The top choice for visitors who want to taste the highlights of the West Highlands on a tight schedule – Cowal is only a short drive from Glasgow, or an even shorter boat trip across the Firth of Clyde from Gourock, near Greenock.

Though the peninsula feels a long way from the city, it provides the opportunity to fill your lungs with fresh salty air, experience lochs, glens and mountains, and still be back in town in time for tea.

Accessibility helped Cowal to become a popular steamer trip destination in the early 1900s, and Dunoon, its main town, grew to its current size largely as a result.

The town’s seaside promenade lends itself to a stroll, and if you’re a lover of the work of Robert Burns, you’ll be glad to see that the statue of his sweetheart Highland Mary (on the hill overlooking the pier) is gazing south in the direction of her lover’s Ayrshire home.

Set in lush mountainside outside Dunoon, Benmore Botanic Gardens boasts 120 acres of exotic and colourful plantations, with titles like Tasmanian Ridge and Bhutanese Glade hinting at their international origins.

Key features include a restored Victorian Fernery and the imposing avenue of Giant Redwoods that will have visitors craning their necks as they enter the grounds.

Argyll Forest Park was established in 1935 as the first Forest Park for public use in Britain, and encompasses much of Cowal, from rugged woodland to lochs and glens, including Ardgarten, Loch Goil, and the narrow ribbon of Loch Eck.

For memorable hill-walking in and around the park, head to the north tip of Cowal and Glen Croe, home to the Rest and be Thankful (so named because of the inscription ‘Rest and be Thankful’ carved a stone by soldiers who built the old military road at the site in the 18^th century) or visit the village of Arrochar and nearby ‘Arrochar Alps’ which include The Cobbler, one of Scotland’s most popular mountains.

The Cowal coastline is shaped by a collection of scenic sea lochs, including Loch Goil and Loch Riddon, and dotted with pretty villages such as Sandbank, Colintraive and Tighnabruich.

Lying south of Dunoon in the Firth of Clyde, Bute was another popular destination with Victorian Glaswegians heading ‘Doon the Watter’ for a convenient summer break.

In the south, the splendid Mount Stuart, still home to the Stuarts of Bute, is a must-see. Built by the architect Sir Robert Rowan Anderson at the instruction of the 3^rd Marquis of Bute, this imaginative sandstone palace fuses the extravagant interests of its creators, from history to astrology, through its stained glass windows, marble arches and zodiac themed ceiling decorations.

Three hundred acres of gardens showcase the family passions still further, though they are not the only beautiful gardens on Bute – nearby Ascog Hall is known for its Victorian Fernery and Ardencraig Gardens for its bedding displays.

Bute’s geography is split by the Highland Boundary fault at Loch Fad, with the rugged, hillier part of the island to the north, and the south west known for sandy beaches. Walkers looking to experience both can attempt the ‘West Island Way’ – a 25-mile route covering the island’s length.

Rothesay is Bute’s only town, with shops, bars and cafes along its palm-tree strewn Victorian promenade. The ruins of the moated Rothesay Castle in the town centre are a reminder that local history goes back further than the steamships. You can find more about the island’s past as a Viking base and home to Stuart kings at the museum on Stuart Street and the Discovery Centre in the glass-domed Winter Garden on the esplanade.

Perhaps Bute’s most unusual attraction is one of its most useful – particularly for the visitor who has had too many cups of tea on the ferry. The pier’s impressive Victorian toilets are intricately decorated and authentically equipped – the perfect place to spend a penny before returning to the mainland.

Getting there: Cowal: By road from Glasgow take the A82 towards Arrochar, then the A83 south towards Dunoon. Ferries run between Gourock, and Dunoon.

Bute: There are regular ferries to Bute from Colintraive to Rhubodach and from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay. There is a direct train from Glasgow to Wemyss Bay.