Clanny move
You’ll find a warm welcome in at lovely Ardgour – which wasn’t always the case!
Marc and daughter Beatrice
Nothing makes it more apparent just how big a country Scotland is than driving through its many vast, virtually untouched spaces. Watching patches of cloud shadow slide along the heather-clad landscape of Glen Coe, you struggle to comprehend how scenery so huge can account for such a small section of the road map.
The destination for me, my wife Jade and nine-month-old daughter Beatrice is further north – the Ardgour peninsula – and the final leg requires a trip on the Corran ferry.
Today, the ferry is a large car transporter that crisscrosses the waterway from morning to night. But behind it lies a macabre tale.
The Maclean clan put down roots on the peninsula in the 1400s when, so the tale goes, young Donald Maclean asked his master for some land of his own.
He was told to “jump where the wall is lowest” which he took to mean he should claim Ardgour, which was held by the weak McMaster clan.
WORTHY
During the slaughter, the McMaster chief fled to the waterside where the ferrymaster, sensing which way the tide was turning, refused him passage.
But when the ferryman tried to curry favour with the victors by revealing he’d helped them trap the old chieftain, Donald is said to have told him “any man not loyal to his chief is not worthy of life”, and hanged him from his own oars.
Life on Ardgour today is thankfully more serene, the ferrymen more obliging, and visitors come from all across the globe.
The estate is still run by Macleans – Ewen and Annie have renovated small cottages dotted around the landscape into beautiful holiday lets.
You arrive to a warm welcome, firewood ready chopped and waiting to be loaded into the stove.
You go to sleep under a black sky studded with bright stars – which can be viewed from the cosy ‘wee tower’ (which won Eco-shed of the Year on Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces programme) – and wake in the morning to a bright blue canopy of sky stretched tight from the poles of giant pines.
The landscape of the peninsula brims with wildlife. There is an abundance of roe deer and red deer, but rarer creatures are a big draw. There may be just 35 Scottish wildcats left in the wild, but the estate, a keen supporter of the Wildcat Haven project, has many camera traps which offer a chance to see these amazing creatures in their own habitat.
The peninsula offers a fantastic view of Ben Nevis, but there are great walks that don’t require quite so much stamina including three ‘Corbetts’. Slightly smaller than Munro, they stand over 2,500ft with a drop of at least 500ft.
If it’s a more sedentary holiday you have in mind, then a drive out further west takes you to one of the most stunning
Holiday cottage lettings at Ardgour Estate, Ardgour, Fort William, start at £650 a week picnic spots you’ll find, in the shadow of the ruins of Castle Tioram. Now a scheduled ancient monument, the castle on the tidal island of Eilean Tioram (pronounced cheerum) towers over magnificent sandy beaches.
Despite the stunning natural beauty, you can spend hours here and see next to no-one. That said, you might spot a few famous faces. Across from the castle is Eilean Shona, an island owned by Vanessa Branson, sister of tycoon Richard.
Past visitors include the Virgin billionaire, actress Kate Winslet, comedian Jack Whitehall and Princess Eugenie.
A holiday here is relatively inexpensive, but on the drive back to the estate with the sun setting behind us, I couldn’t help but think that if I too had enough money to jet anywhere in the world, I’d still find myself drawn back to this unspoilt beauty time and time again.
It’s said here that there’s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.
And in Scotland it’s possible to enjoy(!) all four seasons in a day – so pack layers accordingly.
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