Skipness to Clachan

The second day will take you Skipness to Clachan over a distance of 12.5 miles (20 km) over a period of approximately 7 hours. During this time you will be largely open to the elements with little or no man made or natural barriers between you and the heavens. However, this also has its advantages, as views of several lochs and across the water to Arran are worth a bit of bad weather and in the event of sunshine, are spectacular.

Although the path is fairly new some sections of this part of the walk are susceptible to becoming boggy. This is obviously more of an issue during or after rain and is worth bearing in mind when selecting your footwear for the day.

Today’s walk begins on the minor road (A8001) running through Skipness. Follow the road south west and it will pass a small school before leading down towards the beach. Along this road you will get some great views of Kilbrannan Sound and the mountains of Arran which will ensure you have fully woken up for the day ahead.

Continue following the coast road and you will pass a ferry terminal before the road turns away from the coast and towards Claonaig where you will come to a junction. Turn to the left at this junction which will be signposted for Campbeltown and crosses a centuries old stone bridge. You must keep following this road passing some cottages and a large modern house. Before long you will have a car park on your right hand side, and at the right side of the car park you will find the familiar blue sign post directing you through the car park to a track which continues the Kintyre Way. The track will lead onto some open moorland, which again can leave you exposed in times of bad weather.

The path will continue onwards while snaking through the moorland and begin to climb gradually. After levelling off, the track soon begins to descend again shortly after passing under a set of pylons. After passing between two large rocks, the path will soon bring you to Larachmor Burn where you will pass over a stile. From here you will cross over the burn and then over another stile to join the path heading off to the left. This path then loosely follows the burn as it snakes along. The next direction signpost will take you to the right and away from the burn. This is one of the sections which can get very boggy so it is worth taking your time through here in inclement weather.

After passing two stiles the path will begin to climb towards the day’s highest point which offers some excellent views of Jura before leading on into some woodland. Following along the forest track you will eventually come to a fork in the road. Take the right path as directed by the blue signpost and you will soon be at Loch Ciaran. The path follows on above the loch before turning right and back onto some constructed footpath.

After crossing another stile the path will start descending towards a small glen. The path is not completed in this section and can therefore be boggy in parts. Continue to follow the blue signposts and you will eventually be alongside a stream before heading towards some more forestry. After leaving the woods and passing an iron fence, you will find yourself arriving in Clachan. This is your resting place for the night and here you will find some small shops and a campsite.