I’m going to join Ton and four other guys on a bike tour to the western isles in September. It falls to me to find somewhere to stay on the last night in Lochgilphead. Nowt flash, tripadvisor lists a couple of hotels, are there any Indy hostels, barns, nice b&bs we should look at too? I don’t know that part of the world at all.

I suppose if we had some hammers and nails we could build somewhere pretty quickly.

gf and I stayed here, she liked it, so gf friendly if that helps ……

http://www.lamonthoy.co.uk/

brekkie involved watching a red squirrel stuffing himself about ayard away

how are you ending up in that empty godforsaken place?

the only place i know of nearby is the hotel in kilmartin. i have eaten in it (years ago) but never stayed there but when i’ve been by it, it’s always been busy

There is a lovely wee cottage somewhere my pal stayed in – Crinan House

Visitscotland have listings and graded properties too.

Tayviallach, Kilmartin for alterantives

Does it have to be Lochgilphead?, i went to high school there back in the 80’s as my mothers family are from the surrounding area, achnamara/castle sween/crinan which is a very nice bit of country to live in but Lochgilphead as a town is best passed through rather quickly, could you make your way to Crinan?, you could cycle all the way from Lochgilphead on the banks of the Crinan canal as it’s only 9 miles.

Crinan Hotel is rather nice but i would say that as my parents know the Ryans (owners) and my aunt works there as Restaurant manager, my cousin (emma) runs the Locks and basin on the Crinan canal and we used to stay there up on the hill overlooking the bay and Jura, lovely place and you’d be very well looked after. Not as dear as you’d expect either.

I’ve been to the Crinan Hotel before years and years ago and it was splendid. Good suggestions so far. I will get back to the big man with more route information and how many miles the guys are up for. I’d sooner stay somewhere nice for a few extra miles.

I holidayed as a kid in Lochgilphead, we had a caravan there.

I had cause to pass through there last year for the first time in over 20 odd years, I was staying at a rather more salubrious inn on the banks of Loch Fyne. I cant say the halcyon memories came flooding back. Its like the town that time forgot.

Do not stay there, nothing good will come of that.

Try Crinan for sure and if at all possible take in a meal at the Kilberry inn.

Enjoy (slightly jealous)

I’ve just done a search for our old house at Crinan and it’s still there but it’s now let out as holiday houses, I’d go back in a shot as i absolutely loved this place as a kid – we stayed here back in 83 to 86 and i didn’t want to leave 🙁 , climbing up on the hill behind the house and sitting there taking in the 360 dg panaramic view and building dens in the forest, heading down to the hotel and running through the rooms and playing in the underground cellar/smuggling section of the hotel, riding our bikes for miles n’ miles on the paths and forest roads, taking my mates wee boat out to Jura and surrounding area and risking it through the Gulf of Corryvrekan whirlpools, everyday was an adventure waiting to happen.

My old house, now holiday lets in Crinan

Somafunk, back in the late 70s a couple a couple of friends of our scout master who both had catamarans offered to take a group of Venture scouts for a long weekend sailing out your way.

The boats were moored at Ardfern and we sailed out through the straights of Corryvreckan, camping nearby on a beach. We hiked around to catch the whirlpool in the sunset. We took kayaks and windsurfers. We had lunch in Crinan. It was a brilliant trip. The weather was good, I couldn’t believe I was still in Scotland.

Yeah….the weather can be utterly fantastic at times in that area and there are many little hidden beaches and coves, funnily enough my lasting memories of the time i lived there are only tinged with bike rides in the sun and lounging about basking in the summer heat on top of Crinan hill before riding our bikes down to the Canal basin and getting free ice cream from a mates mothers shop – how come we only remember the endless summer days as kids? , we also spent an unhealthy amount of time in the Crinan Boat builders yard/chandlers shop…..if i close my eyes and concentrate i can remember the smell of varnish and planed oak decking….Sigh!…..Looking back i realise just how privileged and lucky i was to have all that on my doorstep, halcyon days eh? 8) . I “have” to go back this year with the bike as i’ve not been back up that way for 10 years. I can see a roadtrip being planned for my holidays this year.

somafunk, that house you used to live in looks amazing, really quite envious 😉

Yeah it was an amazing place to stay, the only reason we lived there was as my mum & dad knew Nick Ryan rather well (Crinan hotel owner) as he gave my mum her first job and my dad was a skipper on the fishing boats at the time (late 60’s early 70’s) from our home town of Kirkcudbright, he used to put into Crinan all the time and spend a small fortune in the bar and restaurant, that’s how he met my mum working in the Hotel. Apparently my dad and Nick used to have some seriously wild drinking sessions back in the day that still get talked about, I also remember a window in the hotel being pointed out and my mother embarrassed me by saying in front of my friends at the time, “see that window? – you were conceived in that room “….i was mortified – what a thing to say to a 13yr old teenage boy in front of his friends.

When we moved back up to the area when i was 11(ish) Nick offered us the house and i wish we had stayed there instead of moving after a few years up to Dalavich (Loch Awe), Crinan is a bit out of the way but i did appreciate it as a kid, i’d appreciate it a helluva lot more now though 😀 .

We honeymooned just down the road in ardrishaig, I think it was allt na craig. It was lovely but very quiet. Mind that’s thirteen years ago now.

You could look here: http://www.heartofargyll.com/ . The website has a listing of most accommodation providers in Lochgilphead and surrounding area.

soma, do you know the MacLennans from Lochgilphead? They all went to school there in the 80’s too.

peterfile – Member
soma, do you know the MacLennans from Lochgilphead? They all went to school there in the 80’s too

Yup i know/knew them all.

http://www.theargyllinn.co.uk/
http://www.thegreygull.co.uk/
http://www.cairnbaan.com/

A few to choose from buddy, i stay in the area so give me a shout if you want more info..

Yup i know/knew them all.

Ha! small world and all that.

peterfile – Member
Yup i know/knew them all.
Ha! small world and all that.

Ha very! How do you know them bud, related?

Murray and I have been really good mates since about 2000, we used to work together too. He used to tell me that most people in lochgilphead tended to spend their time fighting each other 🙂

Haha yeah it can be a bit like that sometimes.. He is back home now, next time I see him I will mention this small world convo on a mountain bike forum! Haha

Mcmoonter; give me a shout if you guys want some more info, lots of various b&b’s about the place too.