This was a great day out to the isle of Bute in the firth of Clyde. A round trip of around eight hours in stunning scenery with two ferry crossings.  On the 5th November 2016 we left Appletree Self-Catering Cottage in Croftamie at the south end of Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park at around 1030am and made for Balloch along the former military road that is the A811.

Continuing straight through Balloch we joined the A82 heading north (Signposted Tarbert and Crianlarich)  This road took us up the western shore of Loch Lomond giving good views across the loch and the magnificent Ben Lomond towering above the far shore.  About twenty five minutes after leaving Appletree Cottage we arrived at the small village of Tarbert where the road divides.  Crianlarich is to the right (A82) and Inveraray and Arrochar are signposted straight ahead (A83).  We continued straight on following the road towards Arrochar.  On leaving Tarbert we could see the small railway station of Arrochar and Tarbert which is on the beautiful West Highland Railway Line,  In former times a commuter train ran between this station and Glasgow city centre.  Those days are long gone however and the winter timetable nowadays provides only three trains each way per day.  

Arrochar is a small village at the head of Loch Long and boasts a petrol station and a few convenience stores. As we entered the village we were treated to good views of Ben Arthur, more commonly known as The Cobbler, across the waters of the loch.  At the foot of the The Cobbler on the shoreline  we could see the impressive remains of the second world wartime torpedo testing station.  We continued along the A83, following the north shore of Loch Long and then commenced the long climb up the Rest and Be Thankful pass. (see previous blog for information about this location)  Once over the summit the road A83 descends into Glen Kinglass.  At the foot of the hill on the left is a small humped back bridge.  This used to be the main (single track) road to these parts.  The bridge, also known as Butterbridge was in the past a favourite stop for Tinkers who sold their basket wares by the roadside.  It was also a popular site for tinkers' weddings.  Once down in Glen Kinglass the new road is straight and more or less level for a few miles.  The remains of the old military road can be glimpsed on the left hand side.  Towards the western end of Glen Kinglass we took the left-hand turning signposted Dunoon A815.  
The A815 after a few turns joined the south shore of Loch Fyne.  Across the water the white painted village of Inveraray, the ancient former capital of Argyll, glistened in the sunlight.  Inveraray is famous for its old jail, a beautifully preserved nineteenth century prison and courthouse which is well worth a visit - as is the excellent George Hotel in the town.  Immediately to the east of Inveraray is the four towered Inveraray Castle, ancient seat of the Campbells and the Duke of Argyll.  We pulled up by the side of the road to admire the view, As it happened we had stopped adjacent to another Tinkers' wedding site - the Tinkers' Heart.   We watched cormorants drying their wings on the nearby buoys in the loch before getting back in the car and continuing our journey.

The drive down the south shore of Loch Fyne was a pretty one.  It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining - which brought out all the autumn colours in the trees - and joy of joys - there was hardly a car on the road!  We passed through the hamlet of St Catherines and shortly afterwards arrive in Strachur where we take a right hand turn onto the A886, signposted Colintraive and Tighnabruaich.
Strachur is an attractive little village on the shore of the loch with a post office cum general store cum cafe serving home-made food.
​After Strachur the A886 took us through beautiful remote countryside.  We ignored the turning off to Tighnabruaich (that's for another day) and continued on to the small ferry terminal of Colintraive.

​A Calmac ferry was waiting to take us across to Bute - which appeared to be little over a stones-throw away across the Kyle of Bute
Before driving onto, we bought a through ticket from one of the ticket attendants who were walking along the very) small queue of cars with their ticket machines.  The ticket we choose is called a Hopscotch - it is for a one way journey from Colintraive to Rhubodach on the north end of Bute and then one way from Rothesay (at the south end of Bute) to Wemyss Bay on the mainland.  

​After lunch we explored the harbour and the what is now called the Discovery Centre - a beautifully restored throwback to the 1920's when the passenger paddle steamers plied their tourist trade on the Clyde, ferrying the people of Glasgow and its surrounds to the islands where they would be entertained by music hall and variety stars of the day.  The Discovery Centre - or the Winter Gardens as it used to be known is now Grade A listed building.  Inside this former palace of entertainment there is a tourist information centre with a good selection of information and, maps. There is also a large display in text and photographs of the history of Rothesay and Bute's highpoints. At the back of the hall is a corridor crammed with images of those music hall and variety acts which entertained the masses in this particular venue. We wonder how many you may recognise?
Rothesay Castle is also worth a look.  Dating back to the 13th century this impressive semi restore ruin in the centre of the town is surrounded by a water filled moat and high impregnable walls in an unusual circular plan.

Back in the car we drove south and had a brief look at exterior of Mount Stuart, a stunning gothic revival country house set it in its own huge estate.  Designed in the 1870's by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson it is the ancestral home of the Marquesses of Bute.  The pictures of the interior of the house looked fantastic but unfortunately it was not open to the public on the day we visited.
We explored the island further - to the southern tip and then up the west coast.  Here the views across to the hills of Arran were tremendous with ever changing sunlight dancing across the craggy distant peaks.

We planned to get the 4pm ferry to Wymess Bay on the mainland because we wished to make the crossing in daylight.  Our through "hopscotch" ticket had not prescribed what time we should make the crossing so we were free to choose.  We made our way back across the island to Rothesay and down to the ferry terminal which is in the centre of the town.  There was no queue and we drove aboard straight away after showing the attendant our tickets.  We were about ten minutes early so had a good chance to view Rothesay from the upper decks of the ship before she slipped away.  Had we been any earlier we could have had a look inside the famously ornate Victorian toilets on the pier.

