Cut off in Kintyre!

When we left Mull, We drove from Oban for a couple of hours down the Kintyre Peninsula to Saddell. We had booked a Landmark Trust property on the Saddell estate. The Landmark Trust is a charity which rescues historic buildings and renovates them to let out as holiday homes. Staying at Saddell Lodge was a bit of a treat, and in many ways a step up from our humble yurt. However, we did feel a little cut off from the outside world as, not only was there no Wi-Fi, there was also no mobile phone signal! It was actually quite refreshing to have a simple life away from the constant demands of modern technology. And anyway, we could catch up with all the emails and messages when we went into nearby Campbelltown.

As the weather was nice, we spent some time exploring the estate where you can also stay in a castle, a Ferryman’s cottage, a cottage on the beach or a large house that sleeps 13 people. None of the others would’ve been suitable for Racheal, but we were quite happy in our little cottage. All the properties on the estate can use a bothy on the beach to go to for picnics if they wish. We didn’t take our picnic, but we did take a drink and a packet of biscuits when we went out for a walk. it really was a beautiful place.

During our days on Kintyre, we visited the smokehouse at Skipness, the garden centre at Glennbarr, and the ruined Saddell Abbey.

On the last day, we decided that we really should go to a whiskey distillery having been in Scotland for nearly 6 weeks. It turned out to be an excellent sensory experience for Racheal as our guide, Claire, found as many things as she could for Racheal to feel, smell and even taste.

To keep the cost down for our gap year experience, we are mostly self catering. These cows were fascinated as they stood and watched through the kitchen window while we prepared our meals!