Argyll

Over the next nine days, I’m hiking round Kintyre before sailing to the tiny Isle of Gigha, my first Hebridean island and then to Islay in search of golden eagles. I’d like to follow the 100-mile Kintyre Way, zig-zagging across […]

A glorious morning to explore a rainforest. A small group of people wait for the ferry to Portavadie. One man has a backpack, which leads to chatting on the open deck. Stuart is also walking the Cowal Way, skipping the

It rained all night and mist lies on the hills. There’s the consolation of warm boots and clothes from the drying room. Last night, I entered the campsite through a tiny gate in the trees. Leaving via the main entrance,

My sleeping pad slides down the slope and I slip off the pad — again. It’s past midnight, but I’m startled to see the lake so clearly, bathed in moonlight, the stars piercing bright. A moment to enjoy with a

The Cowal Way — shrewdly renamed in 2018 as The Loch Lomond and Cowal Way — runs for 57 miles from Inveruglas on Loch Lomond, through my tent pitched at the five-mile marker, southwest across the Cowal Peninsula, to Portavadie

The road to Gourock Ferry Terminal is grey and wet. I’m the only passenger and spend the short journey across the Firth of Clyde answering questions about my hiking gear from one of the crew who is keen to start