Castle Hill - Celebrate and share Dunoon’s heritage by turning Castle Hill into an accessible outdoor museum and play landscape that drives footfall to the museum and helps local people and visitors gain a unique understanding of place.

Castle Hill and the surrounding green space is an historic landscape containing many monuments and architectural features that collectively tell the story of Dunoon from the building of the original Castle  right through to the American Years. 

The green space surrounding Castle Hill was the garden of the Grade B listed Castle House built in 1822 by merchant and slave owner, James Ewing. Today the house contains the local registry office and Castle House Museum, a key local visitor attraction and valuable community facility. Tennis courts and the local Tennis Club are also located on the hill. 

The landscape is naturally rocky and paths leading around the garden are sometimes steep, uneven and in poor condition. The recent renovation of the Castle House gatehouse has led to improvements in the surface of some paths, but many areas of Castle Hill are underused and look a little unloved. 

Local Place Plan  

• Improve the paths network in and around Castle Hill,  to ensure easy access on foot up to the museum and castle site. Attend to the poor condition of the railings surrounding Highland Mary. 

• Work with local heritage stakeholders to design and develop a signage and interpretation strategy for Castle Hill. 

• Explore how the natural landscape of Castle Hill can be utilised for outdoor play and to improve biodiversity. 

• Improve the condition of the tennis courts to extend the variety of sports and leisure opportunities. 

Community Action Plan 

• Bring organisations and community users of Castle Hill including the Tennis Club, Castle House Museum, Dunoon CARS project and other cultural stakeholders together to share information and develop an action plan for Castle Hill.