Links
Bute Museum and Natural History Society
Bute Museum is an independently run museum where visitors can explore the Natural and Historical Heritage of the Isle of Bute. During the summer months, the Museum has a display of seasonal wild flowers.
The Society organises a series of indoor winter meetings and outdoor summer events, including guided wildflower walks. See:
http://www.butemuseum.org.uk/buteshire-nat-history-soc-bnhs-summer-events/
Several of the walks described here overlap with sections of the West Island Way. As well as giving detailed route notes, its website provides general information about the island.
Argyll and the Isles Tourism Co-operative
Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland
Further reading
There is a multitude of wildflower identification books available, all with their advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of the things to consider when choosing:-
Size – how easy will it be to carry with you?
Area – how wide a geographical area do you want it to cover?
Species – arranged by flower colour or plant family?
Drawings or photographs?
Amount of detail
Cost
For a beginner, it’s probably a good idea to start with a book that arranges the flowers by colour – you feel you know where to start! But once you’ve gained a little knowledge and confidence, you’ll probably also need a book that goes into rather more detail, since accurate identification depends on a wide range of features (and you can only use flower colour when the plant is in bloom!).
Not an identification book but a mine of information about the island’s wild flowers is the recently published (2019) ‘Isle of Bute Flora’ by Angus Hannah. As well as a detailed catalogue of all the 970 species that have been recorded on the island over the last 50 years, it contains a most readable description of the island and its wide range of botanical habitats.