It is just four weeks to go until the start of the Cowalfest walking festival with organisers delighted by the levels of interest in the five-day event which runs from the 18th to 22nd of September.
Cowalfest chair Andy Armstrong commented: “Bookings are coming in fast with several of the walks, including the famous ‘Coffin route’ from Glenkin to Inverchaolin, almost fully booked up.
“It has been very encouraging to see that so many walkers outside of Cowal are showing an interest and tickets for our ceilidh at Innellan Village Hall on Saturday 20th September are selling fast with a raffle supported by a host of generous local businesses.
“We are gearing up for another successful, long weekend of walking with the event firmly established as one of the most popular walking festivals in Scotland,” added Andy.
Nature and history feature heavily in the programme of walks and talks with expert guides on hand to share their knowledge.
The ever-popular Holy Loch Nature Reserve walk takes place on Friday 19th with Dr Neil Hammatt.
Dr Hammatt explained: “We will walk out to the mouth of the Eachaig river across the floor of the Holy Loch and return along the back of the saltmarsh and through the reserve’s woodland. Along the route, I will point out many interesting points about the area’s biodiversity and geology.”
Geologist Dr. Keith Torrance will be guiding walkers along the Innellan shoreline on the opening day of the festival and commented: “The geology walk will traverse around 300 million years of geological history along 2 miles of the Innellan coastline. Highlights include the Highland Boundary fault, the Woodend serpentine and deposits from Devonian flash floods.”
Innellan will also be the focus of a walk on the Friday for local historians Margaret Hubbard and Euan Macdonald.
Margaret explained: “We will roll back time to look at the history of Innellan and some of its key landmarks. It is such a pleasure to share our knowledge of the influences that shaped our village in both our walk and our talk.”
Additionally, the duo are delivering a Dunoon walk and talk on the Saturday. Euan is also leading a walk on the Sunday focusing on artworks from the Clarke Collection of paintings and drawings.
He commented: “I will take walkers through the town centre pointing out the traces of Dunoon as it stood 200 years ago. At the Museum we will show some of the items from the Clarke Collection that capture this period.”
The final day features an exploration of Kilmun Arboretum with walk guide Steve Gillen of Forestry & Land Scotland.
Steve commented: “Since the 1930s, over 160 species of trees have been planted in this remarkable hillside arboretum to test their worth as timber producers. Walkers can experience the woodlands of the world without leaving Argyll!”
There are also two informative walks on the Friday around Glenan Wood in Portavadie where participants on an evening hike will be able to witness the spectacular biofluorescence on show.
Anyone interested in nature’s free bounty will be able to learn all about foraging on a fascinating walk through Bishop’s Glen on the Saturday led by Sharon Kerrigan of Wander and Wonder.
The festival kicks off with a testing hike up An Creachan with experienced hill walker Drew Dick leading the way.
“The An Creachan circuit is a walk that perfectly distils the essence of walking in Cowal; rugged, wild country that provides a splendid feeling of remoteness and isolation. Your legs and lungs will let you know you’ve had a tough and rewarding day of walking!”
Andy concluded: “There’s something for everyone within this year’s Cowalfest programme with all levels of ability and fitness catered for.
“It’s a great chance to get out into nature, learn stuff, forge new friendships and give your physical and mental health a real boost!”
For more details visit www.cowalfest.com/bookings.
