Loch Racadal

The water here is proper dark and still, hemmed in by rough moorland that rises steeply on both sides. Loch Racadal sits about four miles north of Tarbert - a small, quiet loch that doesn't get hammered by tourists the way Loch Lomond does. What you're really getting is a sense of genuine Argyll: empty hills, the smell of peat and heather, and barely another person in sight.

It's a walker's loch rather than a destination in its own right. Most people come for the circuit walk around it - nothing mad, but it requires proper boots and a decent bit of stamina. The views back down towards Kintyre are worth the legwork. Fishermen come too; if you've got a rod and the patience for brown trout, this is your sort of place.

Families with young kids might find it a bit underwhelming if they're expecting something to do - there's no visitor centre, no café, no infrastructure. But older children who can manage a few miles and don't need constant entertainment will remember it. The isolation is actually the appeal.

Camp at Port Ban Holiday Park (3.7 miles away, excellent ratings) or Tarbert Holiday Park (4.6 miles) and use this as part of a bigger Kintyre or Mid-Argyll walking week. It's the sort of loch that stays with you more for what it isn't than what it is - a proper antidote to manicured tourism. Free access, obviously. Early morning is best, before the light gets too hazy.