Switching off on Scotland’s west coast – our off-grid holiday

This was our second time visiting Argyll and Bute, staying in the same collection of holiday cottages we did nine years ago.

Back then, there were three of us in the tribe and now we are a family of five. The cottages were just as perfect as we remembered and provided the perfect base for exploring locally, as well having enough on site for a slow day of not doing very much at all. It was exactly what we were looking for.

I work freelance and find it very challenging to switch off from work completely “I’ll just quickly reply to this email..” so staying somewhere with no signal was what we needed. The holiday cottages do have Wi-Fi, but obviously I could choose to go fully off-grid and not connect.

Here’s how to plan your mini escape – the best place to switch off, recharge and reconnect.

Where to stay?

Self-catering is definitely the easier option when planning a holiday with children. You can go at your own pace, cook meals you know everyone is going to eat, and bring a few home comforts with you.

We stayed at Home Farm Cottages in Glendaruel. These are a collection of holiday cottages, all with access to a shared games room (the kids spent 90% of their time in there and we never saw anybody else), a woodland walk with waterfall, and accommodation that accepts dogs too. The cottages range from sleeping two people up to six.

These would be great to book out if there was a big group of you visiting, spreading yourselves across the cottages.

Good to know

The cottages are half an hour away from Dunoon, which is your closest check in point for doing a food shop. There is a Morrisons and Co-op here, as well as places to eat, a leisure centre and cinema/library space.

It is worth planning a stop here before you get to the cottages, as there are no local amenities close by. You could drive to the gorgeous village of Tighnabruaich, which is around twenty minutes’ drive, but the shop here is just a small village one. Good perhaps for any top ups.

How to get there

 Depending on where you are driving from, Google Maps may take you up past Loch Lomond and over the top. I recommend driving home this way, the scenery is breathtaking and for part of it you could be driving up in the Austrian hills. The mountains are steep and dramatic. I would love to see it in the autumn as well as the summer months.

On the way, however, we drove to Gourock and caught the ferry across to Dunoon. It is similar time wise, you just have to check ferry updates etc. It’s a fun way to start your adventure though and means you can stop off in Dunoon before heading over to your cottage.

Days out in Colintraive, Isle of Bute and Inverary

Here is a brief overview of our itinerary to help plan your visit. We only stayed for five days this time and could have done with a little longer!

Day 1

Arrive, catching the ferry over to Dunoon. Park in the free car park near the ferry port (we got off at Sandbank a little further up the road). Half the car park you pay for, while the other half is free. I’m not sure why, but make sure you park in the bottom half.

Have a walk along the front, stopping to watch the comings and goings of boats on the Firth of Clyde. There is small, but gorgeous, gardens to sit and take in the view. Walk up the main high street which has cafes and little gift shops and a decent book shop.  Then head to do your food shop before setting off to Home Farm Cottages.

Once you are all checked in and unpacked, spend the afternoon exploring the grounds, games room and find the waterfall. Soak in your surroundings and relax!

Day 2

Exploring the Isle of Bute.

Drive twenty-minutes south to Colintraive (literally just straight down the road from the cottage) and catch the ferry (Caledonian MacBrayne). The ferries run every half an hour during the summer months and the crossing over to the Isle of Bute takes five minutes. You don’t get out the car on this one, it is that quick. A return ticket for five passengers and the car was £25.

Don’t forget to subscribe to receive the Girl About Travel Magazine twice-monthly newsletter

Once on Bute just drive… follow your nose and the road, while taking in the beautiful scenery. You can’t get lost.

It was so wonderful to have that freedom of just seeing where the road took us. Driving through Rothesay, you may want to park up and have a little walk to look in the shops. We carried on, making our way to Mount Stuart. The most stunning house and gardens.

You can spend a whole day here; the house is huge and so are the gardens.

Make sure you leave time to head down to the shore (which is signposted in the grounds). We headed along expecting a slither of sand but were blown away by the beauty of the water and landscape. The stretch of shore was long, and there was no-one else at our end. We spent a good hour here, just skimming stones and uncovering crabs as the kids paddled in the water.

For tea, we went to The Colintraive Hotel which is back on the mainland, right next to the ferry port. Great food and gorgeous views. We all headed back to the cottage with windswept hair and full bellies.

Day 3

We spent the third morning just playing in the games room and relaxing in the comfy cottage. The weather was a little drizzly and the kids were tired from the day before.

After lunch we drove over to Tighnabruaich for a walk along the Tighnabruaich Pier. It is wobbly and the kids love it! You will find two tearooms and a hotel here. We didn’t have food this time but popped into The Tearoom for a hot drink. Next door is another café called Five West which looked super child friendly but was sadly closed the day we visited. Next time…

Make sure you stop off at the viewpoint on your way home. It is about ten minutes along the road as you head back to the holiday cottages and is worth the stop off.

Day 4

Spend the day either exploring Inveraray (north from the holiday cottages) where there are cafes, pubs etc and Inveraray Castle (https://www.inveraray-castle.com), or head to Benmore Botanical Gardens for a day out.

We have done both on separate occasions and they are equally good for a day out. My husband claimed the best burger he has ever eaten was at Benmore Botanical Gardens. So, there you go. The Victorian Fernery here is also worth visiting so make sure you leave time to walk up to it.

Day 5

At the top of the farm road leading down to the holiday cottages, there is a small play park which was always empty whenever we drove past. Before heading home on the last day, we stopped here for the kids to have a play, while we soaked up the scenery before driving home via Loch Lomond.

As I mentioned earlier, the scenery along this route is stunning. I absolutely loved it and can’t wait to drive that road again.

We stopped off at Loch Lomond for some lunch, much busier here compared to where we had spent the week. Still gorgeous though and certainly somewhere else I would like to re-visit in the autumn.

Hopefully this has whetted your appetite for a switch off staycation in bonny Scotland. It has everything you could ask for from an adventure a little closer to home, without compromising on the scenery and is perfect for families.

By Beth Wardell

Read more of Beth’s stories here