Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 10 on 5/9/2003.

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First great homes of the Scots (Argyll)

DOMINIC ROSKROW LOOKS AT HOW THE STUNNING REGION OF ARGYLL AND THE ISLES HAS PLAYED A ROLE IN MODERN SCOTLAND’S DEVELOPMENT

In a country blessed with more than its fair share of natural beauty, the region that makes up Argyll and its Isles is, to many, the jewel in the crown.

Characterised by lochs, sea and mountains, Argyll has a timelessness and variety about it that makes it like no other part of Scotland. And that sheer diversity, breath-taking as it so often is, makes it difficult to categorise.

It is made up of complicated sea passages, a swathe of islands and fjord-like landscapes where the sea and mountains meet. Most of the mainland of Argyll is above the line that defines where the Highlands start but Argyll is easily reached from the lowland areas close by.

It is an area bound mainly by the fact that you’re best travelling through it with time on your hands. And it what other way would you want to approach a region so rich in beauty?

The diversity of the area has another effect, too – it gives the area a lack of focus. At times the scenery is such that you could be sailing in Norway, in others you could be in the Alps. But despite this lack of a definite regional character, Argyll has had a major part to play in history, from the earliest years to the present.

Argyll and the Isles is made up of the western mass of land stretching up to Glencoe in the North and down as far as Bute and Kintyre. It includes the whisky isles of Islay and Jura as well as Mull, Iona, Tiree, Coll, Colonsay and Gigha.

Inverary, situated on the mighty sea loch Loch Fyne is at its heart, Oban is the gatewa.....

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By Dominic Roskrow

Section : Regional Focus

Page number : 46