Activities for spring and summer
The Pierhouse Hotel is perfectly placed for you to enjoy the great outdoors - whatever your passion. There's an extensive range of adventure activities on offer throughout the spring and summer which we will be pleased to arrange for you upon request. Take a look at the selection below - if your favourite outdoor pursuit isn't featured, just let us know! And if you're planning a visit to us at another time of year, then take a look at our autumn and winter adventure activities page too.
If less adrenaline is more your thing, then take a look at the introduction to our other local attractions and places to visit from Port Appin However you choose to spend your break at The Pierhouse, relax and enjoy!
Activities
Fast boat tours: wildlife, whirlpools and high speed fun
Enjoy a unique combination of high adventure, pure exhilaration and the thrill of close encounters with Scotland's magnificent sealife and coastal scenery.
With the outstanding natural beauty of the Lynn of Lorn on our very doorstep, we can team up with a number of local operators who will show you uninhabited islands, dramatic sea cliffs and rich feeding grounds for whales, dolphins and porpoises. There's a great chance of excellent sightings of seals, otters, deer, wild goats, eagles, buzzards and falcons.
Sailing & Windsurfing
The Pierhouse Hotel has a great sailing tradition. As well as offering facilities for visiting yachtsmen, we're also able to arrange sailing and windsurfing for those without their own craft, based at local Linnhe Marina. Starting from a sheltered local bay onto Loch Linnhe, you can explore the beautiful islands, castles and deserted bays of Loch Linnhe, Lismore and Shuna or head down towards Mull.
In conjunction with Sail Swallow, The Pierhouse Hotel can also arrange bareboat charter of a Harmony 34 yacht for those suitably qualified. Based at Craobh Marina to the south of Oban, the yacht Swallow offers quality accommodation for up to six crew although she can be handled with just two. A fine and balanced underwater hull makes the Harmony 34 fast and pleasant to sail in all types of weather, ideal whether you are a couple looking for an intimate romantic getaway or a group of friends or family looking for adventure in what are widely regarded as some of the finest cruising waters in the world.
Sea and freshwater fishing
The Pierhouse Hotel is a great base for visiting fishermen and women. Just half an hour away is the superb Inverawe fly-fishing centre with four stocked lochs and two miles of salmon river offering a quite unique fishing experience. The lochs are stocked daily with prime hard fighting fish to give a good day's sport for everyone and the mile and a half of water on the River Awe provides some excellent salmon and sea trout fishing.
In addition Inverawe also boasts a comprehensive Angling School for beginners and intermediate fishers. You can learn the wonderful art of fly-fishing from scratch or brush up on your technique if you are feeling a little rusty. Rod and net hire is available on site.
Visit Inverawe Fisheries website>
The Pierhouse is also perfectly placed to arrange sea fishing trips - reel in your own catch of the day!
Depending on the time of year, we can arrange family mackeral fishing trips - a 2 hour evening trip amidst the stunningly beautiful scenery of Loch Etive.
More ambitiously, we can also arrange general or skate fishing trips - a full 8 hour day trip expedition, fishing in Loch Linnhe, the Sound of Mull or Loch Etive, for a maximum of 8-12 people. The trips fish for catches of pollock, luing, dogfish, rays, conger eels, mackeral and coal fish, or skate, dogfish, whiting and thornback rays. These are very popular days out so book early to avoid disappointment!
Sea kayaking
The west coast of Scotland is a world class sea kayaking destination. More and more visitors are discovering the unique pleasures of this growing sport, with its breathtaking locations, amazing scenery and wildlife experienced close up in its natural environment.
The Pierhouse Hotel is perfectly placed as a sea kayaking centre, with its own beach on the shores of Loch Linnhe. With a great mix of gentle and more testing waters all around, we can arrange sea kayaking adventures through a selection of local operators, whatever your experience level. Ideal for solo and/or family outings.
Mountain biking
The last few years has seen Scotland take its rightful place as a major mountain biking destination. With some of the top Scottish MTB locations just a short drive away, and some great gentle cycles close by, ever more cyclists are coming to The Pierhouse for a cycling based break to remember.
The newly built cycle track along Loch Creran side brings the gentle and moderate mountain biking trails of the Forestry Commission's Sutherlands Grove within an easy no-main-roads cycle of The Pierhouse. For those seeking a greater challenge, the downhill course and superb cycling at Nevis Range is just under an hour's drive away, and Wolftrax is within easy driving reach.
But don't miss out on the joys of our local cycling on quiet single track roads, meandering through fantastic scenery. Whether you choose a gentle cycle through Appin, or take your bikes on the passenger ferry from our own pier over to Lismore, you can be sure of a memorable day out. And if you haven't got your own bikes - then why not take advantage of The Pierhouse's own all-terrain mountain bikes?
Visit the Nevis Range MTB page>
Scuba Diving
A new experience awaits you while travelling through inner space. A feeling of effortless, weightlessness and the exhilaration of breathing and moving underwater. It really is a whole new exciting world! "Try-A-Dive" with Puffin Dive Centre, in Oban is an experience of being fully underwater and taking a shallow dive with the confidence of being with an experienced instructor guide with an absolute feeling of safety and enjoyment.
Just 45 minutes drive from The Pierhouse, it's the ideal way to begin your underwater adventure.
Canyoning and funyaking - the ultimate adventure?
The ultimate adventure for every extremist. Group or solo trips offer a choice of canyoning - jumping, sliding, abseiling off waterfalls, swimming through pools - or funyaking - a unique and exciting way of discovering Scotland's rivers, paddling down Class 3 rapids. No experience required, tuition provided and suitable for all age groups. All activities take 2-4 hours and head to toe thermal neoprene suits and specialist canyoning equipment provided.
It's the ideal activity for the occasional wet day, and it's just a short drive away from The Pierhouse - there's really no excuse!
Pony Trekking
If you're interested in pony trekking or horse riding, our near neighbours Lettershuna Riding Centre offer pony trekking lessons, with beach rides or longer hacks for more experienced riders.
Stunning outings to Castle Stalker beach or the woodlands and forests around the Appin area make this a day out to remember. This is a beautiful environment for outdoor hacks, for all levels of ability from beginners to advanced. Lettershuna also offer lessons.
Golf
While Scotland is world renowned as the home of golf, you might not think of Argyll as being foremost amongst Scottish golfing destinations. Nevertheless, with three excellent golf courses within easy reach - in Oban, Ballachulish and Fort William - a visit to The Pierhouse Hotel gives you the chance for some memorable golfing surrounded by spectacular scenery.
Visit Oban's Glencruitten Golf course website>
The Pierhouse Hotel Massage & Aromatherapy
Whatever activity takes your fancy, afterwards take advantage of one of our excellent relaxation, therapeutic, aromatherapy or sports massage treatments in the comfort of your own room or relax in our Finnish sauna. Just ask our Reservations team for booking details.
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- The Pierhouse Hotel rated "excellent" by 45 travellers
