Highland games "Cowal Games", held in Dunoon, Scotland, every August, is the largest Highland games in the world, attracting around 3,500 competitors and somewhere in the region of 23,000 spectators from around the globe. Worldwide, however, it is exceeded in terms of spectators by two gatherings in the United States: the estimated 30,000 that attend Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina and the even larger gathering—the largest in the Northern Hemisphere—that has taken place every year since 1866. This event is currently held on Labor Day weekend in Pleasanton, California, and their Sesquicentennial Games held on September 5–6, 2015, attracted record crowds close
MV Cowal MV Cowal MV "Cowal" was a hoist-loading vehicle ferry introduced by Caledonian Steam Packet Company in 1954. She spent the whole of her 24 years with Calmac on the Upper Clyde crossings. MV "Cowal" was the second of a trio of vehicle vessels ordered in 1951 to modernise the Clyde fleet. Three "general purpose" vessels were planned for the Clyde routes of their names, , and MV "Cowal". Built by Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, "Cowal" was launched at Troon on 20 January 1954. On 1 January 1973, the Caledonian Steam Packet Co. and MacBrayne fleets combined under one management. "Cowal" was