Cowal is the three-pronged peninsula between Loch Fyne and Loch Long. Easily accessible and yet often overlooked, this is a rugged and mountainous landscape with a fine coastline, attractive lochs and extensive forests, packed with red squirrels.
There is a wide range of walking here, from the short but spectacular Puck's Glen to the Loch Lomond and Cowal Way, a 90km multi-day route traversing the area from Portavadie to Inveruglas on Loch Lomond. The capital of the district is Dunoon; a popular resort since the days of the Clyde paddle steamers and still served today by ferries across the Firth. The other key centres are Kames and Tighnabruaich, an attractive pair of villages strung out along the beautiful shores of the Kyle of Bute, and Lochgoilhead at the northern end of the area, as the hills of Cowal rise higher towards the Arrochar Alps.
Walk | Grade | Length | Time |
---|---|---|---|
Big Tree walk, Black Gates | 2km | 45 minutes | |
Puck's Glen | 2.5km | 1 - 1.5 hours | |
Gleneck Viewpoints walk, Glenbranter | 2.75km | 1 - 2 hours | |
Ardyne and the Chinese Ponds | 3km | 1 hour | |
Bishop's Glen, Dunoon | 3km | 1 hour | |
Glenan Bay, Portavadie | 3.5km | 1 - 1.5 hours | |
Allt Robuic Waterfalls, Glenbranter | 3.5km | 1 - 2 hours | |
Glen Donich circuit, Lochgoilhead | 4km | 1 - 2 hours | |
Dunan - the Camel's Hump, Ardnadam | 4.5km | 1.5 hours | |
Ardentinny Forest walks | 6km | 1.5 - 2 hours | |
River Eachaig circuit | 7km | 2 hours | |
Kilmun Arboretum | 2km | 45 mins - 1 hour | |
Portavadie and Low Stillaig | 5km | 1.5 - 2 hours | |
Strone Hill, Kilmun | 7.75km | 2.5 - 3.5 hours | |
Kyles of Bute | 9km | 2.5 - 3.5 hours | |
Beinn Mhor, via Glen Massan | 13km | 4 - 5.5 hours | |
Beinn Bheula, near Lochgoilhead | 12km | 5 - 6 hours | |
Loch Lomond and Cowal Way | 90km | 7 stages |