TRAVEL

Fine dining and finer views on Argyll’s enchanting shores

At Airds Hotel the loch sparkles, the sky seems endless and the restaurant will impress, says Kenny Farquharson – if you can stop staring out to sea, that is

Castle Stalker on Loch Linnhe, near Port Appin, Argyll
Castle Stalker on Loch Linnhe, near Port Appin, Argyll
ALAMY
The Times

On holiday, do you believe everything you are told by the locals? The question crossed my mind on a walk around the Port Appin peninsula in Argyll when I came across a spectacular stone archway in a cliff caused by centuries of sea erosion. A man walking his dog passed me on the path and said over his shoulder: “If you stand under the arch and whistle a tune, you get a wish.”

Now, call me a cynic, but the first image that crossed my mind was this guy propping up a local bar that evening and saying to his pals: “You’ll never guess the story I made up for some tourists today.” But as Humphrey Bogart was instructed in To Have Or Have Not