Lunch looking out across Loch Linnhe If you are touring in the NW Highlands then visiting Port Appin is well worth including on your trip from Balachulish to Connel near Oban on the A828. Across Loch Linnhe is Creach Beinn 853m in Kingairloch, an area between Ardgour and Morven. To get over there you need to take the short ferry crossing at Corran. The Corran Narrows are to the north - beyond Suna Island which you can see at the top of the sunshade in the photo alongside. See this enjoyable lunch and visit as a contribution to our new Memorable Day Out series. More Posted: 220503 Lunch looking out across Loch Linnhe With a dry April in the Scottish NW Highlands, and before the arrival of the midge in early June, enjoying lunch of smoked salmon in warm sunshine in the garden of the Airds Hotel looking out across Loch Linnhe was bliss. Airds is a boutique hotel near Port Appin on the road between Balachulish and Oban. The entrance to the hotel is through a small flower filled conservatory which looks out towards Loch Linnhe and the mountains beyond. Here you can relax any time of the day and read or admire the view over a cup of coffee or enjoy a lunch watching 'life' go by. It is most popular for afternoon tea when it gets the best of the sun and for pre dinner drinks with the sun setting over the mountains. Airds Hotel Visit Castle Stalker at Portnacriosh near Port Appin A tour of the castle (four-storey tower house) involves a short boat trip as it is surrounded by water just offshore. You can book online. The guided tour of the castle is entertaining - the guide relates how over centuries clan rivalries resulted in murders and changing ownership of the castle, not least between the Stewarts of Appin and the Campbells. But in 1908 the Castle was regained from the Campbells by Charles Stewart of Achara who purchased it and carried out some basic preservation work to stem its decay. In 1965 Lt. Col. D. R. Stewart Allward negotiated terms for the purchase of the Castle and spent the next ten years rebuilding and restoring it as it is today. It is now fully habitable. Castle Stalker