Stand Up Paddleboarding on the Firth of Clyde – Dunoon

Location – Firth of Clyde – Dunoon, Argyle, Scotland
Craft – Borrowed from our awesome air BnB hosts
Cost – Free access to beach
Terrain – Saltwater Firth/Loch
Other Users – Car and Passenger Ferries, Fishing boats which was fun.
Entry Point – Right opposite our Air BnB which was on the main drag (road) through Dunoon.
Surrounding Area – Nice quiet little town of Dunoon in Argyle

Map

Weather

Where Dunoon lies is where the Clyde River flows out towards the ocean.  Holy Loch is tucked away around the corner further to the north and also Loch Long a little further along still.  If you were feeling adventurous you could probably paddle across the Firth to Gourock but we opted to stick to the coastline which had plenty to see. The road also runs along the coast and the area we paddled was mainly residential with aboard walk alongside.  The CalMac Car and passenger ferries were far enough away that we didn’t cross paths but if your SUP is a little flighty you might want to keep an eye out for their wake waves which take so long to get to you that you might be taken by surprise! There were also a surprising amount of jelly fish (which might be normal but this was our first SUP in seawater on the west coast.  It was also a little comforting to know that they are probably not as poisonous as their North Queensland cousins that we are used to!)  There were also people in swimming and making use of the beach.

Getting to the water was simple enough as there were many access points along the main road.  We had to navigate some stairs to get down onto the beach and then the rocks on the beach so a little awkward if you have a heavy SUP.

Where we stayed was quite near to the Benmore Botanic Gardens which was a nice stop on the way back to Glasgow. Also worth checking out is the picturesque Puk’s Glen walk way threading through a fairy like glen. There are plenty of options for food and drink within the town of Dunoon and a nice pier area out the front of the Argyle Hotel for strolling and eating ice creams on a nice balmy day.

Getting There – Dunoon is 1 hour 15min and 55km from Glasgow along the A8 for which you’ll need to catch a ferry. Alternately by road it takes about 2 hours 20minutes and 140km via the A82 along the west coast of Loch Lomond and down the Argyll peninsular via the A83, A815 and the A885 if you want to go the scenic route.

Feeling a bit of iSUPsolation? Check out our “SUPing through the Alphabet Challenge” on our Facebook page.