Carefully Selected Scottish Holiday Homes in Beautiful Locations
Isle of Jura
Jura's distinctive Paps - so called because of their smooth breast-like shape, though there are in fact three of them - seem to dominate every view off the west coast of Argyll, their glacial rounded tops covered in a light dusting of quartzite scree. The island's name is commonly thought to derive from the Norse dyr-oe (deer island) and, appropriately enough, the current deer population of 6000 outnumbers the 180 humans by 33-to-one. With just one road, which sticks to the more sheltered eastern coast of the island, and only one hotel and a smattering of B&Bs, Jura is an ideal place to go for peace and quiet and some great walking.
If you're just coming over for the day from Islay, and don't fancy climbing the Paps, you could happily spend the day in the lovely wooded grounds of Jura House (daily 9am-5pm; £2), five miles up the road from Feolin Ferry, where the car ferry from Port Askaig arrives. Pick up a booklet at the entrance to the grounds, and follow the path which takes you down to the sandy shore, a perfect picnic spot in fine weather. Closer to the house itself, there's an idyllic walled garden, divided in two by a natural rushing burn that tumbles down in steps. The garden specializes in Antipodean plants, which flourish in the frost-free climate; in season, you can buy some of the garden's organic produce or take tea in the tea tent.
Anything that happens on Jura happens in the island's only real village, CRAIGHOUSE, eight miles up the road from Feolin Ferry. The village enjoys a sheltered setting, overlooking Knapdale on the mainland - so sheltered, in fact, that there are even a few palm trees thriving on the seafront. There's a shop/post office, the island hotel and a tearoom, plus the tiny Isle of Jura distillery (tel 01496/820240; tours by appointment), which welcomes visitors. In April 1946, Eric Blair (better known by his pen name of George Orwell), suffering badly from TB and intending to give himself "six months' quiet" in which to write his novel 1984, moved to a remote farmhouse called Barnhill, on the northern tip of Jura. He lived out a spartan existence there for two years but was forced to return to London shortly before his death. The house, 23 miles north of Craighouse up an increasingly poor road, is as remote today as it was in Orwell's day, and sadly there is no access to the interior.
The family-run Jura Hotel in Craighouse is the island's one and only hotel (tel 01496/820243, members.aol.com/jurahotel; £60-70), not much to look at from the outside, but warm and friendly within, and centre of the island's social scene. The hotel does moderately expensive bar meals, and has a shower block and laundry facilities round the back for those who wish to camp in the hotel gardens. For B&B, look no further than Mrs Boardman at 7 Woodside (tel 01496/820379; under £40; April-Sept). There's an infrequent minibus service on the island (phone 01496/820314 to find out when it's running). The ferry from Port Askaig occasionally fails to run if there's a strong northerly or southerly wind, so bring your toothbrush if you're coming for a day-trip.
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