The Sound of Jura

The forecast promised a nice day and it certainly looked that way when I took Maeve the Deerhound for her early morning walk along the bank of the Crinan Canal. We decided we would go to Tayvallich for the morning and drove the few miles there on the interesting single track roads that are often the last few miles of a journey to the coastal villages in the area of Knapdale. The bay at Tayvallich is always full of boats and yachts of all shapes and sizes and is a great place to spend and hour or two. There is also the added attraction of a walk across the narrow peninsula to Carsaig where there are spectacular views across to the island of Jura. When we got there in the late morning there were a group of people swimming in the sea near the jetty. They were having great fun, but were definitely feeling the chill when they came out and quickly dried off and changed into warm clothes. Just like the day we went to Carsaig in May the views to Jura were clear and spectacular and the water was very blue and taking some pictures a must.

We walked back over to Tayvallich for lunch in the coffee shop behind the small shop and Post Office with its outside deck looking over the bay. Dogs are allowed on the decking, but we popped Maeve back in the car and let her have a nap as we lunched. On the way back from Tayvallich we stopped at the Forestry Commission car park at Barnluasgan and had a walk round one of the forest trails that start there. We walked round the smaller of the two fresh water lochs enjoying the quietness, the colours of the trees, and the varieties of reeds with their reflections in the water.

Once back to the Crinan Canal we decided to go up to Kilmartin. When we got to Kilmartin Glen we stopped at the car park near the standing stones at the South end and had a walk round the stones. Hopefully the weather will allow us to go back and walk the length of the glen with Maeve. Then we had a visit to the coffee shop at the Kilmartin Museum and it was fun to sit at a table outside in the last of the afternoon sun with most of the staff popping out to see Maeve and make a fuss of her. All that was left to do today was to drive down to Lochgilphead to get something for dinner. As I type I am looking out the front window our holiday house and the sky is turning pink and red over the golden leaves of the trees and it is all reflecting on the water of the canal. It really feels as if we have had a whole holiday already ...