“In Scotland, always look for spots at the end of single-lane roads,” advises sea kayaker David Johnson. “They are always the best.”
David is the restaurant manager at Scotland’s Pierhouse Hotel, which is located at the end of a single track road in the village of Port Appin, next to the shore of Loch Linnhe and a small Victorian wharf built to service boats. steam that went up and down Lake Linnhe. between Oban and Fort William.
Today the pier serves as a departure point for the small passenger ferry that operates the 10-minute dog-legged crossing to and from Lismore Island, and passengers have the opportunity to see David showcasing his expertise on sea kayak. in the 12-room Pierhouse.
Because when the tide is too high for the kitchen staff to fetch lobsters from the pots on the hotel dock, they row themselves along the sea lake to unload the salty crustaceans.
Chef Michael Leathley is a seafood specialist from the port town of North Shields in the north east of England.
His grandfather was an inshore fisherman, and from him he developed his love of cooking fish, something he does very well.
In fact, the Pierhouse restaurant, which stretches from loch to fork, was named Scotland’s best restaurant. National Restaurant of the Year 2023/24. And my wife Jude and I can attest to the quality on offer – we tried Michael’s seafood during a sea kayak odyssey off the Argyle coast.
But before bed, we enjoyed a five-hour sea kayaking session further north on Loch Carron.
Carlton Reid visits the Argyll and the Isles region and checks into The Pierhouse hotel and restaurant (above), which sits along the shore of Loch Linnhe.
Head chef Michael Leathley is a seafood specialist who cooks lobsters caught in the restaurant’s pots (above)
Pierhouse’s ‘table-defying seafood platter’ (above) includes prawns and lobster from Loch Linnhe, sweet herring, mussels from Loch Leven and oysters from Loch Creran. And a price of £80
It was directed by Lee Woodward of Sea Kayaking in Plocktonfrom the port town of Plockton (which was also the pagan town in the 70s cult horror film, The Wicker Man).
Lee is an outdoor lecturer at West Highland College based on the neighboring Isle of Skye and, reassuringly, has plenty of expedition experience.
What do you do if one of us capsizes? I asked when we were in the water.
“I would do rescue X,” Devon-born Lee explained.
‘I would ask you to stay calm and hold on to your kayak. I would then empty the water from the upturned kayak by placing the bow on my foredeck (that junction forms an X) and roll it on its side before asking you to slide back in. I would be there to hold your kayak. .’
It’s certainly easier said than done, but we stayed upright, so we didn’t need any rescues, X-rated or otherwise.
Lee stayed close to us throughout, watching as we dealt with the sometimes choppy conditions. Satisfied with our progress, we were given permission to board ashore and I landed for a drone photography break on the small forested island of Eilean na Creige Duibhe (Island of the Black Rocks).
Lake to Fork Pierhouse Restaurant named Scotland’s National Restaurant of the Year for 2023/24
Upstairs is a bedroom in the Pierhouse Hotel. Peak season overnight stays start at £200
Pierhouse Pier serves as the departure point for the small passenger ferry (above) that operates the 10-minute dog-legged crossing to and from Lismore Island.
My drone captured its emerald green waters, which, combined with the swaying palm trees of Plockton, warmed by the Gulf Stream, and the white “sand” of the lake’s Coral Island, create a positively Caribbean vibe.
Through the lens of a camera. The temperatures were anything but tropical. And that white sand is actually bleached algae.
However, we landed on Coral Island and nibbled on homemade fruit biscuits as we contemplated the short upstream return to Plockton.
The five hours had flown by and by the end of the session we were confident, if tired, paddlers.
Having entered the water at high tide, we had to trudge through the slippery mud of Plockton Harbor to reach dry land.
At The Pierhouse restaurant, Carlton and his wife, Jude, try a starter of Arbroath Smokie soufflé, fresh roast cod with burnt butter hollandaise sauce and a fennel tarte tatin.
Before turning in at The Pierhouse, Carlton enjoyed a sea kayak learning session further north on Loch Carron, departing from Plockton (above). The town starred in the 1970s cult horror film, The Wicker Man.
The kayaking session was led by Lee Woodward from Sea Kayaking Plockton. Above: Carlton and Jude in the water with Lee
Lee on the Coral Island of Loch Carron, which is covered in bleached seaweed
We could have helped fish for lobsters by kayak at The Pierhouse, but all the sea air and exercise had left us too hungry.
I knocked down a £17 Arbroath Smokie soufflé starter and a main of grilled fresh cod in burnt butter hollandaise sauce (£30).
Jude, a vegetarian, had a fennel tarte tatin (£22).
Those who’ve whetted even more epic appetites might want to try The Pierhouse’s table-defying £80 seafood platter, packed with Loch Linnhe prawns and lobster, sweet herring, Loch Leven mussels and Loch Creran oysters.
Carlton’s drone shot of Eilean na Creige Duibhe (Black Rock Island), which is located near Plockton, and its emerald green waters. Two kayakers, in yellow boats, join Jude and Lee.
Lee gives rowing tips to Jude in Eilean na Creige Duibhe
Carlton points out that Plockton has palm trees warmed by the Gulf Stream
Carlton and Jude stayed in a self-catering cottage, Strathan Cottage, pictured, on the 30,000-acre Attadale estate.
In addition to the full-service The Pierhouse (with kippers on the breakfast menu), we stayed in a self-catering cabin on the 30,000-acre Attadale estate.
Near Plockton, Attadale has its own request stop on the Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness railway line.
The cottages are converted 19th-century farm buildings and are part of the 100-year-old artist-planted and sculpture-dotted Attadale Gardens, a Scottish gem, three miles off North Coast Route 500.
Driving home from the Argyll and the Isles region, marketed as Scotland’s “adventure coast”, we concluded that it is as tasty and appealing as it is intrepid.