Archie the VW camperVan tastes the good life.(2)

The Kintyre peninsula is a long narrow strip that stretches from Tarbert at the top end to Southend and the Mull of Kintyre at the bottom. You either circumnavigate down the East side and up the West, or vice versa. My preference is to always follow the sun, so having walked along Skipness Beach on the East Side we carried on South, down and along the long and winding way that inspired THE Sir Paul to write THAT song and THOSE words.

Our friends Alan and Maggie - pictured in fetching waterproofs enjoying Archie's backseat comfort - anticipated a tipple at Grogport - the tiniest of hamlets that ironically has no pub. And so we headed more South, Archie groaning up hill, possibly in second gear, but it could have been third or even possibly first, until we reached the mummy bear sized hamlet of Port Righ, a scattering of houses encircling a sheltered bay. Not that long ago, when Campbeltown and its neighbours still boasted a strong herring fleet, storm bound skippers would shelter from the savage winds in tiny Port Righ Bay. 

Now that the herring fleets are practically non-existent (except for the Irish fishing boats which still place a value on such a staple fish) nothing much happens in Port Righ Bay. The smugglers are long gone also, adventurers who relied on the the natural shelter  of the bay to conceal their illicit misdemeanors. Perched at the top of the gentle cliff, with a picturesque garden that slopes down to the water's edge, sits Dunvalanree - the most Southerly of Seafood Trail establishments and run by Alan and Alyson Milstead.

Alyson is a fantastic, self taught cook who enjoys experimenting with taste combinations and using the abundance of seasonal produce that she grows to the back of the house. Favourite produce at this time of the year include the smoked mussels from Campbeltown - an epicurean delight. Husband Alan is co-founder of The Seafood Trail and we chatted over a glass of wine and some of the afore-mentioned smoked mussels - served with Alyson's deliciously warmed home-made bread. The Seafood Trail is hosting the Scottish Restaurant at this year's travel trade fair in London at the end of March - a logistical nightmare, to be sure, but a huge opportunity for us to showcase our fabulous local seafood and shellfish and to introduce The Seafood Trail to potentially new visitors. Alan is the logistics man so we talked logistics for a while, and then had a wander through the garden.

Archie had rested enough by now - there are a couple of very steep climbs on the long and winding road which afford fabulous views across to Arran when you get to the top, but which leave Archie puffing a bit. So we took the gentler route South, hugging the West Coast of the peninsula and enjoying a glorious sunset over  Islay and the Paps of Jura.