Travelling back in time and ending up in heaven

Robin takes his family to Cowal, scene of many childhood visits, and marvels as fine food and stunning scenery work their magic

A s a boy I wasn’t a big fan of Cowal. Partly because I was dragged off to visit my relatives on the peninsula every couple of weeks. As an adult I now love what I consider one of Scotland’s most underrated corners. I visit as often as I can with my own kids and I’d like to share its multiple charms with you.

My mum was born in the only real Cowal town of Dunoon, a place that is already firmly on the map as the home of the annual Cowal Highland Gathering, the largest Highland Games in Scotland. It was here I headed with my parents and I now appreciate it does boast plenty more besides its sense of faded Victorian resort grandeur.

There is the site of Dunoon Castle, which enjoys great views out over the Firth of Clyde. Here stands the evocative statue of Highland Mary, the young woman immortalised in poetry by her lover, Robert Burns. The main street sports some interesting wee shops, too. A family favourite is Doon the Watter. I love taking my wee girls, Tara and Emma, in along with Dunoon lass Gran to leaf through the vintage-style souvenirs that hark back to the Dunoon golden days.

Just north of Dunoon lies Benmore Botanic Garden. Run by the same people behind the Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, this remarkable oasis showcases myriad flora in a spectacular Highland setting surrounded by a rugged wrap of hills. You can stroll here learning all about the tree species from all around the world, marvelling at more than 300 species of rhododendron and feeling tiny beneath the massive redwoods of Sierra Redwood Avenue.

You can get to Dunoon by ferry from Gourock, but my favourite way of arriving in the surprisingly remote (this is still the Central Belt, really) Cowal Peninsula is via Bute. You hop on the car ferry at Wemyss Bay for the half-hour crossing to the Isle of Bute. After a scenic drive north up this wee island – crossing the Highland Boundary Fault as you go – it’s back on Calmac for its shortest route, the couple-of-minutes crossing from Rhubodach to Colintraive on Cowal.

The ferry journey may be short but you instantly get to appreciate the peninsula’s deeply dramatic scenery as hulking hills rise up all around, with waterways snaking all around too in the majestic Kyles of Bute. The drive from here to my favourite place to stay on Cowal, Portavadie, just gets better and better as you cruise around the Kyles towards Tighnabruaich, heading deeper into the land of the Argyll Gaels, who fought over these waters with the Vikings for centuries.

I’ve stayed at hotels and self-catering escapes across Cowal but, for me, there is only place to stay these days. That is Portavadie. I went back there earlier this week for the fifth time and I aim to go back again soon! It’s that good. This impressive marina and resort emerged from unlikely beginnings as an old oil industry white elephant. The deep basin that was hollowed out – but never used for the rigs – made for the perfect marina, as the family that dreamed up this eye-catching modern development realised.

Portavadie (www.portavadie.com) is the sort of place that just keeps getting better. The £40m initial development has been added to over the years, as it has become a major part of both the local economy and community. As well as the slick main accommodation and restaurant building and 240-berth marina, there is now a lodge with more budget-conscious accommodation