Easdale Island

A five-minute ferry from Seil Island gets you to Easdale, a proper working slate quarry village that feels frozen in time. Once you step off the boat, you're walking through the sort of place where locals outnumber visitors ten to one, and that's exactly what makes it worth the trip from Oban.

The island itself is tiny - you can walk its perimeter in under an hour - but the real draw is the geography. Massive flooded quarries dominate the landscape, their steep walls filled with dark water that's almost hypnotic. There's a small museum in one of the old slate worker cottages that explains what happened here: Easdale supplied roofing slate to half of Scotland until it all went belly-up in the 1880s after a storm flooded the workings. You can still see the scars on the landscape.

It's ideal for walkers and anyone interested in industrial history without the bells and whistles. Families with young kids might find forty minutes to an hour here sufficient before the appeal of rocks and water wears thin. The paths are straightforward, though muddy after rain.

The ferry itself is free - locals' boats operate on an honour system - though donations help. Allow a full afternoon if you're coming from Oban, as you'll need to factor in the drive to Seil. Stay at Argyll Kayaker Cove or Sunnybrae Holiday Park nearby and you've got a cracking base for exploring this corner of Argyll properly.