Your home in the Highlands
Beyond the glen and the lochs on the doorstep, some of the west coast's best days out are an easy drive or a short ferry away. Here are our favourites: the harbour town of Oban, the island of Mull, the wild Ardnamurchan peninsula, and getting out on the water.
Days out
A trip to Oban
Oban, the self-styled Gateway to the Isles, is about three-quarters of an hour down the coast and makes a grand day out. Climb the hill to McCaig's Tower, the Colosseum-like Victorian folly built by a local banker, for the view over the bay and the Caledonian MacBrayne ferries coming and going to Mull, Lismore, Coll and Tiree. Down below there is the Oban distillery in the middle of town, a busy little harbour, and a good spread of shops, both local names and the high street.
Island days
A trip to Mull
The island of Mull is an adventure in itself. Take the ferry from Oban, or cross the Corran Ferry and drive through Ardnamurchan to the short Lochaline crossing. Once there you can tour the island, call in at colourful Tobermory, the real-life Balamory, and, with an early start, cross to the tiny, sacred Isle of Iona, burial place of the early kings of Scotland and, more recently, of the former Labour leader John Smith.
Off the beaten track
Touring Ardnamurchan
Just across the Corran Ferry lies Ardnamurchan, one of the wildest and least-spoilt corners of the mainland, and a real tonic. Follow the single-track roads west to Ardnamurchan Point, the most westerly spot on the British mainland, with its lighthouse looking out to the isles, and the white sands of Sanna Bay close by. There is little out here but scenery, wildlife and space, which is rather the point.
On the water
Boat trips
The west coast is made for exploring by boat, with its scatter of islands, beaches and sea lochs. Even sheltered Loch Leven has the MacDonalds' burial isle, and across Loch Linnhe there is a seal island you can visit. For organised trips, Seafari run wildlife cruises from nearby, and Rugged Coast offer guided kayaking on Loch Linnhe right from our doorstep.
