Argyll

Argyll's hotels range from grand country houses set in their own grounds to harbourside guest houses with views straight out to the islands. Oban has the largest concentration, with seafront properties along the Esplanade and Corran Esplanade offering some of the best sea views in Scotland, alongside a handful of characterful town-centre inns close to the harbour and railway station. A short drive out of town, hotels around Loch Feochan and Loch Melfort trade proximity to the shops for peace, gardens and uninterrupted loch or coastal outlooks.

Inland and to the south, Inveraray's historic coaching inns sit within walking distance of the castle and Loch Fyne shore, making them a natural stop for visitors splitting a trip between Loch Lomond and Oban, or exploring Mid Argyll's prehistoric sites at Kilmartin. Wherever you stay, expect Scottish hospitality built around local produce: dining rooms serving West Coast seafood, whisky bars stocked with drams from the region's distilleries, and log fires that come into their own on cooler evenings.

Below are eight properties we would recommend, spanning country house luxury, well-run mid-range hotels and characterful guest houses, all currently trading and each offering a genuine sense of place rather than a generic Highland stay.

Argyll rewards slow exploration, but these are the sights and experiences most visitors build a trip around.

• Inveraray Castle is the fairy-tale seat of the Duke of Argyll, a Gothic Revival pile on the shores of Loch Fyne with opulent state rooms and an armoury hall lined with muskets and pikes.
• Kilmartin Glen contains over 350 ancient monuments within a six-mile radius, including the linear cemetery at Nether Largie and the fort of Dunadd, once the seat of the kings of Dalriada.
• Oban Distillery, tucked beneath the cliffs in the centre of town, has been producing whisky since 1794 and offers tours explaining the coastal, slightly smoky character of its single malt.
• McCaig's Tower stands above Oban like a half-built Colosseum, an eccentric Victorian folly that gives sweeping views over the bay, harbour and hills of Mull.
• Crarae Garden, on the shore of Loch Fyne, is a National Trust for Scotland woodland garden famous for its rhododendrons, azaleas and a dramatic gorge planted like a Himalayan ravine.
• Kilchurn Castle, at the head of Loch Awe, is one of Scotland's most photographed ruins, a 15th-century tower house reachable by a short walk from the roadside.
• A boat trip to the Corryvreckan whirlpool or out to Staffa and Fingal's Cave gives a proper sense of the wildness of Argyll's waters, alongside good odds of seeing minke whales, basking sharks and porpoises.
• Auchindrain Township preserves a communal tenant farm as it looked before the Highland Clearances, with original thatched longhouses giving a rare, unromanticised view of Highland rural life.

Seafood dominates menus along this coast, landed daily at Oban's harbour and served simply, whether that is langoustines, mussels or freshly shucked oysters at the town's seafront kiosks. Loch Fyne, long associated with herring and oysters, still supports a working shellfish trade, and smokehouses around the loch sell smoked salmon and kippers to take home. Argyll is also serious whisky country, with Oban Distillery in the town centre and a scattering of smaller producers inland, alongside gin distilleries that have sprung up in recent years using local botanicals. Farmers' markets in Oban and Lochgilphead sell venison, game and cheese from Argyll's hill farms, and the region's many harbourside pubs and hotel dining rooms lean heavily on this local produce, pairing West Coast langoustines or Loch Fyne mussels with a dram from the bar.

Argyll's campsites make the most of a coastline that rarely disappoints, whether that is grassy pitches looking out towards the Isle of Kerrera, a sheltered wooded site near Loch Creran, or a touring park overlooked by the Crinan Canal in Mid Argyll. Facilities across the region tend towards the practical rather than the luxurious, though several sites now offer glamping pods, hot tub lodges or fully serviced hardstanding pitches for those wanting a more comfortable base for exploring by car or bike.

Oban is the natural hub for campers, with sites clustered a short drive from the harbour, giving easy access to ferries, restaurants and the town's shops while keeping a rural, waterside outlook. Further south, Lochgilphead makes a quieter, more central base for exploring Kilmartin Glen, the Crinan Canal and the Kintyre peninsula, appealing to touring caravan and motorhome owners in particular. Midges can be an issue on still summer evenings, especially at inland or wooded pitches, so it is worth packing repellent alongside the usual camping kit.

The three sites below cover a working farm campsite outside Oban, a Club site tucked into woodland near Loch Creran, and a caravan park in the heart of Mid Argyll, all currently open and taking bookings.