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Things
to do in and around Kilmun |
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| Walking
The walking all around Kilmun
is absolutely fantastic, and
from the house itself there
are half a dozen spectacular
routes that take you into some
magical places in the Forest
Park. Puck’s Glen is unmissable,
but the Ardnadam Heritage Trail,
Glen Finnairt, Ardentinny Forest,
and Cowal Way are also all decently
marked and come highly recommended.
You can do circular routes that
take anything from an hour and
a half to eight or nine hours.
We’ve left you maps and
guides in the sitting room,
and more details are available
from the tourist office in Dunoon.Cycling
It really is a great |
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the scenery in the area –
and the topography is such that
you don’t need to do much
back-breaking hill work. The trips
up Loch Eck, round the corner
to Ardentinny, and through the
pass to the Kyles of Bute are
all lovely. The circular route
turning left out of the house,
past Strone and Ardentinny on
the coast road and then through
the forest to Sligrachan sees
you joining the A815 on Loch Eck
at the Whistlefield Inn. 15 miles
or so as a round trip; there’s
one steep climb of about a mile
which’ll test all but the
fittest, but then it’s downhill
to the pub! We’ve equipped
the house with 6 kid’s bikes
of different sizes and a couple
for grown ups |
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| Sight-seeing
Generally,you are fantastically
positioned to see some of the
world’s most spectacular
scenery. The views aren’t
bad from the house itself, but
drive up to Loch Fyne and down
to Loch Lomond, or into the
Kyles of Bute, or down the Maccrahanish
/ Mull of Kintyre peninsula,
and you’ll see vistas
to take your breath away. Enjoy
the local area on foot or by
bike, but if you don’t
know this area of Scotland well,
and you have better than 50
yard visibility, we’d
really recommend you do spend
a bit of time exploring it(and
not just |
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because people use fewer of our logs
when they are out the house and wear
the furniture out less). If the weather’s
rubbish, you are 75mins from Glasgow
by http://www.oldkilmunhouse.com/images/gardens.jpg
Ferry and M8, and less than 2 hours
from Edinburgh if the traffic’s
okay. They are both great cities to
visit. |
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| Benmore
Botanic Gardens Only three
miles away towards Loch Eck, absolutely
amazing set of gardens planted and cared
for originally by James Duncan and then
the Younger family (beer-age and politics)
who owned Old Kilmun House for ages,
and added the Victorian additions on
the end of the house which we don’t
own. Benmore gardens are a branch of
the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.
Awesome trees, including the tallest
in Britain, and lots related to our
own here; a great tea shop at the gates,
too. Dogs on leads only. |
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| Golf
Strone’s pretty, 9 hole course which
was designed by James Braid, is well-signposted,
just over a mile away. Innellan is an 18 holes
course, about 20 minutes away. Cowal has 18
holes and is a bit closer just above Dunoon.
There’s also a second fabulous 9 hole
course 35 minutes away at Tighnabruich with
lovely views up the Kyles of Bute, with a
ral “island golf” feel to it.
Visitors are welcome any time there isn’t
a match on all these courses. You are welcome
to use the four sets of golf clubs we’ve
left for guests. |
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| Fishing
The River Eck is one of the most
expensive trout stretches in the
West of Scotland and mostly carved
up by timeshare. Fortunately,
though, there’s a mass of
very good value options for both
loch and river fishing locally,
with daily and some weekly permits
available from Purdies on Argyll
St (open 9am to 5pm; 01369 703232).
Under 16 permits are all half
price. We’ve supplied half
a dozen rods and some basic kit
– spinning and casting –
which is |
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| kept
on rafters of the bike shed. Rivers
– Cur (£10 a day per rod,
weekly ticket available for £30),
Masson (£10 a day), Ruel (£12),
and Finnart (£6 per day, weekly
ticket available for £18) –
any legal lure, no maggots. Lochs -
Dunoon Reservoir (rainbow trout £15),
Loch Loskin (brown trout, £10
including boat), Loch Tarsan (brown
trout £10 per rod plus another
£10 for boat if you want it, weekly
ticket available for £30) –
all fly fishing only, all open 7 days.
Loch Eck is also available. |
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