A walk · Millhouse

Kilbride Bay – A Walk to the Sands Facing Arran

1¾ miles40 minutesthere and back

dogs welcome

DirectionsWalk it nowRoute for Garmin (GPX)

Kilbride Bay, also called Ostel Bay, is a crescent of pale sand at the southern tip of Cowal.

You reach it on foot through farmland and over the dunes, and from the last dune the view opens out across the water to Arran. The way in is about 20 minutes each way, by a farm track and a path that can be boggy, and lunch afterwards is by the yachts at Portavadie, on Loch Fyne.

Where it starts

A roadside layby by Kilbride Farm, on the single-track road south from Millhouse towards Ardlamont.

Walk it now Directions to the start

Is it for me?

Tap who is coming, or the day you have, for the answer on this walk.

Before you go

Getting there

It fills up, and there is a little more space just up the hill past the farm; never block the road or the farm's traffic.

On the path

About 40 minutes: about 20 minutes each way from the layby by Kilbride Farm, and two hours with an hour or so on the sand. A farm track, then a wide path across the machair and dunes, boggy in places, and soft sand. For children, a long sandy beach with room for a game when the tide is out; the walk in is about 20 minutes each way. The map to carry is OS Explorer 362, Cowal West & Isle of Bute (1:25,000).

Good to know

Kilbride Bay is open ground you can walk in daylight in any month. The Marina Restaurant and Bar at Portavadie serves lunch every day. Mid-morning, with lunch at Portavadie to follow. Room to run on the beach; the track crosses a working farm with livestock, so keep a dog close until the sand. Toilets none at the layby, on the way or on the beach. The nearest are the council's in Kames and Tighnabruaich, open all hours. The track runs through a working farm: keep to it.

The walk

Park in the layby by Kilbride Farm, on the single-track road south from Millhouse towards Ardlamont. It can get quite full, and there's a little more space just up the hill past the farm; never block the road, which the farm's traffic and emergency vehicles need. A good track runs through farmland and woodland, past a lochan, then a wide path crosses the grassy dunes, boggy in places, so wear boots.

Four swans on a lochan, reeds and bare autumn trees along the far bank.

A narrow path through windblown dune grass, red bracken beyond and a hill of spruce and golden larch behind.

It's about 20 minutes each way, under two miles there and back. Crest the last dune and there's the view of Arran, framed by the edges of the beach. Sandy beaches are rare on Cowal, and this one faces south, with shells along the tideline and, at low tide, about a mile of sand.

The pale sand of the bay, seaweed and dry grass along the top of the beach, dunes on the right and a hill of spruce and golden larch beyond.

There's a café by the layby, The Bothy at Kilbride Farm, with home baking, pies and ice cream, but its months and hours aren't published, so don't count on it. There are no toilets at the layby or on the beach; the nearest are the council's in Kames and Tighnabruaich, open all hours. Dogs have room to run on the sand, but the track crosses a working farm with livestock, so keep a dog close until you reach the beach.

If it rains

There's no shelter on the beach. In a downpour or a gale, skip the walk and go straight to Portavadie, where lunch is under a roof behind the big windows over Loch Fyne.

Afterwards

11 min by car
The Marina Restaurant and Bar, Portavadie
Lunch
It's 11 minutes' drive back through Millhouse and west to Portavadie on Loch Fyne. Every table in the Marina Restaurant and Bar looks out over the marina through tall windows, so you can watch the yachts as you eat. It serves lunch every day from noon to 2.30pm, then snacks until 4.30pm: soup and a sandwich, fish and chips or Tarbert scallops. There's a children's menu, and dogs are welcome in the lounge bar.

Before you go

Book lunch at The Marina Restaurant and Bar, Portavadie
Book a table for lunch at The Marina Restaurant and Bar, Portavadie, served every day from noon to 2.30pm, on its website or on 01700 800535: advance booking is highly recommended.

After the walk

Coffee and cake, and something to do with the rest of the day, nearest the end of the walk first.

Straight after

Picnic tables outside the Argyll Coffee Roasters window at the Hayshed.

14 min by roadA caféThe Coffee Bar at Hayshed GalleryArgyll Coffee Roasters' own coffee bar at the Hayshed Gallery near Tighnabruaich, open at weekends.

With the rest of the day

A cottage by the shore of the Kyles of Bute.

9 min by roadThings to doKames villageA quiet shore village by the Kyles of Bute, south of Tighnabruaich, once home to a gunpowder trade.

Places to stay near the walk

Our places to stay nearest the start, by road.

An advert · Tighnabruaich

The Hollies

A Victorian sandstone house on the shore at Tighnabruaich, let whole for up to 18, with every bedroom named after a Scottish band of the '80s.

Sleeps 18 · 9 minutes by road

See The Hollies

More walks near here

Within a short drive of the start.

12 min by roadA walkGlenan Wood2½ miles, about three hours

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Find out more

For further reading, before you go.