"Bronze age stones, a ruined 18th-century settlement and a 20th-century ghost village"
Walk directions
From the start head along the road behind Pollphail Village in the direction indicated by the green Scottish Rights of Way Society sign for ‘Portavadie and Low Stillaig Walk’ . The mouldering village is fenced off. Please note that on no account should you enter, as the buildings are unstable and dangerous.
Look out for waymarker arrows and head left up some wooden steps, across duckboards and up through woodland to reach the open hillside. There’s a waymarker arrow here, which you should follow by veering right and continuing uphill following a faint footpath.
Turn right at a waymarker at the top of the hill, heading downhill on a boggy path that is clear and easy to follow. Some of the boggiest parts have duckboards to make walking just a bit easier. Go through a gap in an earth wall and continue following the path.
Pause briefly as the path passes two Bronze Age standing stones then continue straight ahead, following the path as it climbs a small hill. When you reach the top, start down the other side start flanking the hill to the left as you descend. Eventually you will reach the abandoned settlement of Low Stillaig.
When you leave the ruins head roughly to the east, looking for a footbridge beside a ford. Cross this and turn right onto a track which runs into a grassy path. Follow it to reach a waymarker close to the Boys Brigade Outdoor Centre then turn left onto a well-surfaced track.
Continue along this track, passing another standing stone and continuing beyond until it eventually reaches a T-junction by a single track road. Turn left onto this and follow it back to Portavadie and the start of the walk.
This walk will take you through the ancient and recent history of the Cowal Peninsula. It’s a landscape with some of the most beautiful views in Scotland yet seemingly hostile to human settlement. People have made many attempts to live here and on the walk you will discover some of their remains.... There are standing stones from the Bronze Age, the remains of an 18th-century farm settlement at Low Stillaig and a 20th-century ghost village at Pollphail. When large deposits of oil were discovered in Scotland during the 1970s, politicians and civil servants in Westminster thought it would be a great idea to create a massive dry dock for constructing cement oil platforms and a new village to house all of the workers. None of them seemed to take account of the fact that the roads into this part of Argyll were totally inadequate and that the oil fields were at the opposite end and coast of the country. Nor did they consider the lack of local population to provide a workforce or foresee that concrete platforms were on the way out and would be replaced by steel. Unsurprisingly no orders for rigs were won and the bulk of the work went to the Highland Fabricators yard at Nigg Bay in Cromarty on the North East coast. The massive hole dug for the dry dock was abandoned and Pollphail Village quietly left to rot. The abandoned and ruined township of Low Stillaig on the other hand is typical of the small settlements that would have been found throughout Scotland in the 18th century. Each would have supported several families at a subsistence level on the potatoes, oats and barley they grew locally. Harsh climates, crop failures and grinding poverty would have been the lot of the inhabitants, and as opportunities for a better life were presented elsewhere, people moved away and the settlements declined. Ownership of Pollphail has changed hands several times and ambitious redevelopment proposals have so far come to nothing. Over time the empty houses have became home to a legally protected colony of bats. But the nearby dry dock was taken over, converted into a very successful marina for small yachts complete with holiday accommodation, shops, hotel rooms and restaurants.
This is a county that’s all about awe-inspiring landscapes and unique island cultures. Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney put the area on the map when he wrote Mull of Kintyre, recorded in 1977 with the local pipe band backing his group.
"Bronze age stones, a ruined 18th-century settlement and a 20th-century ghost village"
Walk details
2.5hrs
Difficulty:
Medium
Gradient:
Gentle
Distance:
3.25 miles (5.2kms)
Ascent:
170ft (52m)
Walk directions
From the start head along the road behind Pollphail Village in the direction indicated by the green Scottish Rights of Way Society sign for ‘Portavadie and Low Stillaig Walk’ . The mouldering village is fenced off. Please note that on no account should you enter, as the buildings are unstable and dangerous.
1 of 6
Look out for waymarker arrows and head left up some wooden steps, across duckboards and up through woodland to reach the open hillside. There’s a waymarker arrow here, which you should follow by veering right and continuing uphill following a faint footpath.
2 of 6
Turn right at a waymarker at the top of the hill, heading downhill on a boggy path that is clear and easy to follow. Some of the boggiest parts have duckboards to make walking just a bit easier. Go through a gap in an earth wall and continue following the path.
3 of 6
Pause briefly as the path passes two Bronze Age standing stones then continue straight ahead, following the path as it climbs a small hill. When you reach the top, start down the other side start flanking the hill to the left as you descend. Eventually you will reach the abandoned settlement of Low Stillaig.
4 of 6
When you leave the ruins head roughly to the east, looking for a footbridge beside a ford. Cross this and turn right onto a track which runs into a grassy path. Follow it to reach a waymarker close to the Boys Brigade Outdoor Centre then turn left onto a well-surfaced track.
5 of 6
Continue along this track, passing another standing stone and continuing beyond until it eventually reaches a T-junction by a single track road. Turn left onto this and follow it back to Portavadie and the start of the walk.
This walk will take you through the ancient and recent history of the Cowal Peninsula. It’s a landscape with some of the most beautiful views in Scotland yet seemingly hostile to human settlement. People have made many attempts to live here and on the walk you will discover some of their remains.... There are standing stones from the Bronze Age, the remains of an 18th-century farm settlement at Low Stillaig and a 20th-century ghost village at Pollphail. When large deposits of oil were discovered in Scotland during the 1970s, politicians and civil servants in Westminster thought it would be a great idea to create a massive dry dock for constructing cement oil platforms and a new village to house all of the workers. None of them seemed to take account of the fact that the roads into this part of Argyll were totally inadequate and that the oil fields were at the opposite end and coast of the country. Nor did they consider the lack of local population to provide a workforce or foresee that concrete platforms were on the way out and would be replaced by steel. Unsurprisingly no orders for rigs were won and the bulk of the work went to the Highland Fabricators yard at Nigg Bay in Cromarty on the North East coast. The massive hole dug for the dry dock was abandoned and Pollphail Village quietly left to rot. The abandoned and ruined township of Low Stillaig on the other hand is typical of the small settlements that would have been found throughout Scotland in the 18th century. Each would have supported several families at a subsistence level on the potatoes, oats and barley they grew locally. Harsh climates, crop failures and grinding poverty would have been the lot of the inhabitants, and as opportunities for a better life were presented elsewhere, people moved away and the settlements declined. Ownership of Pollphail has changed hands several times and ambitious redevelopment proposals have so far come to nothing. Over time the empty houses have became home to a legally protected colony of bats. But the nearby dry dock was taken over, converted into a very successful marina for small yachts complete with holiday accommodation, shops, hotel rooms and restaurants.
This is a county that’s all about awe-inspiring landscapes and unique island cultures. Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney put the area on the map when he wrote Mull of Kintyre, recorded in 1977 with the local pipe band backing his group.
