A road follows its length and you can enjoy the flurry of activity

A road follows its length and you can enjoy the flurry of activity at the tiny village of Crinan as yachts navigate the final descent to the sea.If you want to stay in the area (and with so much to see and do, it would be a pity not to), make for Lunga Estate near Ardfern. From here, the enterprising yachtsman can sail south and navigate his way along the Crinan Canal, once described as “the most beautiful short cut in Britain”. It as built in 1801, and its eight miles avoid an 80-mile trip round the Mull of Kintyre. The latter is something of a curiosity, a relic of the expansive Eighties consisting of incongruous, pastel-coloured, pseudo-vernacular homes which form the backdrop to a marina created by connecting a series of off-shore islets.

Don’t miss the audio-visual (shown in a tiny loft space in a converted barn) which brilliantly portrays the land and man’s impact on it in a series of stunning images accompanied by evocative Highland music.Just to the north of the village, and quite modern in the context of this neighbourhood, is Camasserie Castle, a late-medieval building of great sophistication. It’s worth the trek up from the road to see this imposing and well preserved ruin, once the home of the man who took John Knox’s liturgy to Gaeldom.Weather permitting (especially in view of the current gales) you may want to try something a little energetic after such contemplation of the past, in which case head north to the sailing centres of Ardfern and Craobh Haven. And part of the delight of this area, for all its plentiful evidence of man’s rituals and rites, is that it doesn’t give its secrets away.Stop in the village of Kilmartin and visit the recently opened museum which, though small, is well laid out and depicts 5,000 years of interaction of people with the surrounding landscape. Linger at the stone circles of Temple Wood, standing magically in a nearby patch of old woodland, and you’ll find yourself wondering what really went on here thousands of years ago.

It’s easy to see why this place became the capital of the ancient kingdom of Dalriada. Kings were crowned here (allegedly using the Stone of Destiny) and you can still see a slab of rock at the summit which has a footprint and a round basin carved out of it, both thought to have been used during inauguration ceremonies.Standing stones, stone circles and rocks with curious prehistoric carvings are all around as you drive northward, and in Kilmartin Glen are the remains of a linear cemetery, a line of six burial cairns spread over two miles, that was in use before the Pyramids were built. Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age remains scatter the countryside, alongside forts, duns, crannogs and sculptured stones.
Take the wonderfully scenic road from Loch Lomond through Inveraray and Lochgilphead and, heading north, you will come to Dunadd, a hilltop fort dating back 1,500 years, perched on a rocky outcrop. To the south lies the long road to the Mull of Kintyre, immortalised, infuriatingly, by Paul McCartney.

Between the two, in a small glen in a little-visited part of the west of Scotland, can be found perhaps the most extraordinary concentration of prehistoric remains in western Europe. From standing stones to medieval ruins and an incongruous Eighties marina: Gus Macleod makes tracks through an ancient land on Scotland’s west coast. To the north lie Oban and some of Scotland’s more serious mountains. Pack all your luggage yourself and do not carry any items that do not belong to you.”Typhoid is still present in Guyana. Malaria is prevalent in all areas outside Georgetown.”Foreign Office Travel Advice is displayed in BBC2 (Ceefax) p470 or call 0171-238 4503.

Visitors caught trafficking drugs face long prison sentences and very heavy fines. Take additional precautions during daylight hours; exercise constant vigilance, do not dress ostentatiously, do not carry valuable, large quantities of money, video cameras, etc. House burglary (which is often accompanied by violence), and theft from cars are also major problems.”Drug trafficking in Guyana is becoming a major problem. Do not walk alone at night, especially in the area of Stabroek Market and downtown Georgetown. The situation is tense and volatile following the General Elections on 15 December Some protest demonstrations have led to violence. Visitors who must travel should avoid meetings and demonstrations and should keep off the streets of Georgetown [where the Test will take place].
“Violent crime remains a problem, particularly in Georgetown. Perhaps the citizens of Copenhagen, where the cranium of the Little Mermaid was stolen this week, could buy it..A train ticket from Moscow to Peking, with a stop in Ulan Ude, costs pounds 420 including two nights’ accommodation in both Moscow and Ulan Ude, visa and transfers through The Russia Experience (0181-566 8846)..