Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LOCH FYNE OYSTER BAR AND SHOP
Loch Fyne Oyster Bar and Shop
On the A83, 2 miles
north of Cairndow and 8 miles east of Inveraray
T
01499 600236,
W
loch-fyne.com.
On the shores of
Loch Fyne is the famous
Loch Fyne Oyster Bar
, which
spawned the Loch Fyne chain of restaurants. The food is
utterly delicious and beautifully thought out, from the
chilled crab gazpacho and salmon ceviche (£9.50), to
grilled halibut (£21) and hand-dived Islay scallops
(£16.50). The restaurant itself oozes class, though it's
anything but stuffy, and there's also a superb marble-
topped oyster bar where you can tuck into prawns, clams,
cockles and heaps of other tasty wet stuff. The gorgeous
on-site shop/deli is a great place to assemble a gourmet
picnic. Reservations advised.
Daily 9am-10pm.
6
out, too, for the magnificent Silver Fir (159ft), typically found in Central Europe. You
can pick up a
Woodland Garden Map
at the entrance to guide you around.
In the southern part of the gardens stands
Ardkinglas House
, a particularly handsome
Scottish Baronial mansion, built in 1907 by Robert Lorimer for the Noble family.
Dunoon
he principal entry point into Cowal by sea is
DUNOON
. In the nineteenth century it grew
from a village to a major Clyde seaside resort and favourite holiday spot for Glaswegians,
but nowadays there's really little to tempt you to stay, particularly with attractive
countryside beckoning just beyond. hat said, it's worth visiting on the last weekend in
August, when the famous
Cowal Highland Gathering
(
W
cowalgathering.com) takes place
here. he largest event of its kind in the world, it culminates in the awesome spectacle of
the massed pipes and drums of more than 150 bands marching through the streets.
Castle House Museum
Castle Gardens • Easter-Oct Mon-Sat 10.30am-4.30pm, Sun 2-4.30pm • £2 •
T
01369 701422,
W
castlehousemuseum.org.uk.
he centre of town is dominated by a grassy lump of rock known as
Castle Hill
, where
you'll find the
Castle House
Museum
. here's some good hands-on nature stuff for kids
and an excellent section on the Clyde steamers, as well as more about “Highland Mary”,
betrothed to Robbie Burns (despite the fact that he already had a pregnant wife), who died
of typhus before the pair could see through their plan to elope to the West Indies.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
DUNOON
By ferry
There are two 20min ferry
crossings across the Clyde
from Gourock to Dunoon. The shorter, more frequent service is
on Western Ferries (
T
01369 704452,
W
western-ferries
.co.uk) to Hunter's Quay, a mile north of the town centre.
CalMac's boats (
T
0800 066 5000,
W
calmac.co.uk), though,
arrive at the main pier, and have better transport connections
if you're on foot.
Destinations
Gourock-Dunoon (hourly; 20min); McInroy's
Point-Hunter's Quay (every 30min; 20min).
By bus
Buses stop on Alexandra Parade, not far from the
main pier.
Destinations
Colintraive (Mon-Sat 2-3 daily; 1hr);
Inveraray (Mon-Sat 3 daily; 1hr 10min).
INFORMATION
Tourist office
On Alexandra Parade, a 5min walk from
the CalMac terminal (Easter-Oct daily 9am-5pm;
Nov-Easter Mon-Sat 10am-4pm;
T
01369 703785,
W
visitcowal.co.uk).
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Abbot's Brae
West Bay
T
01369 705021,
W
abbotsbrae.co.uk.
The welcoming
Abbot's Brae
is a
beautiful family-run Victorian villa set in woods above
West Bay with lovely views over the Clyde. One interesting
feature of the eight spacio
us r
ooms is the photographs
depicting the local history.
£75
Chatters
58 John St
T
01369 706402,
W
chattersdunoon
.co.uk.
Despite its unappealing location next to
Morrisons
, this
is Dunoon's one real restaurant of merit, offering especially
delicious meat dishes like pan-fried wood pigeon on cous cous
(£9) and roast saddle of lamb (£19.50).
Tues noon
-
3pm,
Wed-Sat noon
-
3pm & 6
-
11pm.
