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The
village of Appin lies on the A828 between
Barcaldine and
Ballachulish, it is probably most noted for
Castle Stalker
which
guards the entrance to the inlet by Appin. There is a small B
road from the village leading to Port Appin and the ferry to the
island of Listmore. It has
now become quite popular at all times of the year to take this
short crossing to Listmore for walking or cycling. There is a hotel and restaurant at
Port
Appin.
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In
1999 Scotland's deepest cave was discovered at Appin. Uamh
Nan Claig-Ionn, or Cave of the Skulls. Appin has actually
got many
caves. This is quite
unusually for the west of Scotland but this area does have a
limestone geology.
There
is a particularly nice walk at Port Appin where of
course you can leave your car. The walk gives fine views of
Listmore island and
the going is easy on a nice track. Although a short walk, it
is worth the effort as you reach a natural arch in the rocks
at the sea shore. |
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courtesy of
Photograph Scotland.com |
Many
years ago, in fact in 1752, there was an infamous act of murder
in the Appin area and then followed closely by a gross
miscarriage of justice. The man murdered was known as "the Red
Fox", Colin Campbell, a name not popular in these parts. His job
was to collect taxes for the Duke of Argyll from the clans. As
this was only six years after the battle of Culloden, the
Campbells were shunned by everyone who had any sympathies for
the Jacobites, which was just about everybody in the highlands.
It is thought that Campbell was about to evict the Stewarts in
these parts and give the properties over to members of his own
clan. It was a Stewart who was arrested and flung into Inveraray
Jail until tried and hung by 15 jurors of which 11 were
Campbells. The real perpetrator of the murder was kept secret in
the Stewart Clan until very recently. An elderly Stewart decided
that the family secret had been kept long enough and she
revealed that the murder had been planned but the person who
shot Campbell was Donald Stewart of Ballachulish. |
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