Day 20: Skipness, Mull of Kintyre to Rothesay, Isle of Bute

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021

24th January 2021: 105.42km walked today taking the total to 2133.02/8854km. 7.5% of 201 people's totals submitting 1405.64km.

Route 6A: Kennacraig to Callander

Now we head back east to Claonaig turning northwards on the Kintyre Way to Skipness Castle. The castle, its origins in the early 1300s, sits on Kilbrannan Sound overlooking Arran. The reason it was transformed into an increasingly fortified stronghold from the late 1200s was to protect the island from pillagers, a common issue at that time. The castle saw action several times and has been home to a few clans; Clan Campbell being the last and longest in situ. It was abandoned in the early 1700s and was then used as farm buildings for a time. It is said that the ‘Green Lady’ remains, to this day, haunting the ruins: A Highland spirit of a lady of title or the mistress of the house protecting it from attackers. We walk out to St Brendan’s Chapel nearby, a 13th-14th century medieval chapel, also known as Kilbrannan Chapel, before making our way back to the Skipness Seafood Cabin across the road from the castle. Literally a cabin next to Skipness House, we sample locally caught seafood, such as creel-caught langoustine and queen scallops. Skipness Smokehouse is in the area too, so smoked fish is also on the menu! On a dreich day, you can also grab a hot cuppa, a Jacobs Club biscuit and shelter in their coach house!

We leave Skipness to follow the Kintyre Way for 18 kilometres, along the Skipness River up through a narrow gorge until we reach the Skipness Caledonian Forest Reserve. Looking back from the highest point we can see across the Kilbrannan Sound to the mountains of Arran. We pass a cairn which was erected to celebrate the millennium before we start our descent into Tarbert.

Before reaching Tarbert itself, we visit Tarbert Castle which dates to the 13th century sitting high above the picturesque harbour. The castle guarded the anchorage below in the bay and controlled the land that lay between Tarbert’s East and West Lochs. It was, in its time, an exceptionally large castle, having been extended by Robert the Bruce in 1325 to occupy over 2 acres. In 1494 King James IV repaired the castle and built a tower house. He provided artillery and garrisoned the castle, so he had a strong base for his campaign to break the power of the Lords of the Isles. By the early part of the 18th century the castle was a ruin and much of the stone was used for local building projects including the harbour. Today the castle is a ruin with the best-preserved part being the tower house built by King James IV.

There is more than one place called Tarbert in Scotland and all are characterised by a narrow strip of land or isthmus. This can be where two lochs meet or where there is a causeway out to an island. In this case, Tarbert is situated on East Loch Tarbert, but West Loch Tarbert lies only about a mile away. This was a portage route enabling goods and supplies to be moved across the peninsula from East Loch Tarbert, part of Loch Fyne, to West Loch Tarbert, from where they could be shipped to the Inner Hebrides. Each year Tarbert celebrates the Loch Fyne Viking Festival where, as part of the festival, volunteers pull a full-size replica of a Viking longship from the West Loch to the East Loch along this old portage route. Tarbert, as it is now, developed during the 19th century when the engineer Thomas Telford improved the harbour and fishing became the major industry.

Having taken in a view of the town and harbour, we take the ferry, introduced in 1994, from Tarbert to Portavadie. Prior to this ferry being introduced, any drivers wanting to get from the Mull of Kintyre to the Cowal Peninsula, or vice versa, had to drive nearly 129 kilometres around the top of Loch Fyne.

Portavadie was developed in the 1970s to build concrete oil rigs. However, no oil rigs were ever built here as steel oil rigs were introduced and were cheaper to build. A village to house the workers was also built, called Polphail, but was never inhabited (except for bats) and was recently demolished. The enclosed port was redeveloped as a 5-star resort and marina which opened in 2010. Portavadie marks the start of the Cowal Way which we will follow with some detours to its end at Inveruglas on Loch Lomond.

Leaving Portavadie we soon pass Loch Ascog where we find the ruins of Castle Ascog, a stronghold of the Clan Lamont until it was destroyed by the Campbells in 1646. We continue and soon reach the village of Millhouse where there used to be gunpowder works. Near here there is a memorial recording the names of 16 workers who were killed in gunpowder explosions at the factory; it is topped by the bell which was rung to start the working day. Beneath the memorial is a cannon that was used to test the strength of the gunpowder.

