The walk through this attractive, and at that time, tranquil village brought us to The George Inn, where we were able to enjoy a welcome lunch together:



before strolling down to the waterside and pier. The previous day, it had 'snowed' heavily here thanks to a film company who had transformed the area into a period setting for an advertising shoot, but the only evidence of this activity was that a number of road signs still had not been replaced! We pretty much had the place to ourselves and so could take in the beauty of Loch Fyne with its surrounding countryside. Here are Chris, Tracy and me on the pier with Dun na Cuaiche and its tower behind us:



A hundred yards or so from the pier we found the War Memorial:



This was now the time for us to leave our wonderful hosts who had shown us so much that day that we would otherwise have missed, and so Jim and I returned to the car and set off in the direction of Connel by Oban via Loch Awe. As the road approached the top of the Loch, we spotted the ruins of Kilchurn Castle:



Then, about three miles further along the road, we stopped to take a look at St. Conan's Kirk which I had passed several times previously, but never seen other than from the road. This is a truly fascinating wee kirk, and well worth breaking a journey to look around. It was constructed as late as the 1880s and includes just about every style of ecclesiastical architecture to be found in Scotland. The stone used in the building was rolled down the nearby hillsides and shaped on site instead of being quarried elsewhere. The kirk is perched precariously on the steep banks of Loch Awe:



and has many amusing features, such as these two gargoyles in the form of hares:



Inside is a tomb with a kilted effigy of Walter Campbell who, with his sister, designed and built this curious kirk:



From here the road took us directly back to The Oyster Inn at Connel.

To be continued.