Day 45, 46 Isle of Bute and the Cowal Penninsula

By

Our first day on the Isle of Bute we were blessed to have a couple of locals show us their favourite spots! Dan and I headed to their place (within sight of our pod) for a delicious breakfast and then off on some island exploring! but before we left, we found some visitors right next to our pod!

These beauties were transferred in the early morning to graze on the grass around our pod. I was quite excited, because I thought they were Highland Cows, because of the tuft of hair at the crown, but I think they are probably Luing…another highland breed. You can also see where someone has pitched a tent on the beach….quite acceptable here! It’s called wild camping!

First stop was one of their favourite beaches, (next to Scalpsie) located on St Ninian’s bay. Once here, we went for a walk along the beach to an old “Smoke House”, and St Ninian’s Chapel.

Looking through the old Smoke House. This 2 room fisherman’s home would have been in an ideal location for fishing.
Remains of St Ninian’s Chapel. A fine example of the types of small religious sites constructed during the early expansion of Christianity into Scotland from the 5th century onward.
The tide was out and we saw these amazing little mounds where clams had expunged the sand.
I’d say if we had shovels, we could have had quite a clam boil tonight!

From here, we ventured into Rothesay and then out again to visit Mount Stuart. This is a fantasy gothic mansion and ancestral home of the seventh marquis of Bute. Built by the third Marquis after a fire destroyed the original home in 1877. No expense was spared in it’s building! The grounds ,too, are a testament to the lavish style and opulence throughout the property.

The approach to Mount Stuart shows a quaint Victorian village. This was actually built because the Marquis’s wife wanted a Victorian village that she could go to for shopping!
Mount Stuart
The Rock Garden
View of the lawn running down to the water’s edge.
This unique tree caught my eye with it’s white flowers hanging and dancing in the breeze. It’s called a Handkerchief Tree.

The grounds were abundant with immense rhododendrons, and wonderful specimen trees. A true delight to walk through. I just can’t get over the variety of flowering shrubs that are out at this time of year!

It was soon time to get back to our hosts for a lovely BBQ dinner. What a great day we had exploring the island through the eyes of those that live here. We saw the farm where they breed the original Clydesdale Horses, and learned about land ownership and tenancy on the island. We also saw that Bute is a miniature version of Scotland, with lower lands and moors to the south, and highlands at the north end…all with in 15 – 20 minutes drive!

Day’s end. We can just see the reflection of the sunset in the clouds to the east. A beautiful end to a great day!

The next morning, Dan and I decided to do a little bit of driving. First we would cross over at the north end of the island onto the Cowal Pennisula, and travel north to Inverary. Then we would follow the Knapdale then Kintyre Pennisula to the tip to touch the Mull of Kintyre. A long driving day, but lots of options to double back if we needed to.

The day was a beauty, just perfect for our trek. Our first stop at the north of Bute was to get onto the ferry to Colintraive!

Driving along the countryside to Rothesay towards the ferry
You can just see the ferry on the other side at Colintraive. A short crossing with no booking required!
A look back at the Isle of Bute on the right, and Cowal pennisula on the left and the mainland across the Firth of Clyde.
As soon as we started riding north the highlands surrounded us and you can see Loch Ridden in the middle. This Loch is more like a salt water fjord that follows up the peninsula.
We were soon in Inverary. An 18th century built town created to be the seat of economic power in the area.

At this point we headed south through the Knapdale and Kintyre pennisula. The day continued to be stunning, and everyone was out enjoying this bank holiday weekend. (Boy, with the coronation, there was actual 3 bank holiday weekends in May thus year!)

Just a few boats left at anchor.
Here’s a regatta at Tarbert out in full force!

As we moved further down the coast, the road took us on the Atlantic side. Here we saw some significant wave action…along with a peak at the Isle of Islay.

Some fun beach house awaiting the summer crowds!
You can see the ghost of the highlands on the Isle of Islay across the water.

Our mission for the day was to get to the Mull of Kintyre (I can still hear the bagpipes in that song!). This is where Paul McCartney had a sheep farm for a short period, and it gave rise to his writing of the song.

Getting to the Mull required a single track lane and nerves of steel!
Here you can just see the road winding off down to the lighthouse.
Standing on the Mull, you can see the Republic of Northern Ireland just a few miles off shore here.
Here you can see the little white spec that is the lighthouse. It’s some 300 ft below us, and we chose not to walk down! We did run into a couple on Scalpsie beach who said that he came from N Ireland and could see that lighthouse every evening!

We started our trek back, but decided to cut off our driving a bit and take the ferry across the Loch at Tarbert. Again, a remote small ferry that was simply first come, first served. But first, we explored Campbeltown, home of 3 distilleries. This town was built to honour the Campbells who fought with the Duke of Argyll against the Jacobites. Not a lot said about the Massacre at Glencoe though….not surprising.

Campbeltown, a beautiful beachside town.
Here our ferry has landed and is unloading before we board.

As we drove along the way, I kept seeing huge outcroppings of Gorse, only to be outdone by the wild and prolific rhododendrons along the side of the road. Quite a spectacular site! In Brockville, we see asters and gold rod compete for colour in the late summer. These giants put that dance to shame!

You’ve seen plenty of gorse in my pictures, but here is another example of how it frames all that you see at time!
Although difficult to photograph in a moving vehicle, you get the picture of the size and amount of Rhododendrons that line this highway. It was nonstop, and of course made me so jealous as I coax my plant yearly to give me a week or two of colour!
And Luck of of lucks, we finally saw Heeland Coos! (Highland Cows). They are definitely the most unique cows that I have ever seen! (And yes, that’s more rhododendrons growing all around this small pasture!

We made it back to Colintraive at around 6:55. Lots of time for the last ferry at 9 pm, so we decided to try the Colintraive Hotel for dinner. This place was recommended to us as a real “foodie” place. We popped in to see if we could get a table and were told that the kitchen was closing at 7. Then out of the blue, a women came running after us to let us know that a 7 pm reservation was late and that if we wanted to eat, we could as they would have to hold the kitchen for the others! Another lucky strike! If you ever go, you must try the Haagis Bonbons or the Cod beignets. Both such good starters, they we could have made a meal of them!

A quick ferry ride and short drive saw us back at our “pod” for one last evening. What a gorgeous day we had!
A peaceful evening on the bay. We have throughly enjoyed our time spent on this island! At first I did not know what to expect, but the charm and variety on this little Isle makes me want to come back!

Well our time in Bute has come to an end. Tomorrow, we head over to Glasgow to explore this city before heading back to Heathrow and then home on Wednesday. Just one more post with this trip and then I’ll call it a day. Until then.

Categories: Hiking in Iceland and the UK

Leave a comment