A walk · Toward

Toward – A Woodland Walk and the Lamonts' Old Castle

2¼ miles1 hour

free parkingdogs welcome

The Toward shore is the quiet southern tip of Cowal, looking out over the Firth of Clyde to Bute and the mountains of Arran.

The Ardyne Trail climbs through young birch woods to that view, and a short path leads up through the trees to Toward Castle, the old Lamont tower house that has stood in ruins since 1646. Lunch is on the water's edge in Dunoon.

Where it starts

Ardyne car park, Forestry and Land Scotland's, two miles west of Toward Point and half a mile past Castle Toward (nearest postcode PA23 7UH).

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

There is no charge to park.

On the path

About an hour for the loop, with time at the top for the view. Graded strenuous, with steep slopes and some grassy and muddy stretches. There is open water by the path at the ponds: keep small children close.

Good to know

Rock Cafe opens Thursday to Monday; on a Tuesday or Wednesday, lunch is at the Osborne in Innellan instead. About 10.30am. Dogs under close control, as the Scottish Outdoor Access Code asks. The nearest public toilets are in Innellan, about four miles away, and Dunoon.

The walk

Ardyne car park is free, two miles west of Toward Point and half a mile past Castle Toward (PA23 7UH for a satnav). The Ardyne Trail starts here, Forestry and Land Scotland's waymarked loop of a mile and a half, or 2.6 km, climbing through young birch to wide views of the Firth of Clyde.

On the way up it looks across Bute to the peaks of Arran. Allow an hour.

It's graded strenuous: gravel for most of the way, with grass, mud and steep slopes in places.

If it rains

In heavy rain, keep to the short path up to Toward Castle and go on to lunch early.

Afterwards

About 5 min by car
Toward Castle
An attraction
Park in the layby on the shore road about a mile west of Toward, keeping the gate opposite clear. The ruin is about half a kilometre away, by a rough path signed to Toward Castle just west along the road. The Lamonts raised the tower house in about 1475 and enlarged it more than once; the Campbells besieged it in 1646 and left it a ruin. The tower still stands on its knoll above the water, with its courtyard walls and an arched gateway. Castle Toward, the big house nearby, is privately owned, so keep to the path.
More about Toward Castle
About 15 min by car
Rock Cafe
Lunch
It's about seven miles through Innellan to West Bay in Dunoon, where Rock Cafe looks across the Clyde, with free parking nearby. The food is freshly made, from café standards to the day's specials, with something sweet to go with coffee roasted along the coast at Tighnabruaich. On the days it's closed, the Osborne in Innellan, on the way, serves lunch from 12.30pm to 2.30pm in a conservatory looking over the Firth; booking is recommended, on 01369 830820.
More about Rock Cafe

Places to stay near the walk

Our places to stay nearest the start, by road.

An advert

Glenstriven House

A white Victorian country house above Loch Striven in Cowal, let whole to one party, with seven bedrooms, a private beach and a pub of its own.

Sleeps 15 · 17 minutes by road

See Glenstriven House

Glenstriven House, a white Victorian house with grey stone corners, at the top of a gravel drive between lawns, with a wooded hill behind.

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Find out more

For further reading, before you go.

Photographs by Brian Muir, Stephen Gardiner and Chris Shields via Google