ORGANISERS of Cowalfest have unveiled plans for a more focused three-day walking festival this autumn, alongside a new programme of pop-up walks throughout the year.
The popular event will run from Friday, October 2 to Sunday, October 4, with a provisional line-up designed to cater for walkers of all abilities while showcasing the best of Cowal’s scenery.
Planned routes include the well-loved Innellan geology walk, the Glenshellish loop, and a family-friendly hike from Benmore to Glen Massan.
Festival chair Andy Armstrong said this year’s event would place a stronger emphasis on accessibility and inclusivity.
He explained: This year’s festival will be more focused on providing walks for people of all abilities, and each and every hike will be aimed at showcasing the spectacular scenery we have on the peninsula.
He added that feedback from last year’s event had been both encouraging and constructive, with visitors travelling from across the water and further afield.
Andy said: Attracting people to Cowal to enjoy our wonderful land and seascapes remains one of our key objectives. We all want to see our part of the world prosper, as well as promote the physical and mental benefits of getting out into nature.
In a new development, Cowalfest is also set to collaborate with Dunoon on the Move, an initiative led by Dunoon Community Development Trust in partnership with HITRANS, which aims to make walking, cycling and wheeling more accessible and sociable.
Sara Hawley, of Dunoon on the Move, welcomed the partnership.
It is exciting to collaborate with Cowalfest on these walks, she said. We both share the same end goal of enabling people to enjoy all that our superb local countryside has to offer.
As well as the October festival, organisers are introducing a series of regular pop-up walks to encourage year-round participation.
The first of these is set to take place this Saturday, following a route along the west side of Loch Eck.
Andy added: We’re blessed with countless miles of great walks and forestry trails around here, more so than perhaps anywhere else in Scotland, even if it feels like we get more than our fair share of rain and wind.
We have a proactive committee and a growing team of volunteers and walk leaders who are committed to spreading the message.
The plans were revealed following Cowalfest’s recent AGM at Innellan Village Hall.
For more information, visit www.cowalfest.com or the Cowalfest 2026 Facebook page. Those interested in the pop-up walks can email [email protected].
