Cowal
Encyclopedia
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
in Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council...
in the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
.
Description
The northern part of Cowal is mostly the mountainMountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
ous Argyll Forest Park. Cowal is separated from the Kintyre
Kintyre
Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The region stretches approximately 30 miles , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south, to East Loch Tarbert in the north...
peninsula to the west by Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne is a sea loch on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound of Bute, making it the longest of the sea lochs...
, and from Inverclyde
Inverclyde
Inverclyde is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire - which current exists as a registration county and lieutenancy area - located in the west...
and North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...
to the east by the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...
. The sea lochs Loch Long
Loch Long
Loch Long is a body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The sea loch extends from the Firth of Clyde at its southwestern end. It measures approximately 20 miles in length, with a width of between one and two miles...
and Loch Goil
Loch Goil
Loch Goil is a small sea loch in Scotland.It is an arm of Loch Long. The village of Lochgoilhead stands at its head.Located in the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park, Lochgoilhead sits at the head of Loch Goil, a fjord type sea loch. Only an hour from the Erskine Bridge, Glasgow Airport the M8...
lie to the northeast, and the south of the peninsula is split into three forks by two further sea lochs, Loch Striven
Loch Striven
Loch Striven is a sea loch adjoining the west side of the Firth of Clyde just north of the Isle of Bute, where it forms a narrow inlet about 8 miles long extending north into the Cowal peninsula. During times of recession in shipping the loch has been used as a sheltered anchorage for laid...
and to its west Loch Riddon. The Isle of Bute
Isle of Bute
Bute is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. Formerly part of the county of Buteshire, it now constitutes part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. Its resident population was 7,228 in April 2001.-Geography:...
lies to the south of Cowal, separated from the peninsula by the narrow Kyles of Bute
Kyles of Bute
The Kyles of Bute are a narrow sea channel which separates the northern end of the Isle of Bute from the Cowal peninsula, part of the Scottish mainland....
which connect the Clyde to Loch Riddon.
Much of Cowal was once held by the Lamont Clan
Clan Lamont
Clan Lamont is a Highland Scottish clan. Clan Lamont claim descent from Lauman who lived in Cowal in 1238. Tradition gives this Lauman a descent from an Irish prince of the O'Neill dynasty, Ánrothán Ua Néill, son of Áed, son of Flaithbertach Ua Néill, King of Ailech and Cenél nEógain, died 1036...
; encroachments by the neighbouring Campbells and other powerful families reduced the Lamont holdings in the Covenanting Wars of the seventeenth century.
Cowal's only burgh
Burgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
is Dunoon
Dunoon
Dunoon is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde to the south of Holy Loch and to the west of Gourock.-Waterfront:...
in the south east, from which ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
sail to Gourock
Gourock
Gourock is a town falling within the Inverclyde council area and formerly forming a burgh of the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It has in the past functioned as a seaside resort on the Firth of Clyde...
in Inverclyde. Other ferries run from Portavadie
Portavadie
Portavadie is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.The Portavadie complex was built with the help of local labour from the fishing village 'Tarbert' that lay due west across Loch Fyne. The locals from Tarbert who worked there were told that oil had been found on the west shores Loch...
in the west to Tarbert in Kintyre
Kintyre
Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The region stretches approximately 30 miles , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south, to East Loch Tarbert in the north...
, and from Colintraive
Colintraive
Colintraive is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Ferries sail between Colintraive and Rhubodach on the Isle of Bute. It is located on the Kyles of Bute or Loch Riddon on the west coast of the Cowal peninsula...
in the south to Rhubodach
Rhubodach
Rhubodach is a small settlement on the north-eastern shore of the Isle of Bute, Scotland.The name Rhubodach may come from the Gaelic Rubha a’ Bhodaich which translates as old man's point or promontory or alternatively may be from An Rubha Bhódaich meaning the Bute headland.Rhubodach lies at the...
on the Isle of Bute.
The Arrochar Alps
Arrochar Alps
The Arrochar Alps are a group of mountains located around the head of Loch Long, Loch Fyne,and Loch Goil, near the villages of Arrochar and Lochgoilhead in Argyll, Scotland. The mountains are especially popular with hillwalkers, due to their proximity and accessibility from Glasgow...
and Ardgoil peninsula in the north frindge the edges of the sea lochs whilst the Argyll Forest Park spreads out across the hillsides and mountain passes in north part of cowal, making this one of the most remote areas in the west of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
The towns and villages in Cowal are:
Innellan
Innellan
Innellan is a village that lies on the east shore of the Cowal peninsula, on the Firth of Clyde, 4 miles south of the town of Dunoon in Scotland, United Kingdom.- History :The origin of the name "Innellan" is obscure...
, Toward
Toward
Toward is a village near Dunoon at the southern tip of the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Nearby is Castle Toward, a former country house built close to the ruined Toward Castle...
, Castle Toward
Castle Toward
Castle Toward is an outdoor education facility, based in a nineteenth century country house on the southern tip of the Cowal peninsula in Argyll, Scotland.-Toward Castle:...
, Dunoon
Dunoon
Dunoon is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde to the south of Holy Loch and to the west of Gourock.-Waterfront:...
