The Loch Dunvegan at Colintraive

Mon 13th
A day of bright spells and heavy squally showers of rain, sleet, and hailstones. We decided that being in the car for part of the day wouldn't be a bad thing. From the cottage we headed off through Kames and took the Loch Striven road across towards Dunoon. We hadn't used this particular road before. Spectacular scenery of loch, glen, and mountains.

At the end of the road we turned left and went along the other side of the Holy Loch. We had taken this road two years ago and found a nice little tea room with a gallery in Blairmore, however it turned out not to open until Wednesday ! We sat for a while in the car and looked over Loch Long to Cove and Kilcreggan and out into the Clyde Estuary and across to Gourock and Greenock. We could see the Western Ferries boats crossing to and fro and some other ships on the river. Then a squall would blow in and we couldn't see across the water.

Back the way we came for a mile or two to Kilmun and the Bistro/coffee shop there was closed too. Tourism Scotland appears to be closed in this part of the world on a Monday.
We drove into Dunoon and the rain came on particularly heavily. We decided to go to the supermarket and get a few groceries and get sandwiches for lunch. On the way into Dunoon we had spotted a good viewpoint at Kirn so we went back there and parked facing the water and had lunch with views over the Holy Loch and the Clyde.

We drove back over the Loch Striven road and at the Loch Riddon end turned left and went to Colintraive. The car ferry goes from Colintraive across the narrow point of the Kyles of Bute to Rhubodach on Bute at the place the cattle were once swum across the water. We watched the ferry make the crossing, which takes it no more than a few minutes.

We were back at the cottage late afternoon and with a good fire going in the log burner we just dotted round for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We said hello to the lady from the cottage next to ours and she told us she and her husband were here from North Yorkshire for two weeks. We were able to tell her a few things about the area and point out the route to walk to the pebble beach through the estate which we hope to walk ourselves before the week is out.