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Castle House in Dunoon, a turreted sandstone villa with battlements, above a rocky bank of rhododendrons in flower, steps climbing the lawn beside it and the Castle Hill flagpole on the left.
Argyll and Bute

Castle House Museum

Dunoon's own museum of local history, run by the Dunoon and Cowal Heritage Trust, a local charity.

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Welcome

Castle House Museum is the place to begin in Dunoon, and a lovely one for a rainy day.

It fills the grand house that Glasgow's Lord Provost Ewing built as his holiday home, after buying the land round the town's ruined castle in 1820. Inside, Cowal's story runs from its first Neolithic settlers and the clan battles to the heyday of the Clyde steamers, which brought Glasgow families here for the summer. Then come both World Wars and the Cold War, when American submarines were based on the Holy Loch for more than thirty years. The Victorian rooms are laid out room by room, with volunteers on hand with local stories. Afterwards, picnic in the gardens beside Highland Mary.

Round the cornerCastle Hill, Dunoon1 min by roadSee itCastle Hill, Dunoon
Before you go

Prices include a discretionary 10% donation to the museum, a charity.

Open
Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, last entry 3.30pm, in its summer season. The months are not published, so check before you go: 01369 701422.
Price
Adults £4, concessions £3.50, and children free with an adult.
By ferry
The CalMac passenger ferry from Gourock takes 25 minutes, and the museum is seven minutes on foot from the terminal: cross at the zebra crossing and take the inclined path up the hill. The Western Ferries car ferry docks at Hunter's Quay, six minutes' drive away.
Parking
A small car park outside for five cars, with two accessible spaces by the entrance; more in the council's car parks in town.
Access
A ramp from the car park and a lift to the main entrance, then a stairlift up six steps to the main exhibition. Five steps lead down to the last two Victorian rooms. There is an accessible toilet.
Dogs
Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
10am–4pm
Wednesday
10am–4pm
Thursday
10am–4pm
Friday
10am–4pm
Saturday
10am–4pm
Sunday
Closed

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Where it is

Castle Gardens, Dunoon, PA23 7HH, beside Castle Hill above the ferry terminal.

Close byDunoon and Cowal.
  1. The front of Rock Cafe on West Bay in Dunoon, painted with a big ROCK sign, a caveman carrying a tray and a stone wall, bunting along the roof.Rock CafeA café on West Bay in Dunoon looking across the Clyde, for breakfasts, lunches, cakes and Argyll Coffee Roasters coffee.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Mist on the hills above the still water of the Holy Loch.Holy LochA short sea loch in Cowal named for Saint Munn, home to American nuclear submarines from 1961 to 1992 and quiet again now.3 miles 8 min by road
  3. St Munn's Church at Kilmun in sunshine, its square tower and tall windows above the sloping churchyard and its stone wall, the ruined medieval tower beside it and the wooded hill behind.Historic KilmunThe old church of Kilmun on the Holy Loch, open for guided tours from April to the start of November.6 miles 13 min by road
  4. The avenue of giant redwoods at the entrance to Benmore.Benmore Botanic GardenThe Royal Botanic Garden's mountainside garden in Cowal, entered by an avenue of redwoods planted in 1863.7 miles 14 min by road
  5. The ruin of Toward Castle from the air: its ivy-covered tower and the roofless walls of the courtyard among spring woods, the Firth of Clyde blue beyond.Toward CastleThe ruined tower house of the Lamont chiefs on the Toward shore of Cowal, raised around 1475 and left in ruins by the Campbells in 1646.8 miles 14 min by road
  6. Pines on a point, mirrored in the still water of Loch Eck.Loch EckA long, quiet loch in the Argyll Forest Park, with red squirrels on its shores and the rare powan in its depths.11 miles 20 min by road
  7. A walker on Ardentinny Beach under the trees.Ardentinny BeachThe longest beach on the Cowal peninsula, on Loch Long, backed by forest, with a shore path to Carrick Castle.14 miles 28 min by road
Directions
Dunoon Burgh Hall at dusk, a stepped-gable stone building with a round rose window, its tall windows lit and a green door between two street lamps.AttractionsDunoon Burgh Hall0.3 miles
Bishop's Glen Reservoir above Dunoon on a bright summer day, still blue water below a bank of conifers and birch, a grassy bank along the near shore.WalksBishop's Glen1.0 miles
Loch Long at Blairmore under a blue sky of high cloud, the white rails of Blairmore Pier and its Saltire on the left and the far shore low across the water.CafeThe Blairmore3.5 miles as the crow flies
Walkers follow a path through moss-covered pine trees and fernsAttractionsPuck’s Glen5.3 miles
The view from the Ardyne hillside over young birch and spruce to the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Bute across the water and the peaks of Arran on the skyline under a big sky of white cloud.WalksArdyne Trail8.8 miles
The wooded shore of Loch Eck.AttractionsJubilee Point, Loch Eck11 miles
The Hollies, Argyll and ButeTighnabruaichThe HolliesSleeps 18 · 24 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the museum, and when each is next free.

Glenstriven House, a white Victorian house with grey stone corners, at the top of a gravel drive between lawns, with a wooded hill behind.Glenstriven House
  • Sleeps 15
  • In Argyll and Bute
  • 6 miles from Castle House Museum
Free 25–27 OctThe Hollies, Argyll and ButeThe Hollies
  • Sleeps 18
  • In Tighnabruaich
  • 13 miles from Castle House Museum
Check datesA stone cottage with a slated roof sits nestled among dense woodland, two paddleboards resting on the lawn in front.Red Squirrel Cottage
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Lochgoilhead
  • 14 miles from Castle House Museum
Check datesSeal Cabin, Argyll and ButeSeal Cabin
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Lochgoilhead
  • 14 miles from Castle House Museum
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in Argyll and ButeAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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