Is it possible to do this drive, visit the priory and some of the sites in Kilmartin Glen and make it to Oban at a decent hour to check into a B and B? Google maps has driving time of about 3 hour 30 minutes..... We are good at getting off in the morning so I think we can be on first boat to the island. Any suggestions of top sites to see in Kilmartin Glen?
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
You can do this, but it will require some discipline. The earliest boat leaves for the priory at 10 AM. This one caught me by surprise as I showed up closer to 9 AM. And there is nothing you can do but wait. :) I think that you need at least an hour and a half to do this. so that means that you are on the road for Kilmartin at 11:30ish. It's over two hours to Kilmartin, so you'll want to stop for lunch, so it is going to be 2:30 or 3 by the time you get to Kilmartin. I think it's easy to spend a couple of hours in that area. Don't forget to climb up to Dunadd Fort. You should get to Oban around 6 or so, which is pretty good timing.
Posted by
3123 posts
To see the areas of interest around Kilmartin Glen, make sure to stop in at the little museum in the village and pay the nominal fee (it may be 1 pound) for a printed map. Otherwise you can drive right past the stone circles and cairns without noticing them because they are not really signposted.
In an enclosure outside the church is a collection of fascinating carved stones dating back to the 11th or 12th century, some with inscriptions still legible -- a testament to the Roman alphabet, I guess.