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Argyll And The Road To The IslesDramatic mountain peaks tower over moors dotted with tumble-down crofts and castles laid waste in clan feuds. Icy streams ripple through wooded glens and into lochs teeming with salmon and trout -- the delight of anglers. Golden eagles soar above the rocky crags and red deer roam the moors, near scattered villages haunted by tales of murder and treachery in days gone by. Click for a map.  Cornalees Footpaths skirt reservoirs and hill-side channels built 1827 by Robert Thom to serve textile mills. Visitor centre shows history. Nature trail to Shielhill Glen with waterfall. Cornalees Bridge visitor centre and Overton Cut Location Landranger 63 Access is from the A742 6km west of Greenock via a minor road. The visitor centre has a large car park at GR 248721. Distance 9km Description The route is very simple but has great views over the Clyde estuary. Go left out of the car park and go along the tarmac road with Compensation reservoir on your right. Continue generally north past Loch Thom Cottage to the top of the hill and then down hill to Overton. The Overton cut starts here though a gate and continues on a pleasant level grassy way for the next 4 km, only getting a little muddy near the end. Cross the minor road and walk past Sheilhill farm along the cut Follow the cut to Compensation reservoir dam and back up to the car park.
    
Connel Bridge has had an odd history. From soon after its construction road vehicles were sometimes carried across on a railway wagon. In 1914 it was converted to allow road vehicles to drive over it, and for the next 50 years the bridge was used by both road and rail traffic. This stopped with the closure of the Ballachulish Branch Railway in 1966, and since then the bridge has been used exclusively by road traffic, controlled through the narrow roadway by traffic lights. Connel itself is an attractive village. Apart from the bridge, the main landmarks are the large Falls of Lora Hotel, built in 1894, and the nearby St Oran's Church. This was built in 1888 and offers visitors an attractive interior and a nice collection of stained glass windows. There are also good views of Loch Etive from the grounds. Near the north end of the bridge is North Connel, now bypassed by the main road. It is also home to Connel Airfield. This started life in the 1930s before being developed by the RAF during WWII. It is mainly used for training and leisure today, though efforts are under way to make more use of it as an airport for Oban. Crarae Glen Garden Rare trees and rhododendrons flourish here. Associated garden centre sells shrubs and trees.    Crinan Yachts and fishing boats pass through locks at terminus of Crinan Canal. Duntrune Castle (closed to public) has skeleton of MacDonald piper imprisoned by Campbells in 17th century.
Much of what we today call Crinan was known at the time as Port Righ, The Kings Port and has only come to be known as Crinan since the arrival of the canal. The name itself probably originally comes from the tribe of the Creones, recorded as living in this area on a map drawn in AD140. 62.
Dunadd Hill-Fort Stone walls of ancient fort. Carvings on rock face thought to mark Pictish victory in AD 683. Dunoon - one of our "Tour Scotland" Bases Resort noted for sandy bays and castle burned in 1685. Hillside statue of Mary Campbell, Burns's 'Highland Mary', who was born here. Holy Loch Farm has rare breeds of cattle and horses. More >> |
Aberdeen & Stonehaven Annandale & Eskdale Argyll, Dunoon & Oban - this area is used as one of our bases Aviemore & Cairngorms Ayr & Kilmarnock Ballater & Banchory Banff & Buchan Ben Nevis & Great Glen C Grampian Highlands Clydebank, Cumnock, Lowthers Edinburgh Fife Galloway Glasgow Island of skye - frequently visited on our tours Kintyre, Arran & Bute Loch Lomond & Trossachs Loch Ness & Inverness Lothian Lower Speyside Montrose, Arbroath Nithsdale & Galloway Hills Orkney Outer Hebrides Perth & Dundee Area Shetland Southern Inner Hebrides Sutherland & Dornoch Firth Teviotdale & Lauderdale Thurs, Wick and Caithness West Lothian Wester Ross - frequently visited on our tours |
