Dunoon
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-> Dunoon
In the nineteenth century, DUNOON, Cowal's capital, grew from a mere village to a major Clyde seaside resort and favourite holiday spot for Glaswegians. Nowadays, tourists tend to arrive by ferry from Gourock and, though their numbers are smaller, Dunoon remains by far the largest town in Argyll, with 13,000 inhabitants. Apart from its practical uses and its fine pier, however, there's little to tempt you to linger.
The Castle House Museum (Easter-Oct Mon-Sat 10.30am-4.30pm, Sun 2-4.30pm; www.castlehousemuseum.org.uk; £1.50) has some good hands-on nature stuff for kids, an excellent section on the Clyde steamers as well as details of "Highland Mary", betrothed to Robbie Burns (despite the fact that he already had a pregnant wife), who nursed the poet through typhus while they planned to elope to the West Indies only to die from the disease herself. A statue of her is in the grounds. With an hour or so to spare, you could visit the Cowal Bird Garden (April-Oct daily 10.30am-6pm; £3.25), one mile northwest along the A885 to Sandbank, and wander through their woodland amid exotic caged birds as well as free-roaming peacocks, macaws and pot-bellied pigs. If the weather's fine, take the Ardnadam Heritage Trail, a mile further up the road, to the wonderful Dunan viewpoint looking out to the Firth of Clyde.
It's a good idea to take advantage of Dunoon's tourist office, the principal one in Cowal, located on Alexandra Parade (May-Sept Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat & Sun 10am-5pm; April & Oct Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 11am-3pm; Nov-March Mon-Thurs 9am-5.30pm, Fri 9am-5pm; tel 01369/703785). There are two ferry crossings across the Clyde from Gourock to Dunoon; the shorter, more frequent service is half-hourly on Western Ferries to Hunter's Quay, a mile north of the town centre; CalMac's boats, though, arrive at the main pier, and have better transport connections if you're on foot.
There's an enormous choice of B&Bs, none of them outstanding. You're better off heading out of town or persuading the tourist office to help you out, since availability is the biggest problem. For real quality, head for the highly reputable Ardfillayne House, West Bay (tel 01369/702267, www.ardfillayne.activebooking.com; £60-70). A hostel, run by the Baptist Church, is due to open on Alexandra Parade (for the latest, call the church on 01369/706665). Chatters, 58 John St (Wed-Sat only; closed Jan & Feb), is Dunoon's best restaurant, offering delicious Loch Fyne seafood and Scottish beef. Dunoon boasts a two-screen cinema (a rarity in Argyll) on John Street, but the town's most famous entertainment is the Cowal Highland Gathering (www.cowalgathering.com), the largest of its kind in the world, held here on the last weekend in August, and culminating in the awesome spectacle of the massed pipes and drums of more than 150 bands marching through the streets.
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