Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
NORTH ARGYLL
Loch Awe
Loch Awe is one of Scotland's most beautiful lochs, with rolling forested hills around its
southern end and spectacular mountains in the north. It lies between Oban and Inveraray
and is the longest loch in Scotland - about 24 miles long - but is less than 1 mile wide for
most of its length. See
www.loch-awe.com
for more information.
At its northern end, Loch Awe escapes to the sea through the narrow
Pass of Brander
,
where Robert the Bruce defeated the MacDougalls in battle in 1309. In the pass, by the
A85, you can visit
Cruachan power station
(
01866-822618;
www.visitcruachan.co.uk
;
adult/child £6.50/2.50; 9.30am-4.45pm Easter-Oct, 10am-3.45pm Mon-Fri Nov-Dec,
Feb & Mar tours every 30min)
. Electric buses take you more than 0.5 miles inside Ben
Cruachan, allowing you to see the pump-storage hydroelectric scheme which occupies a
vast cavern hollowed out of the mountain.
Also at the northern end of Loch Awe are the scenic ruins of
Kilchurn Castle
(HS; ad-
mission free; 9am-5pm Apr-Sep)
, built in 1440, which enjoys one of Scotland's finest
settings; you can climb to the top of the four-storey castle tower. It's a 0.5 mile walk from
the A85 road, just east of the bridge over the River Orchy.
Scottish Citylink
(
www.citylink.co.uk
)
buses from Glasgow to Oban go via Dalmally,
Lochawe village and Cruachan power station. Trains from Glasgow to Oban stop at Dal-
mally and Lochawe village.
Connel & Taynuilt
Hemmed in by dramatic mountain scenery,
Loch Etive
stretches for 17 miles from Connel
to Kinlochetive (accessible by road from Glencoe). At Connel Bridge, 5 miles north of
Oban, the loch is joined to the sea by a narrow channel partly blocked by an underwater
rock ledge. When the tide flows in and out - as it does twice a day - millions of tons of wa-
ter pour through this bottleneck, creating spectacular white-water rapids known as the
Falls
of Lora
. You can park near the north end of the bridge and walk back into the middle to
have a look.
Dunstaffnage Castle
(HS; 01631-562465;
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk
;
adult/child
£4/2.40; 9.30am-5.30pm Apr-Sep, to 4.30pm Oct, closed Thu & Fri Nov-Mar)
, 2 miles
