Argyll and Bute
Inverary -
Check out Inverary Castle, the seat of the Duke of Argyll, head honcho of the Campbell clan. The castle is in good shape, since it was rebuilt in the 18th century. Kids won't want to miss the Armoury Hall with scads of weapons, including pikes, claymores (they look like big swords), shields, cutlasses. Inverary town - At Inverary, a picturesque town on the edge of Loch Fyne, a popular attraction is the Inverary Jail. The museum is a reconstruction of the jail, complete with waxwork inmates (undoubtedly model prisoners). For a view of the Loch, climb up the bell tower of Episcopal Church of All Saints.
Auchindrain Folklife Museum - South west of Inverary is Auchindrain Folklife Museum, an open air museum of farming life in the Highlands. Wander through stone cottages with thatched roofs to catch a glimpse of how farming families lived. (Back home, remind your kids that they are lucky they don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to do the farm chores …)
Kilmartin Standing Stones and Forts (Kilmartin) - Kilmartin has a number of fine prehistoric stone circles, cairns, and barrows. The Templewood Standing Stones are at least 2,000 years old and associated with burials and the winter solstice. Archeoastronomers believe the stones at Nether Largie were used to track the movements of the sun and moon. Most impressive is Dunnad Fort, an old mound of stones overlooking the River Add. In the 6th to 8th century, Dunnad was where the Dalriadic kings were inaugurated. Don't miss the "footprints" of the Dalriadic kings.
Oban -
Campbell's Dunstaffnage Castle is a classic Scottish stone castle, originally built by the MacDougalls in the 13th century, but given to the Campbells in the 1470. The castle, built on a hunk of rock with excellent turreted defenses, guarded the entrance to Loch Etive. Kids can keep their eyes peeled for the castle ghost, a lady dressed in green.Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary (Barcaldine, near Oban) - Here at the Sea Life Sanctuary, located on Loch Creran, hold starfish and crabs at the touch pool, check out otters, sharks, wolfishand and see rescued seal pups being tended and reared here at the center. Wildlife trails and playground too.Cruise Loch Etive - Pick up a boat from Taynuit for a cruise around this scenic long narrow loch. In 1831, William Wordsworth described this area as a land of rainbows, rock-built glens hung with rainbow colored mists.
