Celebrate the Cowal Way
A week-long festival for footpath
When you have an established long-distance path and a stunningly beautiful peninsula, it makes perfect sense to celebrate them both: welcome to Cowal Fest.
From October 5-12, the Cowal plays host to walking and outdoor events, not only along the route of the way but also across the peninsula as a whole.
Activities fall under the headings of heritage, health, nature, family and art and culture.
One feature is plenty of ‘taster’ sessions to boost health and help you get the most out of your walking; yoga and Chi and Nordic walking, along with tai chi and meditation walks.
This year’s festival has 14 new walks. These range from rough mountain climbs to ‘woodland wanders’ and also new this year ‘social’ walks for people who want to go at a more leisurely pace and stop off at inns and cafes along the way.
The walks and talks are always a big feature of Cowal Fest, exploring the heritage and history of the peninsula. There are also a number of specialist walks catering for specific interests including ornithology, photography and guided tours of Benmore Botanical Gardens, part of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, which has an internationally-important plant collection.
Look out also for a meditation walk, along the old track between the gardens and Puck’s Glen.
There is even a guided walk given in Gaelic. Cowal Fest always includes family events and has a hugely popular children’s walk by torchlight, which is free.
Book early to avoid disappointment, in many cases – especially the linear walks – the places are filling up fast as numbers are limited due to transport. The festival’s website is up and running for bookings.
Not everyone wants a peaceful, tranquil time along the Cowal Way – for some it is go hard or go home.
Saturday saw the second Cowal Way Chase – an ultra run and bike on a course starting and finishing in Lochgoilhead, using one of the most challenging parts of the Cowal Way route.
That is part of the joy of the Cowal Peninsula. It can offer pushchair-friendly family routes and it has also hosted one of the UK’s toughest endurance tests, the Original (Karrimor) Mountain Marathon.