6 Spring Activities in Dunoon & Cowal

Recommended by local Ciorsdan

Enjoy garden walks and wildlife watching, visit cultural sites, learn to sail, shop ‘til you drop, and experience a festival in Dunoon and Cowal this Spring. There’s so much to do, such as visiting Benmore Botanic Gardens, home to a world-famous collection of plants, and watching the thrilling Argyll Rally as they carry out various stages around Cowal, including a town centre stage. There’s something for everyone. Here are six suggestions for things to do over Spring in Dunoon and Cowal.

Spring Itinerary Highlights

Garden Walks

Learn to Sail

Wildlife Watching

Visit Cultural Sites

Shop 'til you Drop

Events & Festivals

Background image - Gruffalo Trail Ardkinglas Estate 5

Enjoy Garden Walks

Glenfinart walled Garden is a community garden in the nearby village of Ardentinny. Benmore Botanic Gardens is home to a world famous collection of plants. Ardkinglas Woodland Garden is on the shores
of Loch Fyne. This woodland garden is open all year round and hosts the “mightiest” conifer in Europe. There is also a Gruffalo trail and a Fairly trail for kids.

Learn to Sail

Tighnabruaich Sailing School offers a range of 2 to 5-day courses for adults and children on the calm waters of the Kyles of Bute. It has been providing an unsurpassed sailing experience for over 50 years and is renowned on the West Coast for high-quality tuition.

Wildlife Watching

The Dunoon and Cowal area hosts Scotland’s Big Five: the Golden Eagle, Red Deer, Common Seal, Otters and Red Squirrels. The Firth of Clyde and surrounding lochs are rich in wildlife, including dolphins, porpoises, seals and a range of birds, such as eider ducks, gannets and curlews. Orca, Minke Whales and Humpback Whales have also been known to visit the Clyde and surrounding sea lochs. The Holy Loch Nature Reserve is free to visit and has a hide you can sit in to watch the wildlife from. There are over 2000 species on the reserve including all sorts of birds.

If you’re lucky, you will catch the kingfisher on one of the posts opposite the hide (usually around high tide) flying in and out of the streams catching its food. A sea eagle has even been spotted from the hide.

Visit Cultural Sites

Castle House Museum is in Dunoon, where you can discover the history of Dunoon and Cowal from Neolithic settlers through Highland clan battles, Victorian expansion, the Clyde Steamers in their heyday, and both World Wars and the Cold War. Dunoon Burgh Hall is the creative cultural hub of Cowal. It is an accessible venue for exhibitions, performances, and gatherings, and exhibitions are often free to visit. Historic Kilmun is a former church.

Adjoining the church is the Argyll Mausoleum, a burial place of the Campbells of Argyll from the 16th century until the last Duke was interred there in 1949. The church overlooks the Holy Loch on a site with a religious history dating back to the 7th Century. The current building, erected in 1841 and set in a historic graveyard, boasts one of the very few working hydraulic water-powered organs in Britain, together with impressive stained-glass windows.

Shop 'til you Drop

The central town in Cowal is Dunoon, and it hosts a range of great shops that sell local produce, local arts and crafts, and Scottish gifts. You will also find shops that sell sportswear, books (Bookpoint), fun things for kids and a Christmas Shop. Across Cowal there is also a variety of places that sell locally made produce/crafts, such as Loch Fyne Oyster Bar Deli and Fyne Ales, both in Cairndow on the shores of Loch Fyne, the shop at The Blairmore, about 20 minutes drive from Dunoon, and The Hayshed Gallery and Argyll Botany, both of which are near Tighnabruaich.

Take in an event or festival

The Argyll Rally is where top rally crews compete across Cowal (including a Dunoon town centre stage). Punk on the Peninsula is a punk and alternative music festival on the Dunoon coast. Both of these events are run by Dunoon Presents so you can find up to date information on their Facebook page or website. Another fun festival is FyneFest hosted at Fyne Ales – a craft beer, food and music festival in Cairndow, near the shores of Loch Fyne. Find out more here.

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This list is just a suggestion of how you could spend your time in Dunoon and Cowal. The region has a range of activities and experiences to suit everyone, across all seasons.

VISIT DUNOON & COWAL

Beautiful and diverse, from the towering mountains in the north to the mellow scenery and sea lochs of the south. Catch a boat trip from a variety of destinations in Cowal on one of the last sea-going paddle steamers in the world.

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Find your place to stay from luxury hotels for a relaxing retreat to holiday parks and self catering options for adventure seekers, and everything in-between.

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