, Hunters Quay, Sandbank, Kilmun
Kilmun
Kilmun is a linear settlement on the north shore of the Holy Loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It runs between the head of the loch and connects with the village of Strone at Strone Point, where the loch joins the Firth of Clyde....
, Strone
Strone
Strone is a village on in Argyll in south-west Scotland at the point where the north shore of the Holy Loch becomes the west shore of the Firth of Clyde....
, Ardentinny
Ardentinny
Ardentinny is a small village on the west shore of Loch Long, fourteen miles from Dunoon in Argyll on the Cowal peninsula. Nearby is 'Cruach a Chaise' while on the opposite side of Loch Long is the village of Coulport, home of HMNB Clyde, the base for Britain's Trident Nuclear Defence Force.The...
, Blairmore in the South East part facing the lowlands at Inverclyde
Inverclyde
Inverclyde is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire - which current exists as a registration county and lieutenancy area - located in the west...
. Carrick Castle
Carrick Castle
Carrick Castle is a 15th-century tower house on the west shore of Loch Goil, Argyll, Scotland. It is located between Cuilmuich and Carrick, south of Lochgoilhead....
, Lochgoilhead
Lochgoilhead
Lochgoilhead ) is a small village of some 300-400 people and is in the Scottish Highlands in Argyll, Scotland.Situated at the head of Loch Goil, where the Goil river, which rises on nearby Ben Donich and Beinn an Lochain, flows into the loch , it is surrounded by mountains rising as high as 3 000...
, Ardgartan
Ardgartan
Ardgartan is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.A youth hostel run by the Scottish Youth Hostels Association operated for 70 years in Ardgartan until it was closed in 2002....
, Arrochar, Rest and be thankful, Succoth, Tarbet, Inverglas, Ardlui
Ardlui
Ardlui is a hamlet in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located at the head of Loch Lomond. It is on the A82 road between Crianlarich and Glasgow and Ardlui railway station is on the West Highland Line between Glasgow Queen Street and Oban or Fort William.- External links :*...
, Cairndow
Cairndow
Cairndow is a coastal hamlet in southwest Scotland.Cairndow lies between the A83 road and the head of Loch Fyne. Administratively it forms part of the Argyll and Bute council area.thumb|A view across [[Loch Fyne]] near Cairndow...
, St Catherines
St Catherines, Argyll and Bute
St Catherines is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the banks of Loch Fyne opposite Inveraray and is serviced by the A815 road....
in the north of Cowal in the Arrochar Alps
Arrochar Alps
The Arrochar Alps are a group of mountains located around the head of Loch Long, Loch Fyne,and Loch Goil, near the villages of Arrochar and Lochgoilhead in Argyll, Scotland. The mountains are especially popular with hillwalkers, due to their proximity and accessibility from Glasgow...
. Creggans, Strachur, Castle Lachlan, Otter Ferry
Otter Ferry
Otter Ferry is a settlement in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, formerly the site of a ferry across Loch Fyne.Otter Ferry is situated 9 miles from Portavadie where you can catch the ferry to Tarbert. The ferry is operated by Caledonian McBrayne-External links:...
, Kilfinan, Portavadie
Portavadie
Portavadie is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.The Portavadie complex was built with the help of local labour from the fishing village 'Tarbert' that lay due west across Loch Fyne. The locals from Tarbert who worked there were told that oil had been found on the west shores Loch...
are on the eastern shore of Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne is a sea loch on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound of Bute, making it the longest of the sea lochs...
facing Mid-Argyll and Kintyre
Kintyre
Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The region stretches approximately 30 miles , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south, to East Loch Tarbert in the north...
. Kames
Kames, Argyll and Bute
Kames is a small village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Kames is connected to Tighnabruaich and has a post office, church, police station and hotel. The grocery store, Duncan's Village Store won the Scottish Food and Drink Neighbourhood Store of the year, 2010.Located directly on the foreshore is...
, Tighnabruaich
Tighnabruaich
Tighnabruaich is a village on the Kyles of Bute in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Tighnabruaich is part of Argyll's Secret Coast, just an hour and a half west of Glasgow, and is nestled along the east coast of Loch Fyne and stretching into the beautiful Kyles of Bute.Tighnabruaich is popular for...
, Colintraive
Colintraive
Colintraive is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Ferries sail between Colintraive and Rhubodach on the Isle of Bute. It is located on the Kyles of Bute or Loch Riddon on the west coast of the Cowal peninsula...
,are on the Kyles of Bute
Kyles of Bute
The Kyles of Bute are a narrow sea channel which separates the northern end of the Isle of Bute from the Cowal peninsula, part of the Scottish mainland....
. From the Kyles of Bute
Kyles of Bute
The Kyles of Bute are a narrow sea channel which separates the northern end of the Isle of Bute from the Cowal peninsula, part of the Scottish mainland....
Ormidale leads into Glendaruel
Glendaruel
Glendaruel is a glen in the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland.The main village in Glendaruel is the Clachan of Glendaruel.-Features:The present Kilmodan Church was built in the Clachan of Glendaruel in 1610...
.Leaving the Holy Loch westwards brings you to Clachaig, Glean Lean, and the Tarsan dam leading down to Ardtaraig on Loch Striven.
External links
- http://www.cowalcourier.com