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Photo: Norrie Adamson, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A well-preserved four-storey tower house on a tidal islet in Loch Linnhe, built from 1440. "Stalker" is from Gaelic Stalcaire, a hunter or falconer - King James IV often used it as a hunting lodge in the 1490s. The castle changed hands several times, often with murder involved (the last such being in Sarawak in 1947), and its last military role was as a government stronghold in the 1745 rebellion. It fell derelict from 1800 but was restored 1965-75. Tours are offered Apr-Sept but need high tide for boat access, the low tide causeway is too rough and slippery — see the castle website for availability. The photogenic site is sometimes a film location, best known is as "Castle Aaarrrrgghh" in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. To just admire the exterior, either have a cuppa at Castle Stalker View Cafe to use their car park, or use the free car park a mile north, and pick up the coast footpath.
Castle Stalker is a four-storey tower house or keep in the Scottish county of Argyll. It is set on a tidal islet on Loch Laich, an inlet off Loch Linnhe. It is about 1+1⁄2 miles north-east of Port Appin and is visible from the A828 road about midway between Oban and Glen Coe. The islet is accessible with difficulty from the shore at low tide. The name "Stalker" comes from the Gaelic Stalcaire, meaning "hunter" or "falconer". The island castle is one of the best preserved medieval tower houses to survive in western Scotland and is a Category A listed building. It stands in the Lynn of Lorn National Scenic Area.
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This was a Valliscaulian monastery, an obscure 13th-century sect. There are scrappy remains of the church and High Cross but the main attraction is the gardens.
Stout, partly ruined castle dating to 13th century, with nearby chapel of similar date. The 16th-century gatehouse is the residence of the hereditary captain - he's still required to stay here three nights a year.
This 15th-century castle is a crumbling stump; its predecessors over 1000 years were repeatedly destroyed. You can clamber up the stairs within. In the grounds are pleasant gardens (dogs welcome) and a small museum.
The Roman Catholic Cathedral was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (who designed the iconic red telephone box) and built in Neo-Gothic style between 1932 and 1959. In medieval times the area's senior church was St Moluag's on the Isle of Lismore, nowadays a Church of Scotland parish church. The RC Diocese of Argyll and The Isles was re-established in 1878 but bishop and congregation were in makeshift premises, including a tin hut, until St Columba's was completed.
Cathedral Church of St John the Divine
Scottish Episcopal (Anglican) Cathedral hidden among the shops. Building started in 1863 and continued in several phases but lack of funds resulted in the present odd layout, with steel girders propping up unfinished work.
John Stuart McCaig (1823-1902), a local banker, was aiming for something like the Colosseum in Rome. At his death only the granite circular shell was complete, resembling a vast salad-drainer with its lancet windows, and dominating the view for miles around. Inside is simply a public garden and picnic spot where the pipe band sometimes plays, and the museum, art gallery and heroic statues of himself and family never happened. You can approach via "Jacob's Ladder", the steps from the Esplanade.