Dunoon

This article is about Dunoon, Scotland. For the small town in New South Wales Australia, see Dunoon, New South Wales.. For other uses, see Dunoon (disambiguation).

Dunoon Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Omhain Scots: Dunoon
Dunoon, looking north from Castle Hill towards Hunters Quay. The Victorian pier is to the right and the Queen's Hall is to the left
Population
OS grid reference	NS174764
• Edinburgh	82.1 miles (132.1 km)
• London	434 miles (698 km)
Council area	Argyll and Bute
Lieutenancy area	Argyll and Bute
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DUNOON
Postcode district	PA23
Dialling code	01369
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Argyll and Bute
Scottish Parliament	Argyll and Bute

Dunoon (Dùn Omhain in Gaelic) is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde beside Holy Loch and opposite Gourock.

Waterfront

Ruins of Dunoon Castle, 1830 engraving by William Miller after W. Brown

Dunoon Pier originated in 1835. The current structure, however, was rebuilt in 1895 and still receives a connecting ferry with Gourock, run by Caledonian MacBrayne. Until the late 1960s fleets of paddle steamers brought holidaymakers doon the watter from Glasgow to it and numerous other piers on the Clyde, and it is still visited by the sole surviving sea-going paddle steamer PS Waverley. Overlooking it is a large statue to Robert Burns' love Highland Mary, also known as Bonny Mary O' Argyll, which is located on Castle Hill, just below the remains of the 12th century Dunoon Castle. Very little remains of the castle, which would originally have belonged to the Lamont family but became a royal castle with the Earls of Argyll (Campbells) as hereditary keepers, paying a nominal rent of a single red rose to the sovereign, presently Queen Elizabeth. In earlier times, Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed at the castle circa 1563 and granted several charters during her visit. The castle was destroyed during the rebellion in 1685.

In the spring of 2005, Dunoon seafront received a new breakwater, located just to the south of the main pier. As well as protecting the Victorian pier, a new linkspan was installed alongside the breakwater to allow the berthing and loading of ro-ro ferries instead of the side loading ferries presently serving the main pier. A tendering competition to serve the new linkspan between two interested parties, namely Caledonian MacBrayne and local operator Western Ferries failed when both parties withdrew from the tendering process. As of summer 2009 the new linkspan remains unused and the breakwater itself is used only by local fishermen and the occasional berthing of the Waverley.

Transport

File:Dunoon Pier 1978.jpg

Dunoon Pier in 1978.

The PS Waverley leaves Dunoon Pier, to sail up the Firth of Clyde

Dunoon is accessible by land and sea routes. The town lies near the southern end of the A815 road. At its northernmost point, near Cairndow, this road joins the A83 and provides access to the town by road from Loch Lomond and Glasgow.

There are two ferry operators who provide a fast and frequent service from Gourock to Dunoon. Local company, Western Ferries, plies the McInroy's Point-to-Hunters Quay route, and Government-owned Caledonian MacBrayne sails from Gourock Pier to Dunoon Pier. At Gourock Pier, a First ScotRail train service provides access to the national rail network via the Inverclyde Line.

Public transport within Dunoon and the surrounding area is provided under Government subsidy by bus and coach operator West Coast Motors.

The West Coast Motors 486 service provides a regular return journey from Dunoon town centre to Inveraray, where it connects with a Scottish Citylink service onward to Campbeltown and Oban.

Tourist attractions

The Queen's Hall is the town's major multi-function hall complex. Situated at the head of the pier and built in 1958, the building houses four function suites and a large main hall. The main hall houses a full working stage with professional sound and lighting equipment and in recent years it has attracted popular bands such as Blur, The Saw Doctors, David Gray and Red Hot Chilli Pipers, among others.

Castle Toward, built in 1820 and formerly owned by the Lamont clan, is 6.5 miles (10.5 km) south of the town. It is now used as an outdoor education centre.

The arboretum at Benmore Botanic Garden, part of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, is situated 7 miles (11 km) north of the town just before Loch Eck. The garden, formerly a private garden for the Younger family, is now open to the public. Its 150 acres (0.61 km²) feature some of the tallest trees in Britain, including an avenue of Giant Redwoods, some of which are over 120 feet (37 m) high.

