Craignish

Craignish is a long, narrow peninsula on Scotland’s west coast in Argyll and Bute. It stretches about nine kilometres between Loch Craignish to the south and the Slate Islands to the north, with Jura just five kilometres offshore. The land runs north-east to south-west, matching the shape of much of coastal Argyll. Two small settlements sit on its shores: Ardfern on the south coast and Craobh Haven on the north, built in 1983 as a holiday resort and marina. A single-track road follows the south shore, while the main road to the peninsula was blocked by a landslip in 2023 after heavy rain sent tonnes of earth across the carriageway. The peninsula holds traces of ancient and medieval life. Ruined duns and cup-and-ring marked rocks dot the landscape, including Dunan Aula, said to mark the grave of a Viking prince killed in battle with local Scots. Nearby, the roofless chapel of Kilmarie dates from the early 13th century and was founded by St Máel Ruba. Its walls now shelter carved grave slabs from the 14th and 15th centuries. Craignish Castle, begun in the 12th century and rebuilt in the late 14th, withstood a siege in the 1640s and later additions by architects including William Burn. Close to Craobh Haven stands Lunga, a 16th-century tower house built by the Campbells and later home to the MacDougalls. Part of it now operates as a bed and breakfast, and a war memorial nearby remembers two MacDougalls lost in the First World War. The paddle steamer PS Comet sank off Craignish Point in 1820, and Loch Craignish once doubled as Yugoslavia in a Bond film. Naomi Mitchison described the place as ‘incredibly beautiful’, with sunsets over blue sea lochs and lively red-haired farmers set against a backdrop of narrow Highland faces.