Without a Car In Oban

Many of our guests enjoy being able to leave the car behind and get outside more. We would like to encourage this as much as possible, and you will find there are plenty of things to do without taking a car as well. Unfortunately public transport is not as good as it could be, and changes in timetables of buses occur ‘whenever’.

For anyone arriving without a car we are happy to pick you up from the train station or the bus station in Taynuilt. It’s less than 1 mile to our house, but carrying your luggage isn’t always fun.

Our village shop, Graham’s the grocer, can deliver before you arrive. Just ring them up 01866 822 248 to order, and you pay when you’re here. When you shop while you are in Taynuilt they will drop your shopping off at our house for free. They have a very wide selection of foods, lots of organic groceries, and they’re extremely friendly. The shop manager is called Ian Campbell. Tesco’s will also deliver to Bonawe House.

Also we will provide towels free of charge to anyone coming without a car.

Trains – rail bookings and seat reservation – 08457 550 033 www.thetrainline.co.uk

Cycles are free anywhere on the rail network, but you have to book a place. You can also make a seat reservation on this tel. no, even if you haven’t bought a ticket yet. From Taynuilt you buy your ticket on the train (there is no ticket office)

You can hire bikes locally. They are dropped off before you come and picked up when you leave. These are good quality mountain bikes, contact Nick Charlton at RCS cycles on 07791 974 152 or nick@rcscycles.co.uk . We have an under cover area where you can leave the bikes.

Ideas:

Enjoy our gardens, the Bonawe Iron Furnace (2 mins from the house), a walk around the lade, and Kelly’s pier where the iron oar used to land. A historic day, taking in the industry as it was 250 years ago.
Walk to Inverawe Fisheries, tearoom and delicatessen. You could even take fishing lessons, or just wonder round the nature trails.
Walk to the viewpoint beyond the Inverawe fisheries. Delight in the views to Mull and up Loch Etive to the mountains of Glen Coe.
Walk along the landrover track up the side of Loch Etive, which is blocked off to cars.
Walk to Airds Bay along the beaches, and back via Taynuilt village and the Robin’s nest tearoom.
Take the train to Oban for a wander around the lovely fishing town.
If you like cycling, hire a bike from Taynuilt cycles. Cycle up Glen Lonan, the back road to Oban. Visit Barguilliean Gardens. Picnic along the rivers in this hanging valley. Whizz down the hill into Oban, and take your bike back on the train.
Take the 09.20 train to Lochawe in the morning, depending on fitness either walk over Ben Cruachan back to our house, or walk over Glen Noe (still quite demanding). Or walk up the dam road, and either back the same way, or down along the river to the trainstation ‘Falls of Cruachan’. This is a request stop and is only open from May until September.
Take the bus or train to Oban in the morning, then walk south to Gallanach (or take a bus). Take the ferry across to the island Kerrera, where you can walk all round the island or just to Gylen castle, the exquisite tea graden, and back. Keep a good eye on the time. You can also take a ferry to the north end from Oban, which leaves from the jetty below North Pier (with the 2 red roofed restaurants).
Take the train to Oban. Catch the ferry to Mull. Get a bus to Duart Castle, or take the bus to Tobermory for a day at this scenic fishing village.
A day to Glasgow by train.
Have a night in pub at the Taynuilt Hotel, or relax and watch that classic film you’ve always wanted to see from our DVD collection.
Enjoy our books in reception, or ask to borrow some of our own books. We have an extensive selection of books from: Nigel Tranter, John Prebble, Patrick O’Brian, C.S. Forester, George Fraser, Philip Pullman, J.K. Rowling.
Take up sketching or painting. We have several books in reception on getting you started. Taynuilt post office sells supplies of pencils and paper to start you going.
Bird watching with some binoculars is always exciting around here.
Paddle or swim in Loch Etive. Our children swim frequently from the pier with their wetsuits on.

A sample of Books in reception:

Night falls on Ardnamurchan – Alasdair MacLean
The story of Scotland – Nigel Tranter
The Hydro Boys – Emma Wood
The Dam Builders – Power from the glens – James Miller
Glencoe – John Prebble
Argyll Castles in the care of Historic Scotland (beyond the souvenir guides)
Kilmartin – Scotland’s riches prehstoruc landscape
Argyll the enduring heartland – Marion Campbell
Kerrera. Mirror of history – Hope MacDougall
Ferry Tales of Argyll and the Isles – Walter Weyndling
The Celtic Image – Courtney Davis
Islay – Norman Newton
Scottish Place names – George Mackay
The High Mountains Companion – Irvine Butterfield
The isle of Iona – Alastair de Watteville
Natural History in the Highlands and Islands – F Fraser Darling
The Glens of Argyll – a guide for walkers and mountainbikers
Heading for the Scottish Hills – The mountaineering Council of Scotland
The Scottish Enlightenment – The Scots invention of the modern world – Arthur Herman
Robert Burns – Geddes & Grosset
Para Handy – Neil Munro
Scottish Hill and Mountain Names – Peter Drummond
Scotland, A new history – Michael Lynch
Island Britain – Peter Crookson
The Munros – Scottish Mountaineering Council
Flora Celtica
Running High – Hugh Symmonds
Mountaineering in Scotland – Undiscovered Scotland
Glencoe
Bare Feet and Tackety Boos – A boyhood on the isle of Rhum
Self Sufficiency – John Seymour
Gaia – James Lovelock
Woodland Walks – David Bellamy
The wildlife of Mountains and Woodlands
Painting Landscapes
Rolf on Art – Rolf Harris
The Woodland House – Ben Law – From Grand Designs

Booklets in reception

Historic Argyll 2007 – Lorn archaeological and Historical Society
Bonawe Iron Furnace – Historic Scotland
A History of Kilchrenan and Dalavich
Dunstaffnage and the Castles of Argyll – Historic Scotland
Glen Nant Nature Reserve – the reserve story – Forestry Commission
Walking in South Lorn – Oban, Craignish and adjacent islands. No 3.
Walking in North Lorn – Oban, Lismore, Ballachulish. No 4
A short history of Benderloch, Barcaldine, Bonawe, Ardchattan and Glen Etive