Holy Loch

Holy Loch seen across the Firth of Clyde with Dunoon on the left

As the Cold War intensified Holy Loch became internationally famous when in 1961 the U.S. Navy submarine tender USS Proteus (AS-19) brought Polaris ballistic missiles, nuclear submarines and CND protesters to the Firth of Clyde at nearby Sandbank, and Dunoon provided shore facilities. Holy Loch was, for 30 years, the home port of US Navy SUBRON-14 (Submarine Squadron-14). In 1992, the Holy Loch base was deemed unnecessary following the demise of the Soviet Union and subsequently withdrawn. The last submarine tender to be based there, the USS Simon Lake, left Holy Loch in June 1992 leading to a major downturn in the local economy and prompting howls of protest from local taxi drivers and publicans. However, the town is becoming vibrant again with many new homes having been built and the population is expanding once more.

The US Navy base was the subject of the 1988 film Down Where The Buffalo Go starring Harvey Keitel. Many of the scenes were shot around Dunoon and the navy base itself.

Aside from the US Navy presence, Holy Loch was also the location of the famous boat yard Alexander Robertsons, builders of the America's Cup challenger Sceptre, a 37-foot, 17-tonne yacht designed by David Boyd.

Sport

Dunoon Stadium during the 2008 Cowal Highland Gathering. In view is the larger of the stadium's two grandstands. Dunoon town centre, to the south, is in view.

The town's sporting arena is Dunoon Stadium, which is located in the north of the town, near Dunoon Grammar School. When it hosted football matches, it had the largest capacity of any amateur ground in Scotland. Its main use nowadays is as the focal point of the Cowal Highland Gathering.

The UK national championships in swamp football were held in Dunoon in 2006 and 2007. For 2008 they were held in nearby Strachur.

Cowal Highland Gathering

Main article: Cowal Highland Gathering

The Cowal Highland Gathering attracts hundreds of contestants and many thousands of spectators from all over the world. The largest Highland games in the world, it is held annually over the final weekend in August.

Media

Dunoon's local newspaper, published weekly on Fridays, is the Dunoon Observer and Argyllshire Standard.

Healthcare

Dunoon is served by Dunoon General Hospital, which provides 24-hour accident and emergency cover, a maternity unit, a palliative care hospice, a dental surgery, and two general healthcare wards providing 23 beds. Ambulance cover is provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service. The Emergency Medical Retrieval Service encompasses Dunoon within its catchment area, enabling rapid access to the skills of a consultant in emergency or intensive-care medicine, as well as facilitating transfers to larger, better-equipped city hospitals.

Notable people

Laudervale, a residence of Sir Harry Lauder (now demolished)

Possibly Dunoon's most famous resident was Sir Harry Lauder (1870-1950), whose mansion, Laudervale, stood just south of Dunoon on Bullwood Road. After a fire, which burnt over half of it, it stood ruinous until c. 1980 when it and the stable blocks were demolished. Much of the grounds were subsequently sold for housing development. The development there today preserves the Laudervale name.

Eric Campbell, the silent film comedian famous as Charlie Chaplin's hulking nemesis in several short films, was born in the town, and a plaque to his memory can be seen in the gardens at Castle Hill. Virginia Bottomley (Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone) was born in Dunoon, as were former Manchester United player and QPR manager Stewart Houston, actor Sylvester McCoy, and Tom Wisniewski of the Christian punk band MxPx.

American actress Julianne Moore has connections to Dunoon, as her mother is originally from the town. Moore still has family in the area.

Neil MacFarlane, a professional footballer who reached the 2008 Scottish Cup Final with Queen of the South, was born in the town.

Grant Morrison, writer of Superman and Batman comic books, has moved from hometown Glasgow to a renovated mansion just outside of Dunoon, and spends part of the year in the town, and part in Los Angeles.

Oscar winning actress Emma Thompson married husband Greg Wise in Dunoon in 2003. They also keep a second home near the town.

Dunoon Grammar School

Main article: Dunoon Grammar School

Dunoon Grammar School was founded in 1641. It has many notable former pupils, including the Labour Party politicians John Smith, George Robertson (later head of NATO), Brian Wilson and the Reverend Donald Caskie (also known as the Tartan Pimpernel).

References in popular culture

In the late 1960s, it was the subject of a song entitled "Why Don't They Come Back to Dunoon?" by The Humblebums. This was a less than flattering ditty, mourning the declining tourist trade in the town. "There was a competition in a Glasgow newspaper," Billy Connolly once said, in a short interjection during a 1969 performance of the song. "The first prize was a week in Dunoon, and the second prize was a fortnight in Dunoon."

External links

• Local website and webcam
• Dunoon and Cowal tourism website
• Dunoon Observer & Argyllshire Standard newspaper
• Cowal Highland Gathering - The largest Highland games in the world.
• [1] - Dunoon's Community Website.