Tuesday 19th May

Better weather today with lighter showers!  We headed on out to Lochgilphead and then on to Loch Collie Bharr.  This is where a Beaver Trial took place and there is a trail which takes you all around the Loch which you can take to try and spot beavers.  It was a really nice walk - I had my sticks with me but it wasn't strenuous.  We decided to do this today because of that and because of how my lower back was feeling.  I think it was a case of the more I walked the better it felt, which was a good sign!  The trail took us all the way around and close to the side of the Loch with the exception of the second third of the walk which was quite a way away from the side of the Loch, although we did pass an abandoned village on that side.  Unfortuately we didn't spot any beavers, however we saw their dams and plenty of freshly gnawed wood as evidence!  Still a very nice walk though.

Afterward, we walked around the nearby smaller Loch Barnluasgan which I think most local people went to to walk their dogs.  This trail was even easier and on the flat, with information posts on the way.  Beavers also lived here and again, we saw plenty of fresh evidence but no actual beavers.  Back to the car, we headed off to Castle Sween.

Castle Sween is in one of the remotest places on the Kintyre peninsula and it kind of felt like it too!  The castle itself is open access and a standing ruin.  The only annoying thing was the caravan park right next to it which kind of broke the picture you usually get when you visit the ruins of a castle in the middle of nowhere.  Still, there wasn't a great deal of the castle left, but given its location we could see why it had been built there, right next too Loch Sween which is a sea Loch, so a good point at which to see who's coming and going.

Onward we went back to Lochgilphead to stop off for some shopping before heading back to the cottage.  My back turned out to be feeling much better at this point and I continued stretching it out with some Yoga before dinner.