Whistlefield Inn, Loch Eck

The Whistlefield Inn, dating from the early 19th century or earlier, played a significant role in the development of tourism in Cowal during the later 19th century, coinciding with the rise in popularity of road excursions and steamer trips connecting Strachur, Loch Eck, and Ardentinny. While altered over time, it remains a noteworthy group of buildings with a complex history contributing to the area’s landscape.

The inn is comprised of several joined buildings. The main structure consists of three gabled blocks arranged back to back. Its front elevation, facing roughly southeast away from Loch Eck on the road to Ardentinny, is a five-bay, one-and-a-half-story design with gabled dormers, a low gabled porch, and a later lean-to porch. A second elevation, overlooking both Loch Eck and the main road, includes a short gabled block with a central, double-height canted bay and a later flat-roofed block to the southwest. Immediately northeast of the hotel are three parallel gabled former outhouses.

The earliest identifiable part of the inn is the central block of the three main sections, of which only a gable and a single bay remain visible. Constructed of rubble, it likely dates to the earliest phase and features probable 19th-century windows and a low door leading to what may have been a vaulted cellar, which was later altered. Some of the outbuildings may also belong to this earlier phase.

A second phase likely involved extending the original block with the long front elevation. A late 19th-century photograph reveals a symmetrical, three-bay façade with gabled dormers to the northeast and a lower three-bay block to the southwest. The entrance features a flat-roofed porch with an iron crest. The block facing Loch Eck likely dates to the middle of the 19th century, featuring a central, double-height canted window and a door below.

Further extensions were added during the 20th century. A large, flat-roofed extension on the west corner, reputedly built around 1940 to serve a work and army camp at Ardentinny, is particularly notable. More recently, two additional gabled dormers have been added to the front elevation, and the outbuildings to the northeast have been converted into bunkhouses.

The interior has been substantially modernized, though some elements of the original layout remain, including some timber boarding on the ceilings.

The inn is constructed primarily of rubble, with the main elevations harled and the northeast gables and outbuildings featuring exposed rubble. The roofs are covered in grey slate. The windows are predominantly replacement timber sash and case windows.

To the northeast are three parallel ranges of former outbuildings, now converted to additional accommodation, characterized by exposed rubble, ventilation slits, and slate roofs. Rubble boundary walls are located to the northwest and along the Ardentinny road.