Loch Fyne and Crinan - part two

For a very short break, we seemed to pack a lot into our time away, so, as a follow-on to part one, here's part two of our stay in Argyll :)














We stayed in a cottage (found through AirBnB) in the village of Minard, on Loch Fyne, (above) just down the road from the National Trust for Scotland's Crarae Garden, which I very much wanted to visit while we were staying so close by.













It's not a formal, flower-bed sort of garden, and doesn't feel planned and designed, but it is.












A steep-sided Scottish glen has been transformed resemble a Himalayan valley.with paths wandering back and forth across the burn as it cascades down the hillside.













































There are rhododendrons, eucalyptus trees, bamboo, and Japanese maples, but everything seems so completely at home in this setting that it's hard to remember that most of these plants and trees aren't native.

We'd fortunately stumbled on one of those wonderful sunny West Highland days when the sea lochs reflect the blue of the sky. and the scene from the viewpoint was breath-taking.

It's not a long walk round but it was certainly the hilliest of the weekend, so cake was needed before we left. This delicious slice was the last of a courgette and avocado cake - not something I've tried before, but definitely would again.

It was onwards then, down a wriggly road beside Caol Scotnish, one of those fingers of sea that cuts deeply into the land round here, to the village of Tayvallich. There are lots of forest walks around here but we weren't really equipped for them, so headed just south of the village to Taynish Nature Reserve.








Here there's again a variety of walks but we chose the shortest - to Taynish Mill and back - and discovered it to be the site of a series of outdoor art installations.



































































The mill itself is now a ruin, but the burn which once fed its machinery falls prettily down rocks, and not much further on the path reaches the sea - Loch Sween this time

I didn't manage to photograph dragonflies on our walk the previous day at Loch Barnluasgan, but on the return to the car at Taynish we spotted several sunning themselves on a bench.

We definitely didn't have time to see and do all we wanted to, but these few days have got me back into the mood of holidaying, and spending time away from home. Next year I'm sure we'll be back for longer