. The castle was first mentioned in
a charter of 1314 and stands on a promontory overlooking
the loch. Its double tenement internal structure has
only one other parallel in the whole of Scotland,
and is probably the result of 16th century modifications.
The ruins are now in decay, the castle having been
destroyed by fire in the 18th Century. |
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Northwards along the
Loch Fyne shore on the A815 road, you will come to
the town of Strachur and the village of St Catherine's,
after which you will then be approaching the A83 road
which goes left to Inverary or right to Glasgow. Before
that, you will pass Ardkinglas
Woodland Garden which possesses a wonderful collection
of tall conifers (some of the tallest in the British
Isles) and rhododendrons.
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Ardkinglas Woodland Garden |
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Glen Croe and Rest and Be Thankful |
Turning right on the A83 takes you
over the Rest and Be Thankful. This pass is a lonely
defile with all the magnificence and attributes of Highland
character, where the winds rush down the valley and
the snows gather deep and soft. At the summit of the
pass, there is a car park where you can look down the
valley. Here, at the summit, a small stone marks the
"Rest and Be Thankful" and dates the road
as an old military track. The old military road can
be seen winding down the Glen in serpent-like fashion.
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You may choose to take the road
from the summit of the Rest and be Thankful through
Hell's Glen to Lochgoilhead which is on the north
east of the Peninsula, on the shores of - naturally
- Loch Goil. Lochgoilhead is a small village popular
with sailors from yachts and has a good pub and a
number of eating places. There is an interesting church
with not far off a sundial dated 1626 and which is
very unusual as it is ten feet high.
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Lochgoilhead |
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Continuing
on from Lochgoilhead, you will come to Carrick Castle,
which dates from the 12th Century and is thought to
have had an association with Robert the Bruce. It
was owned by the Campbells and destroyed by fire in
1685. It remains in a ruined condition, although it
is under restoration.
You need not take the same road back out of
Lochgoilhead as the road circuits to meet the
A815 Dunoon road just west of the junction with the A83.
From this road you have magnificent views across
Loch Fyne to Inveraray on the opposite side of the loch.
If you were to continue on the A83, down the Rest
and Be Thankful, you would be on your way to some
of the finest hillwalking
territory in Scotland, the Arrochar Alps, as well
as Loch Lomond. |
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Glendaruel |
Backtracking a little to Dunoon, if you
were to head north to Sandbank on the A815 and then
take the B836 Colintraive Road to the left, you would
pass the village of Clachaig, and Loch
Tarsan. Follow this road until you reach the main
A886 and then turn right, which brings you to the village
of Glendaruel. There are various interesting historical
sites in Glendaruel, including Dunan's Castle and bridge,
and Kilmodan Church. |
The present church, the
second on the site, was built in 1610 and includes
a Lapidarium in which there are preserved carved gravestones
of the 15th and 16th Centuries. These stones once
covered graves in the Kirkyard, and demonstrate the
carver's skill with Celtic design.
Otter Ferry can be reached from Glendaruel either
by taking the turn-off from the A886 which takes you
over the Bealachandrain, the steep, twisting high
road over the hills, with spectacular views, or by
taking the circuitous route from Tighnabruaich through
Kames and Kilfinan. The Gaelic word for a shingle
bank or sand bank is 'oitir', and there was a ferry
across the Loch many years ago, so it is easy to see
how the place got its name. |
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Go to Dunoon
Area .
Go to South Cowal. |
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