Activities in Argyll & Bute
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Bowman’s Tours (Stafford St)
From April to October, Bowman’s Tours offers a Three Isles day-trip (adult/child £49/24.50, 10 hours, daily) from Oban that visits Mull, Iona and Staffa. Note that the crossing to Staffa is weather dependent.
Bowman’s also runs a wildlife tour (adult/child £49/24.50) departing from Oban at 9.50am Sunday to Friday from May to July, and returning to Oban at 8pm. The trip takes in a ferry crossing to Craignure on Mull, travel by coach to Fionnphort, and a cruise around Staffa and the Treshnish Isles, plus two hours ashore on Lunga to visit a puffin colony.
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Bowman’s Tours
From April to October, Bowman’s offers a Three Isles day-trip (adult/child £49/24.50, 10 hours, daily) from Oban that visits Mull, Iona and Staffa. Note that the crossing to Staffa is weather dependent. Bowman’s also runs a wildlife tour (adult/child £49/24.50) departing from Oban at 9.50am Sunday to Friday from May to July, and returning to Oban at 8pm.
The trip takes in a ferry crossing to Craignure on Mull, travel by coach to Fionnphort, and a cruise around Staffa and the Treshnish Isles, plus two hours ashore on Lunga to visit a puffin colony. There's also a branch in Satfford St.
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Mull Wildlife Expeditions
Mull Wildlife Expeditions offers full-day Land Rover tours of the island with the chance of spotting red deer, golden eagles, peregrine falcons, white-tailed sea eagles, hen harriers, otters and perhaps dolphins and porpoises. The cost (adult/child £43/40) includes pick-up from your accommodation or from any of the ferry terminals, a picnic lunch and use of binoculars. The timing of this tour makes it possible as a day-trip from Oban, with pick-up and drop-off at the Craignure ferry.
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Bowman’s Tours
The main operator on Mull, connecting the ferry ports and the island’s main villages. The routes useful for visitors are bus 495 from Craignure to Tobermory (£7 return, one hour, six daily Monday to Friday, four or five Saturday and Sunday) and bus 496 from Craignure to Fionnphort (£11 return, 1¼ hours, three or four daily Monday to Saturday, one Sunday).
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Kilchoman Distillery
Kilchoman Distillery, 5 miles southwest of Loch Gruinart, is Islay’s newest, going into production in 2005. The distillery grows its own barley on Islay, and the tourist office explores the history of farmhouse distilling on the island. Its first single-malt was released in 2010, and was so popular it sold out within days.
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Bike Rides
A tourist-office leaflet lists local bike rides, which include a 7-mile Gallanach circular tour, a 16-mile route to the Isle of Seil and routes to Connel, Glenlonan and Kilmore. You can hire mountain bikes from Evo Bikes (566996; 29 Lochside St; ;09:00-17:30 Mon-Sat), opposite Tesco supermarket, for around £15 per day.
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Kevin & Christa Byrne
Kevin & Christa Byrne offer customised guided tours on foot (£25 per hour per tour for up to eight people), or by minibus (£50 per hour per tour for up to eight people). There’s also a regular ‘Hidden Colonsay’ walking tour (adult/child £10/5) every Saturday in summer; booking essential.
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Loch Frisa Sea Eagle Hide
Loch Frisa Sea Eagle Hide runs escorted trips to a viewing hide on Loch Frisa where you can watch white-tailed sea eagles. Tours (£5/2 per adult/child) leave twice a day, Monday to Friday, from the Aros end of the Loch Frisa access trail (book in advance at the Craignure tourist office).
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Turus Mara
Turus Mara runs boat trips from Ulva Ferry in central Mull to Staffa and the Treshnish Isles (adult/child £50/25, 6½ hours), with an hour ashore on Staffa and two hours on Lunga, where you can see seals, puffins, kittiwakes, razorbills and many other species of seabird.
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Islay Sea Safaris
Can arrange customised tours (£25 per person per hour) by sea from Port Ellen to visit some or all of Islay and Jura’s distilleries in a single day, as well as bird-watching trips, coastal exploration, and trips to Jura’s remote west coast and the Corryvreckan whirlpool.
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Islay Marine Charters
Based at Port Askaig, offering wildlife cruises through the Sound of Islay (adult/child £16/9) to Ardmore Island to see seals and seabirds, and to Loch Tarbert on Jura (£26/15) where you can spot red deer, wild goats, seals and possibly otters.
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Sea-kayaking
Based at North Connel, sea-kayaking coach Rowland Woollven (710417; www.rwoollven.co.uk) offers instruction for beginners and guided tours (around £100 for a full day) for more experienced paddlers in the waters around Oban.
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Rowland Woollven
Based at North Connel, sea-kayaking coach Rowland Woollven offers instruction for beginners and guided tours (£100 for a full day for one person, £60 per person for two or three people), for more experienced paddlers, in the waters around Oban.
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Islay Birding
Birdwatching tours by bicycle (£30/60 per half-/full day). There are also 2½-hour wildlife walks (£30 per person) and family bushcraft courses (two adults plus children £60 per half-day) teaching outdoor-survival skills.
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Islay Stalking
Here’s your chance to stalk deer and other wildlife in the company of a gamekeeper, and shoot them not with a gun but with a camera. Morning and evening photographic tours are £20/10 per adult/child.
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Boat Trips
Various operators offer boat trips to spot seals and other marine wildlife, departing from the North Pier slipway (adult/child around £7/around £5); ask for details at the tourist office.
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Gordon Grant Marine
Runs boat trips from Fionnphort to Staffa (adult/child £20/10, 2½ hours, daily April to October), and to Staffa and the Treshnish Isles (£40/20, five hours, Sunday to Friday May to July).
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Caol Ila Distillery
The Caol Ila Distillery, pronounced ‘cull ee-lah’, is a mile to the north of Port Askaig. It enjoys a wonderful location with great views across to Jura.
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Bunnahabhain Distillery
The Bunnahabhain Distillery, pronounced ‘boo-na-hah-ven’, is 3 miles north of Port Askaig. It enjoys a wonderful location with great views across to Jura.
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Colonsay Brewery
At Scalasaig, the Colonsay Brewery offers you the chance to have a look at how it produces its hand-crafted ales – the Colonsay IPA is a grand pint.
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Puffin Adventures
If you fancy exploring the underwater world, Puffin Adventures offers a 1½-hour Try-a-Dive package (£87) for complete beginners.
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Mull Magic
Offers guided walking tours in the Mull countryside (£32.50 per person), as well as customised tours and four-day walking holidays.
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Minibus Tour
A 90-minute minibus tour of the Isle of Colonsay. Departs from the Colonsay Hotel; bookings essential.
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Archibald Brown
You can hire mountain bikes from Archibald Brown for £10/15 per five/24 hours.
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