Home Report Dunoon

Dunoon is a small resort town on the beautiful Cowal Peninsula in the Argyll and Bute council area. It is home to roughly 7,800 residents and the town as we know it started life as a planned village. It was a very popular stop for Clyde cruises. Indeed, Dunoon’s heyday was back when travel by steamships was common around the Firth of Clyde; Glaswegians described this as going ‘doon the watter’ for their holidays. As we now know, this popularity declined as roads, railways and air travel became more widespread and affordable. However, Dunoon is still a beautiful place to live and has many nearby attractions for locals and visitors alike, and still serves as the maritime gateway to Loch Lomond & the Trossachs.

The town’s prosperity and economy has differed in recent decades. The former US Military base in the area provided a lot of jobs and demand for services nearby. This closed in 1992 though, and today, the town is back to what most would say it does best, primarily being a leisure and tourism focused town, with many locals working in this sector. It’s many B&Bs, self-catering apartments, hotels, cafes, pubs and restaurants cater to the many annual visitors who visit specifically or use it as a stopping point into the wider Argyll and Bute area.

As such, the area has a multitude of landmarks, amenities, attractions, and events. For instance, the town has an attractive promenade that you can walk along with spectacular views of the Firth of Clyde. Additionally, the main street has the usual independent pubs, cafes and restaurants as well as a selection of craft shops and galleries. Dunoon itself can and is often used as a base for outdoor pursuits in the wider area, with a host of activities like kayaking, sailing, mountain biking, hiking, walking and more readily available, amongst the stunning backdrop of the area. Also worth a mention is the outstanding Benmore Botanic Gardens, where visitors are welcomed by huge 150-year-old Redwood trees in “Redwood Avenue”. Likewise, Puck’s Glen is a very popular local attraction and rightfully so with its mystical trails and waterfalls. Finally, the stunning Castle House Museum in the heart of the town offers lots of fascinating facts about the area’s local history and its people.

Dunoon also hosts many events and festivals. The most prominent is the annual Cowal Highland Gathering – the largest Highland Games in the UK and Europe – which includes events like the World Highland Dancing Championship. There’s also the Cowal Open Studios, held over a fortnight each September, gives the opportunity to visit the studios of artists around Dunoon and Cowal. Then there’s Cowalfest, which celebrates the outdoors activities in Dunoon for ten days each October. The Royal National Mòd focusing on Scottish Gaelic literature, song, arts and culture has also been held in the town numerous times.

In terms of travel links, these are well developed but not in the typical sense of roads and railways. With Dunoon situated across the Firth of Clyde from Gourock, overwater travel is necessary from the ‘mainland’. You can travel directly by road but this typically takes far longer (it’s absolutely stunning though), unless of course, you’re coming from nearby in Argyll and Bute already. Instead, the common form of transport is by ferry from Gourock, which itself can be reached by train, bus or car easily. As for the ferries, there are frequent car and passenger ferries operating from Dunoon to Gourock and back. From Glasgow, the total travel time is roughly an hour and a half, with a significant portion of that being the loading, travel and unloading of the ferry itself! Naturally, this allows locals to come from and visitors to come to Dunoon easily and frequently.

As for local schooling, the local primary schools are Dunoon Primary, St. Muns Primary and Kirn Primary. Dunoon Grammar School is the local secondary. The University of the Highlands and Islands’ Argyll College has a campus in Dunoon, located in the West Bay.