The West Coast of Scotland is one of the best sail cruising grounds in the world, and Argyll is at its heart. The sheer variety of the sailing, the spectacular scenery and wildlife, the combination of sheltered sounds, rugged islands and high mountains, the profusion of safe, beautiful and generally uncrowded anchorages and the warm welcome you will find ashore make Argyll a world class cruising area.
Sailing in Argyll is no longer wilderness sailing. The area has developed enormously over the last decade, with full service marinas, pontoons and moorings being developed, providing facilities for more yachts. Bars and restaurants serving high quality local produce are going out of their way to attract yachtsmen. All the support a cruising yacht needs – chandlers, engineers, riggers and sailmakers – is now available within Argyll.
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Cruising In Argyll
Heading North past Craignure and Lochaline, you can sail up the sheltered, but spectacular, Sound of Mull to sample the delights of Tobermory. From here, you may circumnavigate Mull in an anticlockwise direction, taking in the Treshnish Isles, Staffa and historic Iona.
If you head South from Oban down the Sound of Kerrera you may decide to stop overnight at the famous anchorage at Puilladobhrain [‘pooldoran’]. Although the anchorage can be crowded in the high season it is a beautiful spot, and the well-trodden walk across the hill to the famous Tigh an Truish pub and the Bridge Over The Atlantic is well worth the effort.
Continue South past Seil and the slate islands of Luing and Belnahua and then – if you have got the tide right – ride the Dorus Mor to picturesque Crinan. From here it is sheltered sailing for thirty miles or more down the Sound of Jura to Craighouse, Gigha or the big island of Islay with its many malt whisky distilleries and its bijou wee marina at Port Ellen.
Going North again hitch a tidal lift up the Sound of Islay and you can head for remote Colonsay and Oronsay before continuing North for the Garvellachs and Oban or, if time permits, across to sunny Tiree, rocky Coll or historic Iona before heading back to Oban down the Sound of Mull.
And this is just Argyll . . . an ideal base to explore further afield, to Skye or across the Minch to the Outer Hebrides. Let your sailing adventure start in Argyll.