At this point, we leave the Cowal Way to walk around the Ardlamont Estate. There is a beautiful beach at Ostel Bay, with views across to Arran which is reached by a path beside Kilbride farm. Following the single-track road, we reach the Ardlamont Estate. After the destruction of Toward Castle and Ascog Castle by the Campbells in 1646 this became the principal residence of the Lamonts of Lamont. Ardlamont House is an impressive Georgian building with the oldest parts of the house dating from the 15th century but was significantly altered in 1819 by Major General John Lamont, 19th chief of the Lamonts. The last Lamont to live in the house was the 21st chief, John Henry Lamont of Lamont, who emigrated to Australia in 1893. It was also in 1893, prior to it being sold, that the famous Ardlamont murder took place. This was classed as one of the 19th century's most famous death riddles and enthralled newspaper readers around the world. Three men, Hambrough, Monson and Scott, went hunting on the Ardlamont estate and one, Hambrough, a young aristocrat, was shot and killed. It was originally thought to have been an accident until it was found that Hambrough had taken out a life insurance policy 6 days before he died benefitting Monson’s wife. Monson was put on trial for the murder, but a ‘not proven’ verdict was given, and the murder was never solved.

After leaving the house there is a path down to Ardlamont Point, a private beach with views across to Arran. Continuing around the coast we pass Carry Farm where Tighnabruaich Sailing School is situated, before reaching Blairs Ferry. From here we head back onto the Cowal Way to go above the Kyles of Bute Golf Course with fantastic views across to Tighnabruaich before heading into Kames. It was from a pier at Kames that the gunpowder produced in Millhouse was exported between 1839 and 1921. Large ships would anchor off shore and smaller boats would ferry the gunpowder barrels out from the pier. The other pier in Kames was a steamer pier.

In Kames we turn left and head down the hill past the Kyles Athletic Shinty Club. The club was founded in 1896 as Kyles Athletic Football and Shinty Club, formed in the same year as the first Camanachd Cup was competed for, the premier competition in the sport of shinty. It is one of the best known Shinty Clubs in Scotland and has won the Camanachd Cup many times.

The Cowal Way takes us through Auchenlochan, past palm trees growing along the shore, before reaching Tighnabruaich itself. Tighnabruaich is a Gaelic name, an adaption of ‘Taigh na Bruaich’ meaning ‘the house on the hill’, which is an apt name given that the houses are along a steep strip of coast. It developed when the pier was built, and tourism developed with the introduction of steamers in the 19th century hence the number of Victorian villas we will pass. Passing through Tighnabruaich village there are a few places for us to stop for lunch or coffee and cake, before we reach the lifeboat station which has been here for over 40 years. As we walk along the shore, we pass lots of small yachts anchored offshore before reaching the pier. The current pier was built in 1885 and is where the paddle steamer, Waverley, stops during the summer months. Although there is only the Waverley which sails around the Clyde today, there used to be many steamers which took Glaswegians on their holidays to the resort towns of the Clyde such as Tighnabruaich, Rothesay and Dunoon; it was referred to as going ‘Doon the Watter’. It is thought that the term ‘steaming’, meaning drunk, originated from this time, and referred to people who had enjoyed a little too much to drink on the steamboats. From the pier we can also take a trip on the MV Morag, a refurbished fishing boat, where we can just take in the views of the Kyles of Bute as well as local wildlife such as seals, porpoises, and sea birds, or try fishing for the likes of mackerel, pollock and cod.

Moving on we pass through Rhubaan, where the road changes to a track and we follow it inland past a waterfall to arrive back on the shore where there is a small white lighthouse in the bay and Eilean Dubh (Black Island) just behind it. This estate lighthouse dates to 1888 and marks the entrance to a fabulous small harbour used for training in World War 2, when Glen Caladh Castle (demolished in 1960) was used as a training establishment by Combined Operations and was designated HMS James Cook.

After leaving Caladh we keep on the Cowal Way until we pass Ormidale House. Although we have followed the Cowal Way, above us is the main road to Tighnabruaich, the A8003, which was built in the 1960s and is still called the ‘New Road’ almost 60 years later. From this road there is a fantastic viewpoint, looking over the Kyles of Bute and the Burnt Islands, with the mainland to the east and the Island of Bute to the west.

After Ormidale House we join the A8003 and follow it for about 3.5 km before turning onto a track by Waulkmill Cottage. Reaching a minor road, we turn right over a packhorse bridge, built by Thomas Telford, before returning to the A8003. We turn left and follow this road until we reach the Clachan of Glendaruel. Here we find Kilmodan Church which dates to 1783 and is worth visiting for its Georgian design; the T shape of the building is only found in Scotland. In a small building, alongside the church, we find 14th and 15th-century gravestones carved by craftsmen who travelled a wide area to find work. The carvings include scrolls, images of unicorns, dogs, a priest, and a lady with her beads.

At Glendaruel we leave the Cowal Way and head south to catch the ferry at Colintraive to visit the Isle of Bute. This 5-minute ferry ride takes us to Rhubodach on Bute. The West Island Way leads us up the hillside through forestry before skirting the highest point of Bute, Windy Hill. We pass east of Kames Hill and Edinbeg Hill before we see Port Bannatyne below us and head down towards it.

