Across Cowal	Our self-guided walk on the Cowal peninsula from Toward to Strachur and Inveraray takes you from the land of Clan Lamont to the capital of the Campbells through some of Scotland's finest scenery.

Introduction to your self-guided hiking vacation in Scotland across the Cowal peninsula

Loch Fyne, Cowal

If your first reaction to ‘Cowal’ was ‘where’s that then?’ you’re not alone. Just perhaps, though, the very fact that it isn’t well known could be one of the very best reasons to holiday here. Cowal remains peaceful and unspoiled at least partly because it manages the difficult trick of being off the beaten track yet, at the same time, easy to get to*. A long peninsula, widening south-westwards between lochs Long and Fyne, it stands discreetly aside from the northward and westward summer rush, hidden behind its own mountains. No sooner have the visitors entered the highlands from the south, bound in numbers for the names everyone knows… Glen Coe, Skye etc. etc… than they’ve missed it.  Cowal is luckily on the road to nowhere… except to itself and to the island of Bute… and this ‘nowhere’ is more than enough for those in the know.
To share this tranquil but fascinating and varied countryside, we’ve planned a self-guided hike ‘Across Cowal’ from Toward (pronounce as for ‘coward’), on the Firth of Clyde, to Strachur, on Loch Fyne, finishing with a visit to Inveraray. We help you to find your way through some of Scotland’s finest scenery. Our aim has been to design a mini-long-distance walk with a leisurely quality, yet one which very much retains the spirit of exploration, each day walk offering something new.
We begin with the ruined and romantic Lamont castle of Toward, and end with a visit to Inveraray, the elegant and beautiful home town of Clan Campbell. En route, the Lamont memorial at Dunoon and the Argyll Mausoleum, seen across the Holy Loch at Kilmun, tell contrasting stories of the turbulent relationship between these neighbours down the centuries. We visit Benmore Botanic Garden, one of the country’s finest collections of rhododendrons, azaleas and trees and on two days overlook Loch Eck, the dramatic beauty of which is one of Cowal’s best secrets. At Inveraray a magnificent path leads to a superb vantage point high above Loch Fyne. There is historical and landscape interest galore here, making a fitting end to your week’s walking.

*Easy to get to? Twenty-five miles (40 km) by train, car or bus, followed by a twenty-minute ferry ride – a joy in itself, with views to the mountains of Arran and Argyll - brings you from central Glasgow to Dunoon, Cowal’s only town and a world away from the city.

Day-by-day Programme

1. Day 2: Toward to Dunoon - Sea views
2. Day 3: Dunoon to Benmore - Towards the High Mountains
3. Day 4: Benmore to Whistlefield - Puck’s Glen and Loch Eck
4. Day 5: Whistlefield to Strachur - Loch, river and Oakwoods
5. Day 6: Inveraray - A Model Eighteenth Century Landscape

Toward Castle

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).

Threave Castle in the river Dee

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.

Loch Eck, Cowal

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.

Inveraray and Loch Fyme from Dun na Cuaiche

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.

Across Cowal self-guided walking holiday photos

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Am I fit enough?

If you walk regularly, especially if you walk in the country or on rough paths, the answer is probably yes. In some places you will have to cope with rough going on ground that is sometimes steep, wet or broken. Age itself is no problem. Very fit men and women in their seventies can cope with this walk and others like it. You will walk 6-10 miles/9-16 km each day, so there is time to explore the places you will come through during your holiday.
Our Across Cowal walk is a very good choice if this is your first long distance path or if this is the first time you will walk in Scotland.
If you're still not sure whether or not you can cope after you've read this and the details of the walk, please get in touch to discuss it further.

Accommodation and Transport

You will stay in carefully selected B&Bs, guest houses and inns. You can rely on the quality of the accommodation that we find for you - its comfort, its food and the welcoming nature of those who run it. Details of where you will be staying will be sent to you well in advance of your holiday.
You will get a bus pass for Cowal, which you can use to get to the start of the walk or to get back to your accommodation after the walk.
Your luggage will be transferred when you move to the next B&B. We also provide transport to Glasgow at the end of the holiday.
If you have particular requirements, please let us know so that we can do our best to meet them.

Clothing and Equipment

You will need to bring boots with a good tread that provide adequate ankle support, warm clothing, waterproofs (top and over-trousers) and a rucksack big enough for your spare clothes, a packed lunch and whatever else you normally like to have with you (binoculars, a camera, etc.).
Boots are especially important. They don't have to be particularly heavy, but wearing ultra lightweight ones may mean your feet get wet and trainers definitely aren't adequate nor, on some of the rougher and steeper going, however short it may be, are they safe. Trekking poles can be very useful, especially for anyone with knee problems.

Dates and Prices for 2012

The price includes:

• Ordnance Survey Landranger map of Cowal at a scale of 50,000 covering the route.
• Detailed route descriptions and route maps.
• Double/twin room in carefully selected accommodation, breakfast and picnic lunches on walking days.
• Transport back to Glasgow/Glasgow Airport at the end.
• Bus pass for Cowal.
• Luggage transport.

For general information and booking, please click here.