Must-see attractions in Southern Highlands & Islands

  • Mount Stuart

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    The family seat of the Stuart Earls of Bute is one of Britain's more magnificent 19th-century stately homes, the first to have a telephone, underfloor…

  • Kilchurn Castle

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    At the northern end of Loch Awe are the scenic ruins of the strategically situated and much-photographed Kilchurn Castle. Built in 1440, it enjoys one of…

  • Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park

    Loch Lomond

    Two areas of great natural beauty, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, became the heart of Scotland's first national park, created in 2002. The park extends…

  • Oronsay Priory

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    If the tide is right, don't miss walking across the half-mile of cockleshell-strewn sand linking Colonsay to smaller Oronsay. Here you can explore the…

  • Bonawe Iron Furnace

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    Bonawe Iron Furnace is one of the region’s most unusual historical sights. Near Taynuilt (not Bonawe), and dating from 1753, it was built by an iron…

  • Kilmartin House Museum

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    This museum, in Kilmartin village, is a fascinating interpretive centre that provides a context for the ancient monuments you can go on to explore,…

  • Castle Stalker

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    One of Scotland's most spectacularly sited castles, Castle Stalker perches on a tiny offshore island – Monty Python buffs will recognise it as the castle…

  • Springbank

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    There were once no fewer than 32 distilleries around Campbeltown, but most closed in the 1920s. Today this is one of only three still in operation. It is…

  • Achamore Gardens

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    Subtropical plants thrive in Gigha's Achamore Gardens, the island's principal sight. Rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas take advantage of the…

  • Rothesay Castle

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    The splendid, ruined 13th-century Rothesay Castle, with seagulls and jackdaws nesting in the walls, was once a favourite residence of the Stuart kings. It…

  • Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    Located 10 miles north of Oban on the shores of Loch Creran, Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary provides a haven for orphaned seal pups. As well as seal pools,…

  • Dunadd Fort

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    This hill fort, 3.5 miles south of Kilmartin village, was the seat of power of the first kings of Dál Riata, and may have been where the Stone of Destiny…

  • Mull of Kintyre

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    A narrow winding road, 15 miles long, leads south from Campbeltown to the Mull of Kintyre, passing good sandy beaches near Southend. This remote headland…

  • Lismore Gaelic Heritage Centre

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    This centre houses a fascinating exhibition on Lismore’s history and culture; alongside stands a reconstruction of a crofter’s cottage. It's in the middle…

  • Skipness Castle

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    Beyond Skipness village rise the substantial remains of 13th-century Skipness Castle, a former possession of the Lords of the Isles. It’s a striking…

  • Dunollie Castle

    Oban

    A pleasant 1-mile stroll north along the coast road leads to Dunollie Castle, built by the MacDougalls of Lorn in the 13th century and unsuccessfully…

  • Dunstaffnage Castle

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    Dunstaffnage, 2 miles west of Connel, looks like a child’s drawing of what a castle should be – square and massive, with towers at the corners, and…

  • Benmore Botanic Garden

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    This garden, 7 miles north of Dunoon, contains Scotland's finest collection of flowering trees and shrubs, including impressive displays of rhododendrons…

  • Inveraray Castle

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    This visually stunning castle on the north side of town has been the seat of the Dukes of Argyll – chiefs of Clan Campbell – since the 15th century. The…

  • Inveraray Jail

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    At this entertaining interactive tourist attraction you can sit in on a trial, try out a cell and discover the harsh tortures that were meted out to…

  • Fyne Ales

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    The friendly folk here do a great range of craft beers in this attractive modern brewery off the A83 9 miles northeast of Inveraray. There's a lovely bar…

  • Falls of Lora

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    At Connel Bridge, 5 miles north of Oban, the loch joins the sea via a narrow channel partly blocked by an underwater rock ledge. When the tide flows in…

  • Cruachan Power Station

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    In the Pass of Brander, by the A85, you can visit this power station. Electric buses take you more than half a mile inside Ben Cruachan, allowing you to…

  • Oban Distillery

    Oban

    This handsome distillery has been in operation since 1794. The standard guided tour leaves regularly (worth booking) and includes a dram, a take-home…

  • Victorian Toilets

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    Dating from 1899, these toilets are a monument to lavatorial luxury − a disinfectant-scented temple of green and black marbled stoneware, glistening white…

  • Loch Lomond Sea Life

    Loch Lomond

    The centrepiece of Loch Lomond Shores is this aquarium, which has displays on the wildlife of Loch Lomond, an otter enclosure (housing short-clawed Asian…

  • Davaar Cave

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    A very unusual sight awaits in this cave on the southern side of Davaar island, at the mouth of Campbeltown Loch. On the wall of the cave is an eerie…

  • Kintyre Gin

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    Set in a former piggery on the Torrisdale Castle estate, this new distillery on the eastern side of Kintyre has been turning heads in the spirit world,…

  • Bute Museum

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    The most interesting displays in this museum behind Rothesay Castle are those recounting the history of the famous Clyde steamers. Other galleries cover…

  • Colonsay House Gardens

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    Situated at Colonsay House, 1.5 miles north of Scalasaig, these gardens are tucked in an unexpected fold of the landscape and are famous for their…

  • Isle of Jura Distillery

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    There aren't a whole lot of indoor attractions on the island of Jura apart from visiting the Isle of Jura Distillery. The standard tour runs twice a day,…

  • McCaig’s Tower

    Oban

    Crowning the hill above town is this Colosseum-like Victorian folly, commissioned in 1890 by local worthy John Stuart McCaig, with the philanthropic…

  • Heart of Argyll Wildlife Organisation

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    This nature centre near the Knapdale beaver project has regular wildlife walks and events; check the website. Drop by the centre for advice on wildlife…

  • Kilmartin Churchyard

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    Kilmartin Churchyard contains medieval grave slabs with carved effigies of knights, swords, shears and hunting scenes. They date across various centuries…

  • Campbeltown Museum & Memorial Garden

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    This museum in the noble library building has a few interesting archaeological artefacts from various periods of history, and canvases by William…

  • Lussa Gin

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    At the northern end of Jura island, three local women have set up this distillery in the former stables of the Ardlussa estate. It produces gin that's…

  • Oban War & Peace Museum

    Oban

    Military buffs will enjoy the little Oban War and Peace Museum, which chronicles Oban’s role in WWII as a base for Catalina seaplanes and as a marshalling…

  • St Blane's Chapel

    Southern Highlands & Islands

    At the southern end of Bute island, the picturesque ruins of this 12th-century chapel can be found a 10-minute uphill walk from the road. A holy place…

  • Maid of the Loch

    Loch Lomond

    The vintage paddle steamer Maid of the Loch, built in 1953, is moored at Loch Lomond Shores while awaiting full restoration – you can nip aboard for a…

  • Loch Lomond Shores

    Loch Lomond

    Loch Lomond Shores, a major tourism development situated a half-mile north of Balloch, sports various visitor attractions, outdoor activities and boat…