SCOTLAND’S ADVENTURE COAST… RIGHT ON GLASGOW’S DOORSTEP

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The dance of land and sea is the essence of Argyll, and it is easy to master

Four travel writers, each with their own area of interest, took up the challenge to explore Glasgow and Argyll and blog about it. They travelled by different means to different places, but with one shared mission: to sample the very best that Glasgow and Scotland’s Adventure Coast has to offer.

Here’s what they said:

THE CULTURED EXPLORER

People often speak metaphorically of walking in the footsteps of history, yet in Argyll one is able to take this quite literally. Argyll is an ancient crucible in which Scotland itself was forged. Every knoll and side road contains the promise of discovery, and it is impossible to glimpse the sunlight and shadows dappling its hillsides without desiring to go stravaiging amongst them. One particular hill calls louder than the rest. Nestled in Kilmartin Glen is Dunadd, where kings once strode and where goods from as far afield as Afghanistan have been unearthed by archaeologists. Atop the rock from which ruled the first Kings of Scots is the impression of a human footprint. Of countless moments and memories from years spent clambering amongst ruined castles and lingering in the company of standing stones, none connected me to the story of Scotland so powerfully as stepping barefoot into that print and casting my gaze out amongst the vast expanse of the Moine Mhòr in the cradle of Scotland. My journey through Argyll was not so different from that of the ancient residents of Dunadd. From the northernmost banks of Loch Awe to the narrows of Tarbert, along the coasts of Cowal and Bute and up the inner reaches of the Clyde, my bicycle was my steed and the ferries were my birlinn. The dance of land and sea is the essence of Argyll, and it is easy to master. When, like the ancients, we view waterways not as barriers but as highways, suddenly Kilmartin becomes far closer to Kelvingrove, or Dunoon far closer to Dumbarton, than many dare to imagine. David Weinczok, CastleHunter. scot

Starry, starry night: The lack of light pollution on the island of Coll makes for an impressive night sky.

Image and right: Dunadd in Kilmartin Glen.