Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 31 on 16/02/2007.

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The best of three worlds (Argyll)

Argyll has something for everyone, offering visitors a taste of the very best of Scotland. Dominic Roskrow reports

If you’re of the view that Scotland is actually three countries in one – The Lowlands, The Highlands and The Islands – then Argyll should hold a special place in your affections because it offers a taste of all three.

Stretching up from the Lowland region round Glasgow to the rough and ready Highland territory that includes the rugged beauty of sea ports such as Oban and passing some of Scotland’s best-loved Western isles on the way, Argyll is a constant revelation.

Geographically it’s a challenging and dramatic region, its borders seemingly torn from the mainland to form a group of interconnecting islands and peninsulas. Its rocks, inlets and crannies are loaded with history, and not all of it stretching back to the Romantic centuries of old. Indeed, its older history is etched with suffering and hardship, but you can recall a more recent past, too, when the great Clyde steamers made Glasgow second to none in the world and wealth poured in to the west coast and its residents made Argyll part of their recreational base.

In particular isles such as Bute and towns such as Rothesay stand testament to a working people’s past and Argyll’s lochs and canals are hark back to the great days of steam, when Scotland’s west coast was at the forefront of the industrial world.

Argyll is actually Scotland’s second biggest county but it is a fragmented one, and to tour it extensively requires considerable investment in time and effort.

But it is worth it. In the south of the region is C.....

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By Dominic Roskrow

Section : Regional Focus

Page number : 31