Before reaching Port Bannatyne we pass Kames Castle which is now privately owned. The lands around Kames were granted to the Bannatyne family by Robert The Bruce in the 14th century, although the present castle, a tower house, is thought to have been built in the 16th century. The last of the Bannatyne family to own it was Sir William Macleod Bannatyne who built a mansion adjoining the tower house and laid out the walled garden in the late 18th and early 19th century. In 1863 it became part of the Marquess of Bute’s estate and the mansion was demolished and replaced with cottages set around a courtyard.

As we continue round Kames Bay, we reach Port Bannatyne which was originally called Kamesburgh. Its name was changed to Port Bannatyne, when the Marquess of Bute bought the castle and land around it, to reflect the area’s long association with the Bannatyne family. The small harbour, Old Quay, was built in 1801 and today is a 100-berth marina which opened in 2009. As we walk along the coast through the village, we pass the skeletal remains of the old wooden pier, built in 1857 for the Clyde steamers which called regularly during the latter part of the 19th century. This was also where the Tramway ran to Ettrick Bay, the most popular beach on Bute, which we will visit later. The Tramway started as a horse-drawn tram service from Rothesay to Port Bannatyne but was extended in 1905 to Ettrick Bay when it was also electrified; it closed in 1936 when the trams were replaced by buses.

Continuing along the coastal road we pass Ardbeg before reaching Rothesay, the main town on Bute. Although the town was originally built around the 13th century castle it greatly expanded during the Victorian era when Glasgow residents came on holiday to the island by steamer.

The heir to the British throne is known in Scotland as the Duke of Rothesay. This was begun by King Robert III, who regularly lived at Rothesay Castle and granted the first Duke of Rothesay title to his son David in 1398. At that time Rothesay was the name used for the island and the town was known as Bute-town. From that time the title was always given to the heir to the Scottish throne and, after the Union of the Crowns in 1603, it became the name for the heir to the British throne: the current Duke of Rothesay is Prince Charles.

As we walk along the coast past Victorian houses, we reach the Winter Gardens and the refurbished Isle of Bute Discovery Centre. This is a unique 1920s circular building, made of cast iron and glass, now containing a cinema, theatre, and many interactive displays.

Passing through the gardens we make our way to the very impressive gents’ Victorian public toilets near the ferry terminal. A visit to these toilets is not to be missed; the attendant will make sure there are no men using the facilities as we do! The interior walls of the gents’ toilets are completely clad in ornately patterned decorative ceramic tiles and the floors are designed in ceramic mosaic. All the original fitments, apart from the cisterns, are as they were supplied in 1899. The ladies’ toilets date from 1994 and are certainly not as opulent as the gents! Turning past the ferry terminal where ferries leave for Wemyss Bay, a 35-minute ferry ride away, we head up the High Street to visit Rothesay Castle.

Rothesay Castle is one of the best-preserved early stone castles in Scotland which dates to the early 13th century and is unique for its unusual circular curtain wall. It is also surrounded by a moat, which at one time was connected to the sea when the shoreline was closer to the north-east of the castle than it is today. The castle was built by the Stewart family, when they were hereditary high stewards in Scotland, to defend against Viking invasion. This didn’t stop the Kings of Norway besieging it twice though, in 1230 and 1263. After the siege in 1263 and the Vikings had retreated after the Battle of Largs, the 4 projecting towers were added to the huge circular curtain wall to prevent it falling into enemy hands again. It was occupied by Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence then from 1371, when the throne passed to Robert Stewart, 7th High Steward and the first monarch of the Stewart (Stuart) dynasty, it became one of the main royal residences. In the 15th century James IV and James V carried out major works to the castle, adding the gatehouse and St Michael’s Chapel. In the early 1650s Oliver Cromwell garrisoned Rothesay Castle and on their departure in 1660 the troops partially dismantled it. It was then further damaged by supporters of Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, during his 1685 rising against James VII. Restoration of the castle was undertaken by the 3rd Marquess of Bute between 1872 and 1879 then, in 1951, the castle was placed in the hands of the state and now cared for by Historic Environment Scotland.

Across the road from the castle is the Old Mansion House which was the residence of the Crichton-Stuarts, Marquesses of Bute, before they built Mount Stuart which we will be visiting later. This house was built in the 17th century and is the oldest dwelling in Bute. From here we visit Bute Museum to explore the natural and historical heritage of the island.

From the museum we take one of the Bute network paths up beside the Serpentine. This road is less than 1km in length but has 14 hairpin bends climbing up to the summit of Canada Hill: also, a challenging but popular cycle route. We then head back down to the coast at Montford and head south to Ascog. After passing Ascog Bay we reach the Ascog Hall Fernery and Gardens. The highlight of a visit here is to the Victorian Fernery which, as its name suggests, houses many fern species including a 1,000-year-old King Fern.