Today was a bit of a damp squid, as predicted it rain almost all day, so we had a day in at the cottage although I did nip out in a break in the rain to get petrol ready for tomorrow.
Rain, Rain, ooh Sun, More Rain
Neolithic Remains
Wednesday 7th August 2019
Today we started out at Kilmartin Museum which is only 6 miles from the cottage, it has interesting items and the history of the Kilmartin Glen which has monuments scattered throughout it. Kilmartin Glen is famous for its archaeological legacy, there are over 800 ancient monuments, including burial cairns, rock carvings and standing stone.
After the museum we went almost next door to Kilmartin church which has on display two crosses within the church and a collection of sculpted medieval graveslabs.
We had some lunch in the museum cafe before go to explorer a bit further, was good timing as it started to rain while we were eating so we managed to miss the shower altogether.
After lunch we went to visit Carnasserie castle, which stands on a hill north of Kilmartin and was built in 1565. It is a very steep half a mile trek up to the castle from the car park alongside the road but the castle and views are worth it and there a few seats to get your breath back.
On the way back from Carnasserie Castle to the cottage we stopped in Kilmartin Glen to view some of the standing stones and took a detour to see Crinan Ferry. We had wanted to see the gates to James Bonds childhood home in Skyfall at Duntrune Castle but the castle is privately owned and you can’t see them from the public road.
We also had to go on a small road across the Crinan canal to get back.
For dinner we went to the seafood bar and pub in Crinan itself, weather forecast for the rest of the week is not good so best evening to visit.
After dinner heading back to the cottage I saw a highland cow.
South Kintyre
Friday 3rd August 2019
For the next week we have booked a cottage on the Crinan canal, however we wanted to see some of southern Kintyre before we headed up there. So we left Carradale where we overnighted and headed south to Southend. Southend is a small collection of local services in beautiful scenery. Close by is Dunaverty Bay a beautiful sandy beach curving around Dunaverty Point. There is a lifeboat station with operated between 1869 and 1930.
After a lovely stroll along the beach and back we carried on towards the Mull of Kintyre, well me made it about half way! The road was so narrow with a very bad surface and it just got worse and steeper if we had carried on. Even if we had made it there was a long steep walk to get to the lighthouse or the memorial and we wouldn’t have had the correct footwear.
After turning back from the Mull of Kintyre the road took us back through Campbelltown which we passed through yesterday. This time we stopped and found a little cafe for lunch, I had a lovely jacket potato.
After lunch we carried on towards our cottage, with a brief stop in Ardrishaig to stretch our legs and take a few photo’s.
We found the cottage relatively easy thanks to the great directions provided. It is small and cosy with one double and one twin room and has all that we need for the week. We are right next to the Crinan Canal but there is a grass bank between us so we can’t clearly see the boats going by. Once we were settled in I took advantage of the cottages facilities and put on a load of washing.