​​It had been a gorgeous clear day and the sunset was magnificent over the silhouetted hills of Arran as we steamed out into the middle of the Clyde estuary.  The lights of Wymess bay twinkled in the distance growing ever larger until we birthed approximately half an hour after leaving Bute.  From there we drove back home to Appletree Cottage and the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park spotting the occasional firework flittering across the now dark sky.  We finally arrived back at Appletree at 1830 after a perfect day!

We had a great trip a few weeks ago on 8th October.
From Appletree Cottage we drove to Dumbarton then along the A82 then across the Clyde River on the magnificent Erskine Bridge.
Once over the bridge we followed signs to Gourock and the vehicle ferry to Dunoon.
The ferry runs every fifteen minutes and you can buy your tickets on board.  If you want to save a bit of money you can buy your tickets in the Co-op and other shops close to the ferry in Gourock.
The ferry crossing is about fifteen minutes and offers fresh air and fantastic views up and down the Clyde with the islands of Arran and Bute to the south.

When we disembarked at the north shore, we drove in to Dunoon town centre, about 1km from the ferry terminal.  Dunoon has gone up in the world since the 1980's when it used to house a US base at close by Holy Loch.  There are interesting shops and cafes in the bustling high street.  The pier (as opposed to the ferry terminal) still has its Victorian  pavilion which dates back to 1895.
From Dunoon we then drove south west, through Inellan with its grand seaside houses and the unusually named village of Toward then following the ever narrowing road round to head through Knockdow and onwards towards Inverchaolain. 
Huge numbers of pheasant lined part of the road just after Inverchaolain, perched on the roadside fences until the presence of our approaching car inspired them to seek refuge in the adjacent fields.
We parked the car (not in a passing place!) and walked down to the shore of Loch Striven to watch the gannets diving into the water.  This was hugely impressive.
The birds glide 30 meters or so above the water, circling, looking for fish.  Sighting prey the birds dive into the water at speeds of up to 100km per hour!  When they hit the water there is quite a bang and shortly afterwards, if they have been lucky the bird emerge with a fish waggling in its beak.

We watched this fishing frenzy for quite some time enjoying the remoteness of the Loch.
The road down which we had been travelling is a dead end so we made our way back to Dunoon - stopping off at an excellent old time sweet shop to purchase some in-car treats for the next part of our journey.
From Dunoon we took the A885 north.  I think we would have preferred to follow the coastal route (A815) past the ferry terminal and the village of Kirn.  However, the A885 soon joined the A815 and we continued our journey north with the Holy Loch on our right.
At the head of the Holy Loch we had the option of continuing north on the relatively faster A815 but instead we turned right onto the A880 and followed the coastline round to the south end of Loch Long, through Otterburn, Blairmore and then Ardentinny.

We left Loch Long after Ardentinny and made our way up  an impressively steep narrow road took us over a high pass with a long descent to join the A815 on the shore of Loch Eck. 
From there it was a short time on this much wider road until we arrived at the settlement of Struchur on the shore of Loch Fyne.
As we continued north along the bank of Loch Fyne we could see the attractive white historic buildings of Inveraray, glistening in the sun across the water on the opposite shore.
Just by Ardnoe we took a right hand turning onto a single track road signposted Lochgoilhead B839.  This took us up another steep pass with terrific views and then through woodland until we descended to the village of Lochgoilhead.
This area of Scotland among others is a strong-hold of the red squirrel and their proliferation here has necessitated a sign requesting motorists to keep an eye out and not run over these beautiful creatures.
Lochgoilhead has, since I last visited in the 1970's is largely unchanged although the caravan / chalet park on the western shore, just outside the village has expanded.  Not surprisingly as Lochgoilhead is a popular outdoor sports centre and many in the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh have their holiday caravan / chalet here.
We drove down the western shore for 6.5km to view Carrick Castle, a 15th Century tower house.  This is the third building on this site, the first thought to be a Viking Fort and the second structure which is believed to have been built in the 12th Century was sacked by Robert the Bruce before passing into the hands of the Campbell Earls of Argyll in the mid 1368.  The present and third structure was built by the same Earls of Argyll and used as their southern stronghold.  Not untypically Mary Queen of Scots visited here in 1563.  After passing th Murrays of Dunmore the castle became a ruin and is now a private residence and undergoing restoration.

Back in Lochgoilhead we made a brief comfort break at the Lochgoilhead Hotel.  The smell of food here was amazing and the menu looked fantastic.  Had we had more time and had it been nearer mealtime we would have taken advantage of this cosy, welcoming establishment's fayre.
Back on the road again we retraced our journey up the B839 to where it forks and from there took the B828 up to the pass at the famous Rest and Be Thankful.
This pass is approached by steep roads on all sides and the troops who built the roads under General Wade, upon completion in 1750 carved a stone with the words Rest and be Thankful, a sentiment inspired by the long climb to get there.
We stopped in the car park to take in the views and admire the Arrochar Alps - a range of mountains - to the west which include The Cobbler (Ben Arthur) so named because the rock formation at the summit is by some seen as the outline of a cobbler bending over his last.
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This hotel is unrecognisable from previous years.  It has been completely remodelled inside and is now warm, welcoming and friendly with excellent local beers on tap and fantastic food.  We look forward to making another visit there.
From Luss it was a short journey south along the A82 to join the A811 at the roundabout just outside Balloch.to take us home to Croftamie.
The whole journey took us about five hours including stops and took us to many interesting places off the beaten track including two hotels serving excellent food.