Itinerary

Day 1 ‘Doon the Watter’ - Arrival in Dunoon
Your home for three nights, Dunoon had its 19th century heyday as a seaside resort ‘doon the watter’, coinciding with the huge industrial and population explosion in west-central Scotland. The large stone-built villas along the shore remain as witness to this period of prosperity, as does Castle House (now a museum). Cheap air travel ultimately changed the nature of tourism here in the 20th century when large numbers deserted for Spain.
Don’t miss: Castle Hill and the museum. Lamont memorial (nearby). A walk along the esplanade from town centre to Kirn and back, with ice cream at Kirn.

Day 2 Toward to Dunoon - Sea views (1)
We begin today at the geological divide between lowlands and highlands, which also gives us great views to the islands of the outer Firth of Clyde. At Toward Castle the tower on the well-preserved motte is dangerous, but the buildings of the bailey are clearly outlined and easily entered. A large Lamont garrison was once besieged at the castle by Campbell forces - the mass executions that followed being commemorated by the Lamont memorial in Dunoon.
The castle ruin is also, unintentionally, a monument to Scotland’s geology; it is a beautiful mix of old red (desert) sandstones and grey metamorphic schists. The former are lowland rocks from a little fragment of Cowal that is geologically lowland, because the Highland Boundary Fault slices across the corner of Cowal.
Castle Toward (beware - no relation to Toward Castle!) is a 19th century mansion now reincarnated as an outdoor centre. The surrounding estate bears the clear traces of having been shaped by landscape architects, as, for example, in the Chinese Ponds.
Your route back to Dunoon gives magnificent views south and east across the Clyde. Bute, with its main town of Rothesay, the serrated mountains of Arran, and the two Cumbrae islands are all well seen if the weather is clear. Finish your walk by the Bishop’s Glen reservoir.
9 miles/14km and 1150ft/350m ascent
Don’t miss: Toward Castle and Castle Toward. The Highland Boundary Fault (if you are at all interested in rocks).

Day 3 Dunoon to Benmore Botanic Garden - Neolithic and Nineteenth Century Cowal, Towards the High Mountains (2)
Today takes you back nearly as far as the history of man in Scotland goes. At Ardnadam, between Dunoon and Sandbank, have been found the traces of settlement by Neolithic (‘New’ Stone Age) people who lived here about 5000 years ago. Ardnadam has some of the first hut sites of permanently resident farmers in Scotland.
Before getting to Ardnadam there are great views from the top of Dunan (locally known as the ‘Camel’s Hump’). Looking to the left, across the head of the loch, you see far into Strath Eachaig, flanked on each side by high mountains. Its river flowing from Loch Eck, the strath (= broad valley) is the site of Benmore Botanic Garden, your ultimate destination today.
10 miles/16km and 1150ft/350m ascent
Don’t miss: Benmore Botanic Garden.

Day 4  Benmore to Whistlefield - Puck’s Glen and Loch Eck (3)
Today we soon find ourselves in the gorge of Puck’s Glen. The name gives the game away – we’re into nineteenth century estate landscaping, amongst people with money and leisure time, and deep in the heart of the romantic movement as well as of the gorge. Some of the soaring trees in the middle reaches of the gorge recall the pillars along the aisles of great medieval cathedrals, and the canopy overhead gives a good impression of a lofty roof.
Emerging from Puck’s Glen, our way leads north, high above the floor of Strath Eachaig and Loch Eck; you are entering the Argyll Forest Park, Britain’s first, created in 1935. The scenery is magnificent, and as you walk along, there will be many opportunities to enjoy the views westward across Loch Eck to the massif of Beinn Mhor (= Big Mountain).
8 miles/13km and 1300ft/400m ascent
Don’t miss: Puck’s Glen.

Day 5 Whistlefield to Strachur, Loch Fyne - Loch, river and Oakwoods (4)
Today you head first for Invernoaden, otherwise known as Driep or Drip and the setting for a comic-horror story from the past which you can read about in Sir Fitzroy MacLean’s wonderful, if gruesome, collection of Highland tales, ‘The Isles of the Sea’ (1985). Or google Archie McPhunn of Drip.
The walk continues along the slopes of Beinn Lagan towards Strachurmore. Above Strachurmore you will get the first glimpses of Loch Fyne, with 40 miles the longest sea loch in Scotland. From Strachurmore it is only a short walk along a quiet road to Strachur.
8.5 miles/14km and 1300ft/400m ascent
Don’t miss: Exploring the Clachan and surrounds in Strachur.

Day 6 Inveraray - A Model Eighteenth Century Landscape (5)
It would only be exaggerating a little to describe Inveraray as a sort of mini highland Versailles, where, in their very own royal burgh, the Dukes of Argyll once held court. It’s a very attractive, if very small, town with 18th century architect-designed buildings of elegant simplicity that deserves and repays exploration of all its byways.
The walk to Dun na Cuaiche, with it’s strategically-placed watchtower certainly shouldn’t be missed. The woodlands on the way up are attractive and the view from the top is stunning.
Up to 6 miles/9km and up to 1300ft/400m ascent
Don’t miss: The town itself. Dun na Cuaiche. Inveraray Jail.

Day 7 Back to the Lowlands - Strachur to Glasgow
Your route back to the city will take you across the Rest and be Thankful pass, along the shores of Loch Long and Loch Lomond and on to Glasgow.
Don’t miss: Glasgow is a city with life and style. It surprises many with its range of attractions and you could do a lot worse than give it a day or two if you have the time.

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