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A cottage by the shore of the Kyles of Bute.
Argyll and Bute

Kames village

A quiet shore village by the Kyles of Bute, south of Tighnabruaich, once home to a gunpowder trade.

Welcome

Kames is a small village on the Cowal peninsula, a mile south of Tighnabruaich, strung out along the shore overlooking the Kyles of Bute.

It is a quiet place of cottages by the water, a church, a shop and a nine-hole golf course, with the Kames Hotel looking out over the Kyles and its moorings.

Its past was a good deal louder. In 1839 a works opened here to make saltpetre for the gunpowder mills at Millhouse, just inland, and the industry kept going until 1921. A steamboat pier, the Black Quay, was built in 1852 to bring in the raw materials and carry the gunpowder away, and ruins of the works still stand beside the road. Today the village is a good base for sailing and for walking the Loch Lomond and Cowal Way, which passes through on its way from Portavadie to Tighnabruaich.

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The Daily for 30 October, from Scotland with love. Aerial view of a teal-coloured lochan cupped in a forested hollow, a scree slope rising on one side and autumn-tinged pines ringing the shore.
A short drive awayThe OystercatcherA bar and seafood restaurant on the shore of Loch Fyne at Otter Ferry, with a beach and moorings below.4 min by roadSee itThe Oystercatcher
Before you go

Kames is on the B8000 a mile south of Tighnabruaich.

Where
A mile south of Tighnabruaich.
Walk
The Loch Lomond and Cowal Way passes through.

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Where it is

The Kyles of Bute, Cowal.

Close byBy the Kyles of Bute.
  1. Picnic tables outside the Argyll Coffee Roasters window at the Hayshed.The Coffee Bar at Hayshed GalleryArgyll Coffee Roasters' own coffee bar at the Hayshed Gallery near Tighnabruaich, open at weekends.4 miles 9 min by road
  2. The ferry crossing Loch Fyne between Portavadie and Tarbert.Portavadie Ferry to TarbertThe short CalMac crossing of Loch Fyne between Cowal and Kintyre, turn up and go, about 25 minutes.4 miles 9 min by road
  3. Kilbride Bay BeachKilbride Bay BeachA crescent of sand on Argyll's Secret Coast, reached through the dunes, with Arran filling the view.4 miles 13 min by road
  4. The Kyles of Bute from high above in warm evening light, the channel running past wooded islands, Colintraive and its ferry slip on the left, the green fields of Bute on the right and the hills far off under the clouds.Kyles of Bute ViewpointA roadside layby above Caladh Harbour on the A8003, looking out over the Kyles of Bute.4 miles as the crow flies
  5. The lane through Kilfinan past the whitewashed hotel, a mossy stone wall alongside.Kilfinan Church and StonesA Cowal village by Loch Fyne whose 17th-century church keeps a vault of carved stones, from early Christian slabs to medieval grave slabs.7 miles 14 min by road
Directions
The Hollies, Argyll and ButeTighnabruaichThe HolliesSleeps 18 · 1.2 miles
The whitewashed Oystercatcher at Otter Ferry with its yellow door and picnic tables.CafeThe Oystercatcher1.7 miles
The view from the Ardyne hillside over young birch and spruce to the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Bute across the water and the peaks of Arran on the skyline under a big sky of white cloud.WalksArdyne Trail8.8 miles
The ruin of Toward Castle from the air: its ivy-covered tower and the roofless walls of the courtyard among spring woods, the Firth of Clyde blue beyond.AttractionsToward Castle9.3 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the village, and when each is next free.

The Hollies, Argyll and ButeThe Hollies
  • Sleeps 18
  • In Tighnabruaich
  • Under a mile from Kames
Check datesGlenstriven House, a white Victorian house with grey stone corners, at the top of a gravel drive between lawns, with a wooded hill behind.Glenstriven House
  • Sleeps 15
  • In Argyll and Bute
  • 8 miles from Kames
Free 1–3 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in Argyll and ButeAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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The collections it is in and more in Argyll and Bute.

CollectionThe Prettiest Villages in Scotland
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