On 14 May 1752, Colin Roy Campbell of Glenure, the government-appointed factor to the forfeited estates of the Clan Stewart of Appin in North Argyll, was shot and killed near Duror. The search for the killer targeted the local clan, the Jacobite Stewarts of Appin, who had recently suffered evictions on Campbell's orders. The chief suspect had fled so James Stewart (also known as James of the Glen) was arrested and tried for the murder. Although it was clear at the trial that James was innocent, he was found guilty and hanged on 8 November 1752 on a specially commissioned gibbet above the narrows at Ballachulish, now near the south entrance to the Ballachulish Bridge. This episode of history is known as the Appin Murder. My friend Graham and I recently explored the murder scene by bicycle on a three-day mini tour.
Our cycle started at Connel Ferry station as we jumped off the train at the stop before Oban. The cycle north from here is sublime as it’s mostly off-road on specially built bike paths on a route called the Caledonia Way. It uses a variety of methods to travel north – disused railway line, bits of old road and farm tracks. At times you are drifting through woodland and at other times you’re hugging the coast, right at the edge of the sea.
In mid March the temperature was bracing and every now and then the east wind blew in light flurries of snow across our route. But when the sun was out the views across the sea to the snow-streaked peaks of Ardgour set against a cornflower blue sky were stunning.
Late afternoon on the first day, we left the Caledonia Way at Duror on the trail of James of the Glen. We climbed up high into the hills above the village on forest tracks, pushing the steeper sections, and wondering, as the track seemed to go on forever, if we would find what we were looking for. But eventually we came out into a clearing in the woods and arrived at Duror Bothy, once the home of James of the Glen.
It’s a one-roomed dwelling with sleeping bunks at one end and an open fireplace at the other. Standing looking out the door the view stretches south across the snow-covered steep slopes on the other side of Glen Duror. There were the remains of farming enclosures on the hillside behind which is the back side of the shapely peak of Beinn a'Bheithir above Ballachulish. As we stood taking in the atmosphere of this old place, a stiff wind with an Arctic edge was screaming through the pass that is the exit from the glen to the east. So we might have stayed in the bothy but for its other occupant lighting a stinking fire. Instead we pitched the tents just outside.
Next day, after the morning sun had eventually climbed above the peaks and raised a faint warmth in our tents, we enjoyed the fast downhill back to Duror to rejoin the Caledonia Way and cycle further north. Before long we were approaching South Ballachulish on the old railway line that once dropped passengers at the Ballachulish ferries. We lingered a while below the bridge, near the place of James’ hanging, before cycling on to Glen Coe. Up the calm waters of Loch Leven, the Glen Coe peaks and the Mamores were a dramatic, snow-covered backdrop.
It was time to turn tail and head back south but we had a different plan for the return, taking in the island of Lismore. As we passed for the second time the atmospheric battlements of Castle Stalker, we turned off for the village of Port Appin, a sleepy little hamlet on a peninsula of the mainland that’s a stone’s throw from the top of Lismore.
There’s a tiny passenger ferry here that would take us and our bikes onto the island the next morning. But before that, for our second night out in tents, we found an idyllic camp spot on a grassy headland. The panorama stretched across snow-covered mountains, islands and skerries, and a sea that was like a mill pond. Geese drifted offshore and a seal patrolled up and down, curious to our presence.
The gorgeous weather prevailed next day as the little ferry deposited us on Lismore for more sublime cycling. A single track road bounded by drystone dykes undulates gently along the spine of the island. Some daffodils were making an appearance, despite the cold, and the air was alive with birdsong. But what is truly remarkable about Lismore is its slightly detached and low-lying nature such that the 360 degree views were astonishing, taking in the snow-covered peaks of Ballachulish, Ben Cruachan behind Oban and Ben More on Mull as well as other islands and the squiggly coastline of the mainland here which is sculpted by sea lochs and peninsulae. It was absolutely beautiful.
Conveniently for us, there is a another, larger ferry that leaves the bottom end of Lismore. We jumped on it mid afternoon and marvelled at the stunning coastal landscape that passed by the windows – it was a little too bracing to be out on deck for more than a few minutes. In just under an hour, the ferry was pulling into the busy harbour at Oban.
With a few calorie-burning miles under our belts and time to kill before the evening train, we thought we might take advantage of Oban’s reputation for fresh seafood … and decided we could fair murder a fish supper!
Fact File
All the photos on Flickr - click HERE
Start: Connel Ferry train station
Finish: Oban
Public transport: The start and end points are on the Glasgow-Oban train line. Route uses the Port Appin-Lismore passenger ferry and the Oban-Lismore car ferry.
Route: Exited Connel Ferry train station and immediately picked up cycle signs for the Caledonia way, direction of Fort William. At Duror the Way crosses a side road, we turned right here to cycle into Glen Duror. Once the road ends and forest tracks begin there are signs (yellow on blue Saltire) for the bothy. At Ballahulish Bridge we left the Caledonia Way to detour into the west end of Glen Coe on bike path for a nice lunch at Crafts and Things. On the way back south, just after Castle Stalker, we left the Way and crossed the wooden Jubilee Bridge then joined the single track road down to Port Appin. We camped near here then took the hourly passenger ferry across to Lismore. Cycled the main road of Lismore south, doing a nice wee offroad loop by following signs for Sailean - looks like private farm road but it's actually public road. The farmer here is just about to finish renovating a bothy and will offer camping plus use of the bothy. It's a gorgeous spot, will be great for kayakers as well. Took the Lismore to Oban ferry.
