#auchindrain

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Waulking Skye Weavers Tweed

“These women have stamina! As well as fantastic singing voices. A few highlights from the day I spent at Auchindrain Township, finishing a length of Skye Wool tweed over several hours with waulking groups Sgioba Luaidh Inbhirchluaidh  and Cuigeal. Make sure you turn the sound on for a taster of some of the many traditional waulking songs (Òrain Luaidh in Gaelic) that are integral to this process and an important part of Scotland’s cultural heritage. Watch to the end to see the finished tweed back in Skye.”

- Skye Weavers

So, Argyll Holiday number 5 - wow, wow, wow!!  We have loved all of our Argyll Holidays, but this one at Drimsynie Estate Holiday Park was just outstanding!  Without a doubt the best holiday we have ever had in the UK.  The area, the park, the lodge and every activity was just brilliant.  We had so much fun and really enjoyed every part of it.  We were there for a full week and it was pretty action packed.

My husband, Steven, loved driving in and out of Drimsynie on the single track road surrounded by amazing views.

Our lodge was lovely.  The kids had been looking forward to staying in one of these lodges and the space in it was great with two large en suite bedrooms and a huge living area and nice big balcony.

The park itself at Drimsynie is great.  It is right on Lochgoilhead and the surrounding views are stunning.  The complex is all new and just beautiful inside, we thought it was very impressive and such a nice place to be, with lots to do, and The View restaurant is really lovely.

Our first activity was my all time favourite - boat hire with the nearby Loch Goil Cruisers.  We had a boat to ourselves and were able to see most of Loch Goil from the water.  This was a wonderful trip and we all loved it.  We enjoyed the speed of the boat, we saw seals and lots of different types of birds and found the whole thing relaxing and enjoyable.  The staff at Loch Goil cruisers were really friendly and helpful and I would highly recommend this to anyone and we will definitely do this again.

Our activity the next day was Kayaking at Loch Lomond Leisure in Luss.  We had two double kayaks for two hours so we were able to travel for quite a distance up Loch Lomond, stopping for a break at a beach half way.  This was really enjoyable for all of us in the lovely hot weather, and we had a lovely time swimming and sun bathing at Luss beach afterwards - bliss!

The following day was certainly action packed with a fab visit to Argyll Adventure.  This place is absolutely brilliant with something for everyone.  Steven, Demi and I had three games of Zombie Laser Tag, which became quite competitive!  This is themed around one of Steven’s favourite TV programmes, The Walking Dead, so he was the most competitive and went out of his way to ensure that he won!

Meanwhile, as he is too small for the laser tag, Jamie went for a horse riding lesson.  He helped to get his horse, Toby, ready, then he was taught how to get on and off the horse, turn, walk, trot and stop.  He loved it and wants to do it again soon.  He then enjoyed an ice lolly and spoke to the lovely staff about all the other activities he wants to do there as soon as he is old enough.

Demi and I would like to return to do the scenic horse ride and we will return once Jamie is a bit older to do laser storm, crossbows and paintball.  We hope to visit here again on our next Argyll holiday in August.

On the same day, we also visited Auchindrain.  This is an outdoor museum of the last farm “township” in Scotland that was lived and worked in from as long ago as 1500 until the last family moved out in 1967.  It was really interesting to see the houses people lived in long ago and I loved the way old and new are brought together through technology.  You can wander freely round the site and are given a tablet, as you reach each building or area, the tablet tells you where you are and all about it.  I found this really innovative and it really brought the museum to life.  We liked the free range chickens wandering around too. Well worth a visit, and the tea room and shop are lovely too.

Our next day was a day out at Inverary, where we visited Inverary Jail and Inverary Castle.

Jamie was a big fan of Inverary Jail.  It was really interesting to walk around it and imagine how it was, especially reading what offences and crimes were committed for people, including children to be put in there for, most of which were pretty minor.  The contrast between a jail cell now and then is pretty dramatic.  Jamie had a great time searching for the stampers hidden throughout the jail to complete his collector card and win a prize at the end of the visit.

Inverary Castle and gardens are spectacular.  It was fantastic to see that the castle is still actually the family home of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll and their three children, and great to see their photos and memorabilia from the present day alongside the historical items from the Duke of Argyll’s ancestors.

I particulary enjoyed seeing the Duchess’ wedding dress on display with their wedding photographs, and the clothes from special events a long time ago.

We enjoyed some cake and shopping in the tea room and gift shop before wandering around the well kept gardens.

We were then off to Loch Fyne Oysters for a lovely seafood lunch.  As seafood lovers, we were excited about this and we were not disappointed.  The food, the very friendly service, nice surroundings and spectacular views were worth the wait.  The food was truly outstanding and very much enjoyed by all four of us.

The next day we spent mainly in Drimsynie and enjoyed all that the park has to offer.  We went swimming, with the adults enjoying the jacuzzi, steam room and sauna, we played badminton and crazy golf and Jamie made friends playing in the two playparks.

In the evening we were off to Balloch to go on the Sweeney’s Cruises Sunset Cruise on Loch Lomond.  This was lovely and relaxing, it was nice to be on the water in the evening and the commentary about the surrounding area, the islands, the landmarks and the hotels was really interesting.  A lovely time was had by us all.

On our final full day we had an interesting visit to Cruachan.  This is the hollow mountain of Ben Cruachan, on Loch Awe which is a working power station.  The visitor centre is great with an interactive house kids zone, and interactive displays which explain how the power is generated using water from the dam.  We got on a minibus and had a guided tour along the massive tunnel through rock to go to the viewing gallery, where you can see the huge cavern containing the turbines where the electricity is generated.

This was something totally different to do and really interesting.  We had a lovely lunch here after the tour and then Jamie enjoyed some time in the playpark before we headed back to Drimsynie.

As well as all of the awesome outings and activities throughout the week, we enjoyed lots of quality family time in Drimsynie Estate, both at our lodge and at the Estate holiday complex.  There was evening entertainment, we particularly enjoyed two of the singing acts, there is a soft play and entertainment arcade, a lovely restaurant, takeaway and bar area which we made use of at some point during each day.  It was a wonderful family holiday and I can’t explain how much we are enjoying and appreciating being the Argyll Holidays Active Family.  We are having fun, enjoying time together and making memories.