Puffer Steamboat Holidays Ltd

You'll find the Puffer Steamboat tied up on the Crinan Canal near Lochgilphead, and it's genuinely one of those things you'll either find charming or utterly baffling depending on your mood. This is a proper working passenger vessel - a small steamboat that actually plies the canal, giving you the chance to travel as people did a century ago, chugging along at a few miles per hour with nothing but water and Scottish hills around you.

What you're really paying for is the experience, not the speed or comfort. The boat itself is the draw - all brass fittings and period authenticity, with the thrum of the engine underneath. If you're into maritime history or just fancy something genuinely different from the usual park activities, it works. Kids under about ten tend to get restless after the first twenty minutes once the novelty of the steam engine wears off, though the crew usually keep things lively enough.

The run suits walkers and history types best. You get proper views across the Argyll landscape, and there's something oddly meditative about travelling by water when you've spent days doing the usual park rounds. Timing varies by season - check ahead before you visit, as steamboat operations depend on staff and weather.

Stay at The Pod Over By, just 4.2 miles away, and you've got the canal on your doorstep. Lochgilphead Caravan Park is also nearby if you want something more traditional. The Puffer isn't a full day out, but it's the sort of oddball diversion that makes a Crinan Canal holiday actually memorable.