Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 25 on 17/02/2006.

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Get on your bike

In a new series we look at journeys you can make in Scotland by bike. First up: Craig Whyte explores Cowal

The journey across Cowal doesn’t have to be done by bike, but there is no better way to explore the quiet roads and the intimate tangle of hill and sea loch that makes up this oftenforgotten corner of the Highlands.

This is the bit of the Highlands that lies not north, but west of Glasgow. It’s so accessible, and has the added attraction of an arrival in the Highlands by sea, yet is often overlooked by travellers. Just take the half-hour train ride from Glasgow Central to the pier at Gourock as I did, and in the 20 minute ferry crossing to Dunoon, you make the transition from the world of the bustling lowlands to something of the serenity and grandeur associated with the Scottish Highlands.

There’s been a settlement at Dunoon for many centuries, but it was during Victorian times, when the booming population of industrial Glasgow with its newfound affluence began to venture ‘doon the watter’ to the Firth of Clyde, that the Dunoon of today first made its mark on the map.

Decades have passed since the popularity of the Clyde resorts was at its peak, but when I rolled off the ferry on my bike, I felt a buzz in the fresh October air. Within minutes I found myself unexpectedly standing, paintbrush in hand, bicycle helmet laid to one side, in front of a large canvass just outside the entrance to the Argyll Hotel.

Like other passers-by, I’d been cajoled into contributing to a public participation art piece. It was just one of the many innovative events taking place as part of the.....

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By Craig Whyte

Section : Scottish Cycling

Page number : 24