Loch Tarsan

Cowal (Scottish Gaelic: Comhghall) is a rugged peninsula in Argyll and Bute, on the west coast of Scotland. It is connected to the mainland to the north, and is bounded by Loch Fyne to the west, by Loch Long and the Firth of Clyde to the east, and by the Kyles of Bute to the south. Argyll is the historic county that the Cowal peninsula was within. Inveraray was the county town. The northern part of the peninsula is covered by Argyll Forest Park and also includes the Arrochar Alps. In the south, the peninsula is divided into three forks by Loch Striven and Loch Riddon. Cowal's only burgh is Dunoon in the south-east, from which ferries sail to Gourock in Inverclyde. Other ferries run from Portavadie in the west to Tarbert in Kintyre, and from Colintraive in the south to Rhubodach on Bute. Much of Cowal was once held by the Lamont clan. Later, the Campbells came to be one of the most powerful families in Cowal. The highest point on the peninsula is Beinn an Lochain in the Arrochar Alps, a Corbett with a height of 901.7 metres (2,958 ft). The summit overlooks Loch Restil.

Ardtaraig is a hamlet lying at the head of Loch Striven on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, West of Scotland. The hamlet is on the single track B836 road.

Striven Hydro-Electric Scheme is a small-scale hydro-electric power station, built by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board and commissioned in 1951. It is located near Ardtaraig on the Cowal Peninsula, part of Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It is sometimes known as the Cowal Hydro-Electric Scheme. It was originally designed to supply power to the remote communities on the peninsula, but is now connected to the National Grid.

Cruach nan Capull is a mountain within the Arrochar Alps, near Loch Fyne, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It stands on the southern side of Hell's Glen and rises to a height of 611 m (2005 ft).

River Ruel is a watercourse in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Around 9 miles (14 km) long, it flows into Loch Ruel (also known as Loch Riddon).The river passes settlements such as Clachan of Glendaruel and Ormsdale.

Inverchaolain is a hamlet on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It lies on the east shore of Loch Striven, to the south of Glenstriven and to the north of Knockdow. There is a church (Inverchaolain Church; the fourth incarnation at the site), manse and graveyard. The present church was built in 1912, but it closed in 1990.

Inverchaolain Church is a former Church of Scotland church building in Inverchaolain, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Located on the eastern shores of Loch Striven, just north of Inverchaolain Burn, the church was built in 1912. It is the fourth church on the site. There is a possibility that the second church, rumoured to be dedicated to Saint Bridget, was located about 200 metres (660 ft) northeast of the present structure. When the foundations of the previous church were dug in 1812, several dozen human skulls were uncovered, as well as a few bones of very large size. Argyll and Bute Council have listed a claymore stone, an ancient tombstone with a Gaelic inscription and a coping stone from the pre-Reformation church, as being in an around the property. The church closed in 1990.

Loch Striven (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Sroigheann) is a sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The loch meets the Firth of Clyde and the Kyles of Bute just north of the Isle of Bute, and forms a narrow inlet about 8 miles (13 km) long extending north into the Cowal Peninsula. The hamlet of Ardtaraig lies at the head of the loch, on the B836 road that provides an east-west route across Cowal between the heads of the Holy Loch and Loch Riddon. Minor roads follow the coast of the loch from its southern end, with the one on the east coast terminating near the hamlet of Inverchaolain about the mid-point of the loch, and the one on the west coast petering out after just 1.5 miles (2.4 km). There is no road access to the north of the loch between these points and Ardtaraig.

Auchenbreck Castle (also spelt Auchinbreck) is located in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Its remains are situated in Kilmodan parish, near the south of Glendaruel, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of Tighnabruaich on the Cowal peninsula. Little remains of the castle, other than a flat rectangular platform, around 35 by 18 metres (115 by 59 ft), between Auchenbreck farmhouse and the Auchenbreck Burn. This is partially bounded by a revetment wall up to 2.2 metres (7 ft 3 in) high. The castle was held by the Campbells of Auchinbreck, a branch of the Clan Campbell descended from Duncan, a younger son of Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell. He was granted lands near Dunoon in 1435, and further lands in Glassary. By the 16th century, the family were known as "of Auchinbreck". The castle appears on Timothy Pont's map of the late 16th century. Dugald Campbell of Auchenbreck was killed in a fire at the castle in 1641. Around 1703 the castle was purchased by John Fullarton, former minister of Kilmodan, and later Bishop of Edinburgh. Fullarton renamed the estate Greenhall, and was the last person to live in the castle. When the estate was sold in 1728, after Fullarton's death, it included a mansion which may have been built from the stones of the castle. The castle itself was in its current ruined state by 1870.

Benmore Botanic Garden (formerly known as the Younger Botanic Garden) is a large botanical garden situated in Strath Eachaig at the foot of Beinn Mhòr, on the Cowal peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The gardens are on the west side of the A815 road from Dunoon, between the Holy Loch and Loch Eck, and include footbridges across the River Eachaig. It is one of the sites of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Features include a Redwood Avenue of Giant Sequoias planted in 1863, large square walled gardens, a waterfall, a fernery, ponds and walks up the hillside to viewpoints over the Holy Loch. The garden is located within the Argyll Forest Park, which forms part of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.

The Colintraive Hotel (also known as The Colintraive) is a hotel and pub in Colintraive, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It was formerly a hunting lodge for John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute. It stands a few yards from the eastern shores of the Kyles of Bute and the ferry crossing of the 400-yard gap to Rhubodach on Bute, currently provided by the MV Loch Dunvegan. Jazz guitarist Ken Sykora owned the hotel for around five years during the 1970s. In the 1880s, the hotel was owned by Andrew Turner. In the 1890s, it was owned by a Mrs Turner.

Invereck is a Category B listed building in Sandbank, near Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Dating to around 1886, it is located near the head of the Holy Loch. In the first half of the 19th century, Invereck was the summer home of botanist William Jackson Hooker. "He seems to have devoted special attention to the vegetation of the neighbourhood," wrote John Colegate in 1868. "The result of his inquiries were published in the Rev. Dr. McKay's Statistical Account of the United Parishes of Dunoon and Kilmun."There was a cottage, described by the Ordnance Survey as "small but handsome", on the site of today's building in the mid-19th century. The cottage and its grounds were sold to George Miller in 1872.The house has been a Church of Scotland Eventide Home since 1946, although it was up for sale in 2020. Prior to that, it is believed to have been used by the Independent Order of Foresters.