The Kintyre Way

From Tayinloan, turn right down a minor road on the south side of a closed hotel. At a T-junction, turn right again, shortly bending left and left again. In 50m, turn right along a minor road which turns into a vehicle track. Then go through the gate on the left and follow the field edge to another gate. Continue along a fenced corridor across the field and onto the shore.
Bear left and walk along the beach to a small burn; cross the bridge and turn left along a path beside the watercourse. Follow this, and just before reaching the A83, bear right along a path, running parallel to the A83 for a few hundred metres. There is a beech hedge on your left. A few yards further, turn left up a forestry road that climbs steadily, soon following the tumbling, tree-shrouded Killean Burn upstream. From near Kilmory, there are views of the isles of Jura, Islay, Gigha and Cara.
A few hundred yards beyond Kilmory, the road leads up into open moorland. About a mile above the A83, it levels out, and you pass a path to the nearby ruins of Braids Farm on the right. Archaeology enthusiasts could divert a little further on just short of a cattle grid to inspect a cup-marked rock, 60 yards uphill on the rim of the slope. The shallow cup, possibly up to 4000 years old, is about three inches in diameter and partly covered with yellow lichen. The origin and purpose of these enigmatic features are uncertain, but they are plentiful in Kintyre. The forestry road continues; the road climbs steadily from one slight dip. Continue into Loch na Naich designated area, which passes the wind farm.
The forest road loses some height, passing a junction on the right to cross Drochaid Bum. It then rises, passing very close to one of the turbines, leading to a crest beside another. From here, you may see Ben Cruachan (3695 feet), the ‘sacred mountain of Argyll’, far to the north east. The forest road descends into the glen of Carradale Water, with a stretch of tarmac surface en route. A few hundred metres after the tarmac stretch, continue straight ahead at a Junction. The road passes Auchenbreck Farm, crosses the stream and leads up to an intersection; turn right.
Carradale appears with some fine beech trees in the wood near Auchenfraoch. If time allows, you can visit Brackley cemetery and chambered cairn, turn right off the Kintyre Way along the track leading to Brackley Farm. With farm buildings on your right, go through the left-handed of two gates on your left and follow it to where you can enter the cemetery. The cemetery contains mainly 19^th and 20^th century headstones; in the field beyond its northern wall is a cluster of substantial boulders, all that remains of a chambered cairn about 3000 years old.
Resume the Kintyre Way and continue to a road junction where you turn right along the B842. Turn off at the Forestry Commission’s Grianain picnic area within half a mile. Take the middle track with the Kintyre Way marker of the three tracks leading east from here. Walk up the narrow track through mixed forest, steeply after a while, to a junction on the left. Continue straight along a forest road still climbing; soon, Arran is visible to the east. Look out for the waymarked path leading steeply uphill. Emerging from the trees, it rises to a crest with grand views over the Kilbrannan Sound.
Here a short path to the left leads to a picnic table where you can enjoy the view. The path drops steeply at a junction on the right continue downhill, generally following the course of Allt na Callich. Eventually, turn right along a vehicle track. Just past the playing field, there’s a choice of route. Bear left, and you soon come to a parking area after which it’s only 50 yards to the B879 road where you can turn left for the village of Carradle. Otherwise, the Kintyre Way continues for over half a mile along the forest track, descending to the B879 at the Network Carradale Heritage Centre and tea room.
Carradale lies at the head of Carradale Bay on the Kilbrannan Sound. Its name reflects Norse origins and means ‘brush-wood valley’. There are several places to eat and stay. To the west of the village is Carradale House, where Naomi Mitchison (1897–1999), a leading 20^th century Scottish writer, lived for more than 50 years.

The Kintyre Way

tayinloan to carradale