Argyll - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 91

1 ISLANDS GALORE

Scarba is the largest of the islands around Luing, a brooding 1500-foot hulk of slate, a couple
of miles wide, inhospitable and wild - most of the fifty or so inhabitants who once lived here
had left by the mid-nineteenth century. The string of uninhabited islands visible west of Luing
are known collectively as the Garvellachs , after the largest, Garbh Eileach (Rough Rock),
which was inhabited as recently as sixty years ago. The most northerly, Dún Chonnuill ,
contains the remains of an old fort thought to have belonged to Conal of Dalriada, and
Eileach an Naoimh (Holy Isle), the most southerly, is where the Celtic missionary Brendan
the Navigator founded a community in 542, twenty years before Columba landed on Iona.
Nothing survives from Brendan's day, but there are a few ninth-century remains, among them
a double-beehive cell and a grave enclosure. One school of thought has it that the island is
Hinba, Columba's legendary secret retreat, where he founded a monastery before settling on
Iona. If you're interested in taking a boat trip to Scarba or the nearby Garvellach Islands contact
Sea.fari ( T 01852 300003, W seafari.co.uk) based at Easedale, or Craignish Cruises, in Ardfern
( T 07747 023038, W craignishcruises.co.uk).

Boat tours High-adrenaline boat trips are offered by
Sea.fari ( T 01852 300003, W seafari.co.uk), who are
based at the Ellenabeich jetty; the boats are rigid

inflatables (RIBs) and travel at some speed round the
offshore islands and through the Corryvreckan Whirlpool
(see p.122).

EATING AND DRINKING
Oyster Brewery Ellenabeich, Isle of Seil T 01852
300121, W seilislandpub.co.uk. For home-made pasties,
seafood and real ale, pop inside the snug wood-panelled bar
of the Oyster , on the way to the ferry. Daily 11am-11pm.
Puffer Bar

W pufferbar.com. Should you wish to hang about, then
you could do worse than visit the terrific Puffer restaurant
and bar; the former serves the best of the day's fresh catch,
while the latter is a convivial spot for a drink. Mon-Sat
11am-1am, Sun 12.30-11pm. Isle of Easdale T 01852 300022,

Arduaine Garden
A816, 10 miles north of Kilmartin • Daily 9.30am-dusk • £6; NTS • T 0844 493 2216
A great spot at which to stop and have a picnic on the A816 from Oban to
Lochgilphead is Arduaine Garden , overlooking Asknish Bay and the islands of Shuna,
Luing, Scarba and Jura. The garden, whose original foundations were laid in 1898, is
stupendous, particularly in May and June, and has the feel of an intimate private
garden, with immaculately mown lawns, lily-strewn ponds, mature woods and
spectacular rhododendrons and azaleas. You can follow several pathways through the
garden, one of which is the woodland walk, which leads down to the lakeshore where
there's a good chance of spotting otters, sea eagles and hen harriers.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING ARDUAINE GARDEN

Ì Loch Melfort Hotel Next to Arduaine Garden
T 01852 200233, W lochmelfort.co.uk. This fine,
privately-run country-house hotel overlooking Asknish
Bay offers a selection of beautifully appointed rooms, each
with its own private patio or balcony; best of all, though,
are the view s, wh ich are unquestionably some of the finest
in Scotland. £160

Chartroom Bistro Next to Arduaine Garden T 01852
200233. The sparky little bistro in the Loch Melfort Hotel
offers similarly outstanding views, and the food isn't half
bad either; their west-coast langoustines and mussels
(£11.99) rate highly in these parts, though there's plenty
more on the menu, including home-made burgers and
scrummy pizzas. Daily 11am-10pm.

Kilmartin Glen
Kilmartin Glen - on the road from Oban to Lochgilphead - is the most important
prehistoric site on the Scottish mainland. The most remarkable relic is the linear
cemetery , where several cairns are aligned for more than two miles, to the south of