The wild West
Rugged, beautiful Appin and its surrounding area is ripe for exploring, writes Jo Lindsay
The small green hut perched on the pier across the bay didn’t look very special. However, our friend was adamant it was the best seafood stop in Oban and the queue alone spoke volumes. I now realise that some of the best fish landed on the west coast can be found at the Oban Seafood Hut, which has not just a local trade base but a significant international following.
Dressed crab, lobsters, hot smoked salmon and overladen prawn sandwiches are whipped out of the chillers faster than you can say scallop. The seafood is good value and can be cooked there and then for an easy gastronomic picnic on a nearby bench or taken home. If I worked in Oban, I would probably go there every day.
We were just visiting but a weekend away should involve good food, preferably with little effort. Staying in self-catering accommodation, a glutinous bag full of scallops and prawn tails was an obvious choice: no need for fancy ingredients, just garlic, lemon and a hot frying pan.
Kinlochlaich House, a striking Gothic building which in part dates back to the 17th century, offers accommodation in three apartments, a cottage and an eco tree house in the pretty Argyll village of Appin. Sadly, the gorgeouslooking tree house was already booked but we nonetheless enjoyed our stay in Creran, a two-bedroom apartment in the main house which was comfortable, simple, well-equipped and family-friendly. Owners Susie and Donald Hutchison are very welcoming.
Visitors are encouraged to roam around the garden, one of “The Glorious Gardens of Argyll and Bute” which featured in the first Scottish Festival of Rhododendrons held in Argyll in this spring. It is a lovely garden and my toddler was enchanted by both a children’s tree house and a tree swing overhanging a carpet of bluebells. There is also a tennis court and a games room, complete with a table tennis table.
Appin may be a sleepy village, but it is known for a great 18th century criminal mystery, the Appin Murder. A miscarriage of justice saw James Stewart wrongly convicted
and hanged for the murder of government agent Colin Campbell of Glenure, the story of which inspired Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel Kidnapped.
Just as the Argyll landscape was pivotal to Stevenson, it must surely be a highlight for most visitors and there are several walks from which to choose. Close to Kinlochlaich, an immaculate cycle track runs through Appin to the coast (and on to Fort William) from where there is a great close-up view of the iconic and much-photographed Castle Stalker, standing proudly on its islet at the edge of Loch Linnhe. At low tide, it is possible to walk to the castle although it is over tricky ground. Tours are available.
In nearby Port Appin, we enjoyed a picturesque walk around Appin Point which includes a huge sea arch from which the walk takes its name, “the hole in the rock” or Clach Thoull. It is a short easy walk with lovely views over Loch Linnhe and the islands of Lismore and Mull. By chance, a bagpiper on the shore introduced a romantic note as we wandered through woodland at the edge of the bay, a moment which might have made Stevenson’s heart swell.
Port Appin itself is home to the popular Pier House Hotel. On a wet and windy Sunday, the roaring fire in the wood burner, stunning wraparound views over Lismore and Loch Linnhe and a meltingly rich and indulgent fish pie in the hotel’s Ferry Bar were a restorative pickme-up. The hearty menu ranges from traditional fish and chips to oysters and langoustines with a tiny nod to non-fish options along the way. An option to sample just one oyster is a particularly nice touch for the shellfish-shy: unusual but, come to think of it, blindingly obvious.
With children in tow, the Ferry Bar menu – named after the passenger ferry which runs between the pier and the small island of Lismore – was perfect although, on another visit, I would like to try the restaurant and tuck into the seafood platter. It looks like the ideal place to settle down for a long lunch or, even better, dinner before staying the night.