We found the Old Kirk a delightful place to stay!

The location was ideal for what we were looking for. Easy t...

We found the Old Kirk a delightful place to stay!

The location was ideal for what we were looking for. Easy to access, yet it feels like it's in its own world with nothing nearby. The views over the woods, loches and hills from the property, and it's large garden, are lovely and not to be missed. The forestry trails within a couple minutes walk from the house were fun to explore, with tranquil ancient forests and some decent elevation offering some nice views.

A slightly overgrown path leads from the bottom of the garden down to a sheep field, and then on to the waterside, almost feeling like a private beach (albeit shared with a flock of sheep, and many, many birds!). It was a lovely place to walk around, and admire the strong currents. You can often see the Isle of Mull and Ben More in the distance from the edge of the water.

The property itself is a converted Kirk, with the inside retaining some of that charm. The living room is expansive and open, open-planned with the kitchen and small hallway up the stairs. The games room upstairs was a nice addition, we played a fair bit of table tennis when the weather was poor! The bedrooms are all fairly standard, each with their own electric heating. We found the beds to be decent quality, and we slept well. The wood -panelled walls give the rooms a sort of scandic feel, unfortunately they seem to have quite poor sound insulation, so if you have a loud snorer with you, expect to be able to hear them! The two bathrooms are well-equipped. The water pressure is pretty low at The Old Kirk, presumably there is not much they can do about that. There was always hot water available, however, and it's still plenty to enjoy a shower or fill a bath. There are a selection of books available to read from, which was a nice addition. There are some DVDs and some games such as Scrabble as well. The TV is basic, but it does have an HDMI port for bringing a TV streamer from home, which worked well (since there is no wifi, we had to hotspot from our phones for connectivity).

There is no dishwasher, tumble-dryer (although a drying rack is provided), or wi-fi at The Old Kirk. The lack of wi-fi was a concern, although it turns out we all got excellent mobile reception there, so it did not end up being a big issue.

With Oban nearby, there were plenty of amenities, such as shops, restaurants, supermarkets, museum, distillery, etc. and it being a port to many of the nearby islands was a great advantage. We had a couple of meals at the Barn Bar nearby which we found to be very welcoming and nice atmosphere. The 'bridge over the atlantic' was another nearby attraction that is easily driveable to. Ben Cruachan is ~40 minute drive away, offering an incredible dam and a challenging mountain hike.

We loved our stay at the Old Kirk, will definitely be back again.

Our response:

Thank you, we are pleased you enjoyed your stay at the Old Kirk and look forward to welcoming you back.

Extraordinary and most unusual place, a beautifully converted old Kirk with every convenience for six people, wonderful ...

Extraordinary and most unusual place, a beautifully converted old Kirk with every convenience for six people, wonderful views and secluded Scottish feeling

The Old Kirk is located in a beautiful situation. It is near enough to Oban for shops and cafes etc but just far enough ...

The Old Kirk is located in a beautiful situation. It is near enough to Oban for shops and cafes etc but just far enough away from everything to make it feel incredibly peaceful …and that view! It provides a great base from which to explore the area. And the wood burning stove makes it feel cosy if the weather is chilly.
There were just two of us with a dog, but this would be ideal for families with children who would love the table tennis table in the large room upstairs and the large garden.
(There is a TV and some DVDs but we couldn’t see a DVD player so make sure to bring a laptop if you want to watch. Also no Wi-Fi but 4G works well.)

Please note however that although the garden is large and beautifully situated, it is not enclosed, and not really visible from the house as, being an old chapel, the windows are set high in the walls.
It is also near a road which, though pretty quiet, does sometimes have cars appearing around the bends at speed. This is not an issue when in the house as you don’t really hear them, but would be a danger for wandering dogs/toddlers.

Old church, stylefully transformed into a comfortable cottage, with a large garden and spectacular view across the Loch.