The Burns country of Ayrshire is accessible via the Erskine Bridge, while the cultural and shopping facilities of Glasgow are conveniently reached either by car or public transport. Kilcreggan is on the border of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park with its gateway visitor attraction, Loch Lomond Shores. Loch Lomond Golf Course is a twenty-five minute drive from Villa Marina. There is an hourly bus service to Helensburgh (45 minutes), which has a half-hourly train connection to Glasgow. Dumbarton (with its medieval castle) and Clydebank, both on the road to Glasgow, have extensive shopping facilities and leisure centres. Garelochhead Station on the West Highland Line, with services to Oban, Fort William and Mallaig, is fifteen minutes away by bus or car. Some three miles away is Rosneath Castle holiday park, which has a bar restaurant and an outdoor play area and offers a variety of water sports such as canoeing and windsurfing. From shoreside ambles to serious mountaineering, the local area has much to offer the outdoor enthusiast, with the “Arrochar Alps” a half-hour’s drive away.
A pleasant ten minute walk will take you along to the Cove Sailing Club, the headquarters of the thriving local yachting community. Each June there is an annual regatta with a variety of activities laid on.
Kilcreggan Pier, two minutes by bus, or a fifteen minute leisurely walk, has a pedestrian ferry service to Gourock (10 minutes). Here there is a 45 minute train connection to Glasgow Central Station, and also the main ferry connection to Dunoon and the Cowal Peninsula of Argyll (25 minutes). A short walk from Gourock Pier is the recently-renovated outdoor seawater baths, which have the added attraction of being heated! From Gourock, a ten minute train journey takes you to Greenock, with its shops, leisure centre and baths.
Every Friday morning during the summer, the paddle steamer Waverley calls at Kilcreggan Pier on her way to Dunoon and Rothesay. She returns in the late afternoon giving day trippers several hours of cruising as well as time ashore. Waverley is the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world, and the only survivor from the days when such steamers were the life-blood of Clyde coast communities. Local waters play host to the largest submarines and ships of the Royal Navy, and the greatest cruise liners in the world sail past on their way to dock at Ocean Quay, Greenock
With some of the best scenery the world has to offer, the west coast of Scotland is made up of mountains, deep sea lochs, inland lochs and rivers. Coarse, river and sea fishing are to be found in abundance along the west coast and all are easily accessible from Villa Marina. Indeed, from the cottage, take your rod and cross the road onto the beach, cast out and try your luck. A ten minute drive will take you to the Gareloch, a very popular spot for sea angling.
For local events and facilities it would be worth a visit to the Gareloch and Peninsula Community Website.
This will give you information on all the local businesses and ongoing events.
