Where is it?
Ardlamont Bay, Argyll.
Why do you go there?
On the Cowal peninsula, a few miles south of the village of Kames, Ardlamont Bay is a setting that inhabited my imagination for several years before I actually set eyes on it.
The bay was the backdrop for the gruesome death of a young army officer, Cecil Hambrough, who was shot in the grounds of Ardlamont House in the 19th century. I explored the story of those notorious events in my book, The Men Who Were Sherlock Holmes.
It was suggested that even before he was shot, an attempt was made to drown Cecil on a fishing expedition in Ardlamont Bay.
How did you discover it?
I stumbled upon the case, known in the newspapers of the time as “the Ardlamont Affair”, while researching another book I was writing about Holmes and his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle. For some reason, it piqued my interest and became a bit of an obsession.
What’s your favourite memory?
I have only managed to visit once so far. I was invited to a wonderful book festival, Write By The Sea, on the glorious Argyll coast in early 2020. In fact, it was the weekend before the Covid lockdown started.
While I was there, I was lucky enough to have a look around the grounds of Ardlamont House and wander along the shoreline. It was magical and a little eerie to, at last, see in real life a place I had come to know so well from maps, photographs and Victorian illustrations.
Who do you take?
I was meant to be going to the festival with my wife, Rosie, but with rumours swirling about imminent lockdowns, and two young children to think about in London, we decided that she had better stay at home.
That meant I had an incredible lodge to myself, but I definitely owe her a trip back there together. It is an area of stunning natural beauty and I can’t wait to explore it more.
What do you take?
Something for the rain and some sunblock too. The weather can be a bit unpredictable.
What do you leave behind?
I’m not sure if the current owners of Ardlamont House have a copy of the book, so I might sneak one through the letter box. Hopefully, a deep dive into the historical goings-on there won’t spook them too much.
Sum it up in five words
Tranquil. Dazzling. Friendly. Unspoilt. Mysterious.
What other travel spot is on your wish list?
As a Sassenach, I’m most familiar with Scotland’s cities, especially Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling (they all host fabulous book festivals).
But I’d love to spend more time exploring away from these hubs. Having been knocked out by Ardlamont, I’d be very tempted to venture around Argyll more widely. I love a castle, so would make a beeline to Inveraray.
And I’d be sure to make time for a visit to Oban, where I imagine that I couldn’t avoid contemplating life over a glass or two of single malt. It would be rude not to.
The Men Who Were Sherlock Holmes: A True-Life Victorian Murder Mystery by Daniel Smith (Michael O’Mara Books, £10.99), is out now in paperback
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here