Cowal Highland Gathering Cowal Highland Gathering The Cowal Highland Gathering (also known as the Cowal Games) is an annual Highland games held in the Scottish town of Dunoon, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, over the final weekend in August. The first record of an organised Highland games in the town is in 1871, the same year as the Argyllshire Gathering in Oban started. In subsequent years games were held at New Year. The organisation of the Cowal events and other games around Scotland was due to a wide interest in Highland sports, partly stemming from Queen Victoria's love of Scotland.
Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games bands also participate in mass piping events for the entertainment of the festival attendees. In the tradition of the Highland games, the festival hosts a series of Scottish strength competitions, including hammer throwing, tug-of-war, and caber tossing. There is also a 10k running event. Highland dancers participate in various classes of competitions, and provide entertainment throughout the weekend. Each year members of about 50 Scottish clans set up tents to display the history of their families. Traditional Scottish food and music are also available for the attendees, as well as whiskey tasting, quilting, horse shoeing, weaving and genealogical displays. Storytellers