Hello there, it’s been a while since I’ve posted about any travels and when I looked back at my posts from last year I was surprised to see that my family’s trip north of the border for our summer holidays didn’t make it into blogland. I’m not going back as far as last year for this post, just a couple of months to this summer’s trip up North!
I spent so many holidays in Scotland as a child. My Mum is Scottish, so almost every school holiday, my parents would pack up the car and we would trundle along the 200+ miles from our home in Manchester to my grandparents’ home in Glasgow. We wouldn’t just stay in the Glasgow suburbs though, we’d go to the west coast for day trips to places like Largs, up to Loch Lomond and further afield to visit my Gran’s cousin ‘Great Aunt Daisy’.
Aunt Daisy lived in a tiny place called Tighnabruaich in Argyll. It took hours to get there from Glasgow – almost as long to get there as it did to get from Manchester to Glasgow in the first place in those days with the roads as they were. I have often thought of Tighnabruaich and my childhood trips there in the intervening years but never found a way to return (in no small part because we moved to Gibraltar for 11 years!). Anyway, last year, along with my parents, we made the trip back to Tighnabruaich after many years and it was so nice we went back again this year for another holiday!
Rather than taking the long way round this time, like we did in the old days with a stop off in Glasgow en route, we drove directly to Gourock, which is on the River Clyde, just west of Glasgow. There, you can catch a ferry which, in less than half an hour lands you on the outskirts of the lovely town of Dunoon, just an hour’s drive from Tighnabruaich.
Just like last year, the excitement of actually driving onto the ferry (something I’d never done myself until last year) was just magical. It felt like the holiday began as soon as the handbrake went on and we got out of the car to have a look at the water!
Once we docked in Dunoon, we took a drive to the local supermarket to load up on supplies (this is the nearest supermarket to where we were staying and a 2 hour round trip to pick up something we’d forgotten was not something we wanted to be doing!). Once fully loaded with edibles, we set off on the drive to Tighnabruaich. It takes you through some stunning scenery, much of which is on single track roads with passing places (think Skyfall – I channeled my inner Daniel Craig as I motored along the winding single track roads – not that I was in an Aston Martin I hasten to add). These roads can be a bit high pressure when you suddenly have a large farm vehicle or logging truck bearing down on you out of nowhere – but it’s all part of the experience!
There are climbs and descents throughout the journey between Dunoon and Tighnabruaich, the most spectacular of which has a lay-by with a viewing spot to look along the Kyles of Bute and Isle of Bute – just stunning.
Not long after that stopping place, you find yourself entering Tighnabruaich itself.
Tighnabruaich, which means ‘house on the hill’ in Gaelic is a small village which hugs the coastline of the Cowal Peninsula overlooking the island of Bute.
This view (below) taken from the next village along called Kames, looks towards Tighnabruaich. The land on the right of the picture is Bute and the waterway in between heads towards where that viewpoint picture was taken (further above).
Last year, we stayed in Tighnabruaich itself, but this year, we went a 5 minute walk down the coast to Kames. The two villages are pretty much separated by a shinty field so almost run into each other. [Shinty is a sport played in this part of the world, which involves sticks and a very hard ball].
It was such a quiet and tranquil place to have a break. This year we were a 15 minute walk into the centre of Tighnabruaich if we headed one way out of the front door, if we headed in the other direction, we came to this deserted spot.
Up above Tighnabruaich itself, you can find the ‘Ark’. It was built by a local artist to make a statement about global warming and rising sea levels. The structure itself was created using local timber which had to be felled because of disease. It’s really quite a thing of beauty and is striking when you spot it from the road. The view from the top must be amazing on a clear day, although the day we chose to climb up to it, there was a very heavy rainstorm which blew in from nowhere when we got there and before we knew it, visibility was severely reduced!
Also above the village, in a different direction is this fabulous coffee pit stop called Wild Kitchen. I have to give it a mention, because we became regular visitors (the photos here were taken last year when we had much better weather). The coffee beans used here come from the building next door, which happens to be the Argyll Coffee Roasters the coffee there is amazing AND the cakes…
…well, I will let you see for yourself….
One place we visited both last year and this time was Puck’s Glen. We were looking for a woodland walk and found a leaflet advertising it. It was about an hour’s drive from Tighnabruaich, back towards Dunoon. It was so lovely last year, there was a special request from the younger members of the party to return again this year.
There’s a free car park and then you just follow the signs up the hill and away from the main road. Before long you can hear just the sounds of the woodland around you, creaking trees moving in the breeze, birds tweeting and in the distance the sound of water running.
There are different ways to attempt the walk but we followed the path up quite a steep climb through the woodland and eventually ended up on a rough forestry road.
At the road, you take a left over a concrete bridge and then begin your descent down the Pucks Glen gorge. It is a magical place. The path, a Victorian walkway, follows the path of the river past waterfalls, over bridges and down lots and lots of steps. It wouldn’t be a great walk for someone with who wasn’t too steady on their feet and I’d not want to do it with very small children either but it is really worth a visit.
If you are due a dose of vitamin tree or need a refill of greenery, this is 100% the place to go!
It is so beautiful there, you feel like you have slipped into a magical world of fairies, or should I say Kelpies?
It’s like something out of Lord of the Rings – just wonderful!
Down at the bottom of the gorge, you pick up a footpath back to the carpark to complete the circular route.
Another walk we made was to the seaside rather than into the woods. We visited Ostell Bay or Kilbride Bay as it’s also known. You get to it along a countryside path alongside fields and wooded areas, then you come to a large area of sand dunes.
Wherever we went and except for when we were in the midst of heavy rain, the views in this part of the world were stunning.
We did get a lot of rain though this year, which of course resulted in quite a bit of mud….
It was worth getting through the mud though, because on the other side of the dunes was this amazing beach which although it had other people on it, is huge, beautiful and so so quiet.
It’s the perfect spot to have a sit down and watch the clouds pass by!
It’s not a bad place to knock out a few rows of knitting either!
On our final night in Scotland, we were treated to a light show. Not quite the spectacle that many people witnessed in Britain this week, but it made our day!
On our last morning, we woke to bright sunshine and the best weather of the entire week – never mind! It was hard to stay goodbye to my adopted crochet corner when we left…
The weather also meant for a stunning trip back over on the ferry. My word, what a beautiful place!
Goodbye Scotland, and thank you for having us!
