Isle of Bute: Ettrick Bay

Another beautiful bay, perhaps the most beautiful on Bute, 3 miles west of Rothesay on the opposite coastline.

A stranded kite

Below is the Ettrick Bay Tearoom which had actually just closed when we arrived, to our disappointment, it being quite late in the day. However, the owner, Alex Gibson, who was inside baking amazingly large lemon meringue pies, actually opened up to allow us some welcome coffee and cakes, which we appreciated very much. There is a photo of him on the tearoom website here. (Next time we are on Bute we will come here for lunch because the food is renowned and Alex is an experienced and excellent cook. The menu was very enticing!)

Geoffrey enjoying his coffee. This was just before our smiles vanished as I lost my car keys and we were sure I'd locked them in the boot of the car. It was very kind of Alex to help us search for them - they were found eventually after I went back and forth between the car and the cafe several times. What a carry on!!

Isle of Bute: Kilchattan Bay

We had a short but delightful visit to this deserted bay, just two and a half miles from the southernmost part of the island. My photos were taken at the very end of the narrow coast road, near the bus turning area and the shingle beach.

View across the water

The colours of the rocks and pebbles are beautiful, particularly the red sandstone (I brought back a small piece!) There was a lot of different insect life close to the shore.

A Rosy Rustic Moth (Hydraecia micacea)

I was actually holding the ragwort stem quite close to the flower head, to stop it waving about in the breeze, but the moth didn't seem to mind!

Small Copper Butterfly (Lycaena phlaeas)

Very pretty butterfly but harder to photograph than the moth. As always, I could have done with extra time to take more photos!

Isle of Bute: Blackpark Stone Circle

Incredibly atmospheric and well worth a visit (we loved discovering them!), these three standing stones are all that remain of the original seven. They are surrounded by forestry plantation and composed mainly of quartz which explains their glittery appearance when seen at close quarters. One of the stones has been split by frost.

They aren't difficult to find: not far from the village of Kingarth, drive south along the A844, soon turning left onto a B road which runs down the centre of the peninsula. Continue along here until you see a signpost on the left pointing towards a forest track (it's possible to park here at the side of the road). The stones are found a short distance along here on the right on the edge of the Blackpark Plantation (hence the name of the stones).