The canal was conceived by the Duke of Argyll as another kind of job creation scheme to make a route from Loch Fyne to the sea, avoiding the long sea passage round the tricky Mull of Kintyre.Tea on the lawns by the final locks marked the end of our coastal journey. We drove back along the canal past locks with wide calm pools, and then north along Loch Fyne. We were aiming for Inverary, the town set out by the Duke of Argyll. Approached from the north-east – as we discovered later – it looks like the backdrop for a period drama with its fake arches and whitewashed fine buildings. The quay was designed by John Adam, practising for greater things, and there is a bell tower Visit the bell tower, bossy signs instructed drivers.
But we didn't, on the rather petulant grounds that we objected to being harangued.Instead, we visited Auchindrain, a Highland township inhabited continuously until the 1960s and now resurrected as a museum of life for the masses. This sort of multiple-tenancy farming community was once widespread in Scotland and is now practically extinct. Hens were scratching in and out of the buildings as they would have always done; the long houses with byre at one end and kitchen with box beds at the other were intact.From here we went to the other extreme, to Inverary Castle. With conical turrets modelled on a Loire ch?au, it is very glamorous, with lots of armoury, French tapestries, and, apparently, a piper marching up and down every morning.
We were through it in half an hour: the appeal of Auchindrain was much greater.Our last day was spent driving down the very long eastern side of Loch Fyne Rather belatedly, I realised that Loch Fyne is a sea loch No wonder Argyll has more coastline than France. Getting thereBritish Midland, easyJet, Go, British Airways and Ryanair all have direct flights to Glasgow. ScotRail (08457 550033) has rail services from Glasgow to Oban.The FactsFurther informationScottish Tourist Board (0131-332 2433; www.visitscotland ).. Investor confidence was already waning before the terrorist attacks on America, but now it's at rock bottom.
