2025 Gathering
The excursions
A.Tighnabruach-Ardlamont House - Kilfinan Church-Otter Ferry-
The route follows the A815 from Dunoon through Sandbank and the Holy Loch on the right before turning westwards on to the B836 which takes us round the head of Loch Striven and on to join the A886 briefly before turning off on to the A8003 towards Tighnabruaich, pausing at the Loch Ruel viewpoint to take in the stunning views down Loch Ruel and the Kyles of Bute.
Passing through Tighnabruaich and its neighbour Kames, we take the route down the shore of the Kyles to Ardlamont House which became the seat of the Lamonts after the 1646 massacre. The current Ardlamont House was built in 1820 for the 19th Clan Chief, Major General John Lamont and has now evolved into stylish self-catering holiday apartments. As such, we are not able to view the interior of the house but will spend some time here enjoying a wander in the grounds.
Moving on, we make our way northward to the Loch Fyne side of Cowal to Kilfinan and a visit to the historic Kilfinan Church. The road home takes us to Otter Ferry on Loch Fyne and then eastwards back to Dunoon.
We start off on the same route as Excursion A, on the A815 from Dunoon through Sandbank and the Holy Loch on the right, turning westwards on to the B836 round the head of Loch Striven and on to join the A886. We stay, however, on this road, heading north towards Strachur through Clachan of Glendaruel. About 3 miles from Strachur, we cut back on the B8000 to Lachlan Bay for a walk past Castle Lachlan to Old Castle Lachlan and Kilmorie Chapel.
We return to the main road and carry on northwards to Strachur to visit the Old Smiddy, an 18th Century blacksmith's shop and take a walk round.
We journey directly back to Dunoon by the A815 along the eastern shore of Loch Eck
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We head north from Dunoon on the A815 along the banks of Loch Eck to the eastern shore of Loch Fyne where we are only about 5 miles from Auchindrain, our destination - as the seagull flies that is. But this is the west of Scotland where sea lochs cut fjord-like into the land adding miles to many a journey. We sit back and enjoy the scenery as we carry on up the eastern shore of Loch Fyne to its head before turning back down the other side to the picturesque town of Inveraray, We spend some time in the town before moving on to the main attraction of the day, the historic township of Auchindrain, the best preserved and most complete example of an original farm township. Such townships were not towns as we know them but small settlements of scattered houses where folk lived and worked an unforgiving land in a communal system of subsistence agriculture which lasted from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.
Latterly, major landowners such as the Duke of Argyll saw more profit in enterprises like sheep farming and the system moved resulting in the movement (sometimes forced) of many from their townships as the land was turned over to larger tenant farms. We are fortunate that Auchindrain has not only survived but has also been carefully preserved as a record of these former times.
The story of many of those who had to quit their homes is the story of emigration, the story of the Diaspora, the story of the many Scots scattered across the world.