Dunoon

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Dunoon, looking North from the Castle hill with the old Victorian pier to the right and The Queens Hall on the left

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

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

Dunoon (Dunomhainn in Gaelic) is situated on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde beside the Holy Loch, across from Gourock.

According to the last Census of Scotland, taken in 2001, the town of Dunoon itself (ignoring outlying districts) has a population of 8,251 of which 46.4% are male and 53.6% female.

Dunoon pier is over one hundred years old 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 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 Dunoon Castle. Very little remains of the castle, dating from the 12th century, it 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 changed forever with the completion of 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. As of Autumn 2006 however, these facilities remain unused. A tendering competition to serve the new linkspan is presently underway between two interested parties, namely Caledonian MacBrayne and local operator Western Ferries. The successful operator is expected to be announced by the Scottish Executive in early 2007 and services should commence in the Spring of that year.

Dunoon Grammar School is over three hundred and fifty years old and has many well known former pupils, including the Labour Party politicians, John Smith, George Robertson (later head of NATO), Brian Wilson and actor Sylvester McCoy.

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. Possibly Dunoon's most famous resident was Sir Harry Lauder (1870 - 1950) whose mansion, "Laudervale" stood just south of Dunoon on the Bullwood road.

As the Cold War intensified the Holy Loch became internationally famous when in 1961 the U.S. Navy depot ship Proteus 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, ( 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.

The Cowal Highland Gathering is the highlight of Dunoon's year and 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 on the last Friday and Saturday in August.

Castle Toward, built in 1820 and formerly owned by the Lamont clan is 6.5 Miles 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 north of the town just before the scenic Loch Eck. The garden, formerly a private garden for the Younger family, is now open to the public and has a gift shop and tearoom.

[edit] Trivia

Julianne Moore, the four-time Oscar-nominated actress, has connections to Dunoon as her mother is originally from the town.^[1] Moore still has family in the area.^[2]
In the late 1960's, Dunoon was the subject of a song entitled 'Why don't they come back to Dunoon?' by The Humblebums, a popular Scottish folk band at the time, featuring Billy Connolly and Gerry Rafferty. This was a less than flattering ditty, mourning the declining tourist trade in the town.
The Holy Loch Navy base was the subject of the 1988 film Down where the buffalo go. It starred the famous Hollywood actor, Harvey Keitel and many of the scenes were shot around Dunoon and the Navy base.
The semi-popular children's game shows Raven and Raven: The Island are filmed at Castle Toward 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Dunoon.