Category × County
5 Best Sightseeing Attractions In Argyll and Bute
Gardens are the unexpected answer in Argyll and Bute. Two of the five entries in this category are woodland gardens — Ardkinglas Woodland Gardens and Crarae Gardens — and they are here because of the weather rather than in spite of it. Mild wet air coming in off the Atlantic grows trees on this coast that would sulk anywhere further east, and somebody in every generation has planted accordingly.
The other three are one each of their kind. Crinan Canal Cruises is a boat trip on a working waterway. Inveraray Jail is a story told inside a building, and it has the clearest hook for a child of anything on the list. St Conan's Kirk is a small church that people make a point of going to see.
Top sightseeing attractions in Argyll and Bute
Showing 1–5 of 5
SightseeingCrinan Canal Cruises
SightseeingSt Conan's Kirk
SightseeingArdkinglas Woodland Gardens
SightseeingInveraray Jail
SightseeingCrarae Gardens
Five entries is thin, and pretending otherwise would only cost you a Saturday. Do not build a plan that strings several of these together. Choose one as the reason for the day, let the road between the sea and the hills count as part of the outing, and treat anything else you find open as luck.
Sightseeing Attractions in Argyll and Bute: FAQs
Which of the five works best with children?
Inveraray Jail by a good margin. Cells, a courtroom and a fairly grim story are exactly the combination that holds an older child's attention, and it lists both indoor and outdoor space so part of the visit is sheltered. For younger children the gardens are the better call — Crarae Gardens and Ardkinglas Woodland Gardens give them paths to run and trees to look up at, which is a more honest use of a small child's afternoon than a guided anything.
Is a garden really a day out with a family?
It is if you treat it as an outdoor walk with better scenery rather than as a horticultural visit. Both gardens here are outdoor entries on sloping wooded ground, so the practical requirements are boots, a spare layer and no plan that depends on staying clean. Children who like sticks, bridges, streams and hiding places do very well. Children who want a playground and a queue will not find either, and it is kinder to know that in advance.
What should we check before booking the boat?
How long you will be on the water, and how much of the vessel is under cover. Crinan Canal Cruises is an outdoor entry, and a sailing on this coast can be bright and sheltered or grey and blowing without much warning between the two. Warm layers beat waterproofs that flap. It is also worth asking what the sailing does about very young children, since arrangements differ from operator to operator and the answer decides your day.