Join us for a ‘Summer Walks Weekend‘ to whet your appetite for Cowalfest’s October Walking and Arts Festival. Enjoy guided walks from the Forestry Commission rangers, hill walks with wonderful views, a magical walk through a fairy glen, heritage and theatre from the Walking Theatre Company, guided walks through the Benmore Botanic Gardens, see wildlife, hear music and calm yourself with Tai Chi in peaceful, awe inspiring surroundings.
This isn’t just any walking festival, this is Cowalfest - Scotland’s largest Walking and Arts Festival!
Alexander Reid, Thomas Glover, Robert and David Napier, Henry Lobnitz, James McNeill Whistler, the Nagasaki shipyard, Sir Andrew Noble, Monet, Lord Weir, H J Younger, La Société des Beaux-Arts, the Glasgow Boys, ukiyo-e, and the Scottish Colourists. What do they have in common?
Could it be something to do with the Japan-UK 150 logo that has appeared on the website, signifying that Cowalfest is a Japan-UK 150 event in a year of celebrations that commemorate the signing of a treaty of friendship and trade between the UK and Japan which signalled the end of the Shogunate and the Meiji restoration, bringing to an end Japan’s 250 years of isolation. Click here to find out more.
Welcome home in 2009
2009 is the year Scotland will welcome home those with Scottish roots, and those who have an enduring interest in Scotland and love of its culture.
Thomas Faed, Burns and Highland Mary, Culture and Sport Glasgow (Museums)
The Homecoming. Held in the year in which we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of our national bard, the Cowal Peninsula has a direct link with his life and loves.
Robert Burns’ great love Mary Campbell (1763-1786), his Highland Mary, was born in a thatched cottage at Auchamore Farm near Dunoon, the daughter of Archibald and Agnes Campbell.
To find out more click here.
Cowalfest 2009
Cowalfest in 2009 will be a very special festival, reflecting our rich heritage, drawing on the peninsula’s fascinating history, telling of links with Burns, celebrating our outstanding and innovative contributions to the world, highlighting global links, remembering ancestors who left these shores in search of new challenges and new lives. All this set within the breathtaking scenery, so inspirational to artists and writers, of Argyll’s Cowal Peninsula with its hills, lochs, firth, forests and the exotic trees and shrubs that flourish in the mild west coast climate, and of course our great diversity of wildlife including red squirels and eagles, not to mention our wonderfully varied and enticing walks.
We’re proud of this breathtaking environment and in 2009, whether you are celebrating your Scottish roots, are a frequent visitor, or have never visited before, Cowalfest will welcome you home.
Make a different world a way of life.
Visit Cowal, be part of Cowalfest.
For information and programme, available in July, contact
VisitScotland
Alexandra Parade, Dunoon, Argyll, PA23 8AB, Scotland (UK)
Telephone - 08707 200629 info@dunoon.visitscotland.com
