Loch Goil

The water here is absolutely still on a calm day - proper mirror-like - and the mountains rise up so sharply it feels like they've been cut straight out of cardboard. Loch Goil is a sea loch tucked into Argyll, reachable easily from Cairndow, and it's the kind of place that rewards you for bothering to find it without demanding much effort in return.

You come for the walk along the shore, frankly. The scenery does most of the work - lochs this deep and narrow tend to do that. There's something about water with real depth beneath it; the colour changes depending on how the light hits, and if you're lucky with the weather you'll see the reflections properly. The eastern side is more accessible, and there's parking at a couple of spots if you know where to look. Walkers will spend a couple of hours here easily, picking along the water's edge or heading inland a bit. Families won't struggle either - it's not a long walk and kids respond well to the drama of the setting.

If you're based at Drimsynie Holiday Village just down the road, or venturing further afield to Forest Holidays Ardgartan, Loch Goil works as a morning sortie before lunch. It's free to visit and you can spend as little as an hour or as long as you fancy. Go when the wind is down - that's when you'll see why people bother coming this way at all.