Argyll and Bute covers a large swathe of western Scotland, including stretches of the mainland and more than twenty inhabited islands such as Mull, Islay, Jura, Colonsay, Tiree and Bute. The coastline is cut by sea lochs and channels — Loch Fyne, Loch Etive and Loch Awe among them — and ferry links from Oban and Kennacraig connect the islands to the mainland. The Crinan Canal cuts across the Kintyre peninsula, providing a short inland route between Loch Fyne and the Sound of Jura that is used by small coastal vessels and leisure boats.
Interior features include Loch Awe and Ben Cruachan, beneath which a hydro-electric plant stores water in a man-made upper reservoir and houses turbines inside the mountain, with galleries visitors can book to enter. On the coast, tidal flows form the Falls of Lora at Connel and the Kintyre peninsula reaches the Mull of Kintyre. Towns and villages such as Inveraray, Rothesay and Campbeltown provide local services, while distilleries on Islay and Jura, and ferry terminals on Mull and Tiree, reflect the area’s long maritime connections.
