Paul McCartney spoke recently of his state of mind after The Beatles' broke up at the end of the 60s. "I just had to get out of London and get in the mist and mountains," he said, "just to walk round and get some air and get away from this trauma." He found the privacy and beauty he craved in Kintyre. "You could just walk forever, and in the weeks that passed I fell in love with the place."
It's easy to see why. The Gulf Stream gives Kintyre a temperate climate and a lush landscape. There are beautiful country house hotels and one of the world's finest links golf courses - Jack Nicklaus described the first hole at Machrihanish as the finest in the world.
Even the drive from Glasgow airport is beautiful: over the Erskine Bridge on the Clyde, along the side of Loch Lomond, then a short climb through a desolate yet hauntingly beautiful pass whose summit is quaintly dubbed "Rest and Be Thankful", and a descent to Cairndow at the head of Loch Fyne. It is here that you'll find the excellent Loch Fyne Oyster Bar and Restaurant.
A more agreeable destination for lunch on a sunny day is hard to imagine. Ceiling-high windows all around afford tremendous views over the loch, and the menu is a delight. The smoked salmon is thick and oily and full of flavour, fresh from the smokehouse down the road.
For my main course, I chose the Gaelic-named bradan rost - a deliciously dry salmon fillet with a woody taste born of being roasted in the smoke kiln, accompanied by a tangy, creamy whisky and horseradish sauce. Superb.
Still, as Jonathan Swift pointed out, "He was a brave man who first ate an oyster"; if you share the great Dean's squeamishness for seafood you'll be pleased to know you have options, from the local Glen Fyne steak to the daily vegetarian dish. The final word goes to Karen and Alex Richter of Queensland, Australia, who wrote unequivocally in the visitors' book: "Best meal yet in all of the UK."
From here, we sped south, down the other side of Loch Fyne; with its myriad lochs, estuaries and inlets, it begins to become more believable that the coastline of Argyll is longer than that of France.
After an hour or so, we came to the pretty fishing village of Tarbert. Now begins Kintyre proper. To the west, lie the islands of Jura and Islay, the famous Paps of Jura rising straight from the sea.
Just a few miles along the side of West Tarbert Loch was the village of Clachan and our first stop for the night, the Balinakill Country House Hotel, run by Susan and Angus Macdiarmid.
An imposing Victorian mansion, Balinakill was built by local boy made good, Sir William Mackinnon, who made his fortune in East Africa. Briefly during the 90s, it was owned by the millionaire businessman and Chelsea director Matthew Harding - "long enough to ruin it by taking out half the original fittings," mutters Angus.
Now restored, each room is a haven of good taste with antique Victorian furniture, wooden floors and open fires. Some have four-poster beds.
Angus cooks everything to order: deep-fried Camembert came with a home-made cranberry sauce, and all the meat and game is locally produced. After-dinner brandies are best enjoyed in the hotel bar, a snug built into the mansion's former safe - some safe.
We slept like the innocent that night. Breakfast more than lived up to the expectation created by the previous night's dinner, then we set off again, south towards Campbeltown.
The road runs down the west side of the peninsula, most of the way almost indistinguishable from the beach. A couple of miles after the tiny village of Bellochantuy, just a handful of houses and a hotel, you'll see a small car park at the side of the road. Stop here for the fabulous wide golden beach of Westport - almost five miles of uninterrupted sand and dunes, stretching to Machrihanish with its famous golf course and amazing views across to Ireland.
A few more miles takes you into Campbeltown, a handsome harbour town nestling at the mouth of a loch with Bheinn Ghuilean rising gently behind. Campbeltown owed much of its prosperity in the 19th century to its famous whisky distilleries; only one remains, Springbank, which is said to produce one of the finest malts in the world. It can be bought in the town at the off licence Eaglesome's.
The fine Victorian houses on the far side of the loch were mostly built by the whisky barons, and it was in one of these, Craigard House, that we would be spending the night. But first, we had an afternoon to enjoy the glorious weather.
In the mouth of Campbeltown Loch is an island, Davaar, only accessible over a causeway at low tide; copies of times and tides can be picked up from the tourist office by the harbour. It's worth the trip to explore the caves, one of which contains a wall-painting of the Crucifixion.
We, however, opted for the leisurely drive around the "Leerside" road, via Killdalloig down to Southend (no further explanation needed) with its magnificent horseshoe-shaped bay and beach. The road clings to the side of the peninsula around seldom-visited coves and is bordered all the way by glorious hedgerows of "whin" - a gorse with attractive yellow-orange flowers. London never seemed more distant.
From Southend, there is only one real choice - the bleak moor-like terrain that leads to the desolate Mull of Kintyre, the headland where, yes, the mist really does roll in from the sea - even when the rest of the peninsula is basking in glorious sunshine.
And so it was back to Craigard House for dinner. A handsome Victorian house, set high up from the road and looking out over the loch to Bheinn Ghuilean, it was formerly a maternity hospital, and the register in the hall has been signed by many who were born here and have returned as guests; one such couple actually held their wedding ceremony here last year.
The food failed to live up to the standard of the first night, but the view from the dining room more than compensated - the harbour lights of Campbeltown reflecting in the deep, dark waters of the loch.
Another peaceful night, then off along the old road to Claonaig. The eastern side of the peninsula has a quite different feel, due in part to the large amount of forestry. As you drive through woods, you suddenly emerge blinking in the sunlight and round a corner to find yourself looking over a large bay with sandy beach - Saddell. Stop for a stroll; it was here that the video for Mull of Kintyre was shot, and across the water lies the Isle of Arran.
The ferry from Claonaig, on which we were the only passengers, drops you off at the attractive village of Lochranza, with its large Edwardian houses and gardens sloping down to the sea front; deer were grazing on one of the lawns.
They call Arran "Scotland in miniature", but given the complete and refreshing absence of motorways and sprawling council estates, this presumably refers to its terrain: mountains in the north, high moorland across the centre and the lush lowlands of the south of the island.
A night in the sumptuous Auchrannie Country House Hotel was as pleasant a hotel stay as any; try to nab room 3 in the original part of the house with its four-poster bed and large bay window with views over the immaculate gardens. The next day we cantered along the beach courtesy of the Brodick Riding Centre.
Later, as we sat eating fish and chips in the afternoon sun, waiting for the ferry to take us back to the mainland, we were in full agreement: life had never tasted so good.
Way to go
Eugene Costello flew with Go (0870 6076543, www.go-fly.com) from Stansted to Glasgow for £45 return inc taxes. His hire car was provided by Holiday Autos (0870 4000000, www.holidayautos.com with a £5 discount). A Nissan Micra costs £84 for three days. Caledonian MacBrayne (08705 650 000, www.calmac.co.uk) ferry from Kintyre to Arran and then Arran to the mainland costs £54 for two adults with car. He stayed at the Balinakill Country House Hotel, Clachan, near Tarbert, PA29 6XL (01880 740206, www.balinakill.com) £60 for a double room B&B; Craigard House, 8 Low Askomill, Campbeltown PA28 6EP (01586 554 242, www.craigard-house.co.uk) from £60 per double room B&B; and Auchrannie Country House Hotel, Brodick, Isle of Arran, KA27 8BZ (01770 302 234, www.auchrannie.co.uk) from £61pp B&B. The Loch Fyne Oyster Bar and Restaurant at Cairndow (01499 600264, www.loch-fyne.com).
