An Autumn Drive to Mid Argyll

I recently took advantage of some glorious autumn sunshine to show some visitors the beauty of the surrounding area.  We followed the B845 through Kilchrenan, along the edge of Loch Awe and down to Kilmartin for lunch.  After a walk to stretch our legs, we returned to Taynuilt via the A816 to Oban and the A85, in a loop that takes just over two hours to drive.

It was the perfect day to soak up the spectacular Oban and mid-Argyll scenery, with a landscape cloaked in blue skies and radiating the last of autumn's fiery shades.

We left the chalet park basking under the blue skies and frost carpeting the ground.  From Taynuilt we took a right onto the B845 (signposted Kilchrenan), which takes you past the Glen Nant Nature Reserve.  The landscape then opened up, with sweeping views across a rugged landscape, wisps of cloud entangled in the hills. 

Shortly after driving through picturesque Kilchrenan we had our first view looking back towards Loch Awe, backed by mountains.  It was a truly breathtaking sight.

The road continues alongside the loch, with lovely scenery of both the loch and the autumnal forests as you wind south.

When we reached the A816 we headed to Kilmartin.  The Kilmartin House Museum and Cafe is a wonderful place for lunch if you're in the area.  There is seating downstairs that looks out onto the surrounding fields and the Glebe Cairn, and cosy seating upstairs where you can access Wi-Fi.  There is even a yurt near the entrance of the cafe with outside seating, decorated with bunting.  We enjoyed the soup and delicious foccacia sandwiches - but I wish I'd left room for some of their home-baking!

Kilmartin Glen is dotted with ancient monuments and is a fascinating place to explore.  You can pick up a map detailing the historic sites from the shop at the cafe (where you also pay if you want to visit the Kilmartin Museum).  We drank in the afternoon sun whilst looking at the Nether Largie Standing Stones and Temple Wood stones.

We left the atmospheric landscape behind and drove north towards Oban, admiring the views of Loch Melfort, shining like a piece of glass.   Just past the dam at Kilmelford the trees reflected in the still water in a splash of brilliant yellow.

Although now coming to the end of autumn's beautiful displays, the palette of Argyll is still captivating: rusty browns, the last glow of yellow, the silver of bare trees streaking the green.

Before long we were in Oban, its bay sparkling in the last of the day's light.  On the last stretch between Connel and Taynuilt the sight of a full moon reflecting in Loch Etive was the perfect way to end the day.