| Ardtaraig | |
|---|---|
 Loch Striven - geograph.org.uk - 572652 | |
  Ardtaraig Location within Argyll and Bute | |
| OS grid reference | NS 05856 82680 |
| Council area |
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| Lieutenancy area |
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| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DUNOON, ARGYLL |
| Postcode district | PA23 |
| Dialling code | 01369 |
| UK Parliament |
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| Scottish Parliament |
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Ardtaraig is a hamlet lying at the head of Loch Striven on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, West of Scotland. The hamlet is on the single track B836 road. [1]
The Cowal Hydro Scheme is part of the Sloy/Awe Hydro-Electric Scheme and produces 8MW from the stored waters of Loch Tarsan (artificial reservoir), located close by in Glen Lean. The generating house is located at Ardtaraig and is supplied by pipe. The scheme opened in 1951. [2]
Ardtaraig Chapel no longer stands, but the foundations are still visible. [3] [4]
Ardtaraig was known as HMS Varbel II, a secondary base to HMS Varbel, where navigation was taught to the men who manned the midget submarines or X-craft. [5] [6] [7]
Ardtaraig is on the NCR75 a route from Edinburgh to Tarbert on the Kintyre peninsula. [8] The National Cycle Network is maintained by sustrans. [9]
The hamlet is served by the 478 Dunoon–Portavadie bus, operated by West Coast Motors. [10]
Argyll and Bute is one of 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod. The administrative centre for the council area is in Lochgilphead at Kilmory Castle, a 19th-century Gothic Revival building and estate. The current council leader is Councillor Jim Lynch.
The Firth of Clyde is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre Peninsula. The Firth lies between West Dunbartonshire in the north, Argyll and Bute in the west and Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire in the east. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran. The Kyles of Bute separates the Isle of Bute from the Cowal Peninsula. The Sound of Bute separates the islands of Bute and Arran.
Cowal is a rugged peninsula in Argyll and Bute, on the west coast of Scotland. It is connected to the mainland to the north, and is bounded by Loch Fyne to the west, by Loch Long and the Firth of Clyde to the east, and by the Kyles of Bute to the south.
Loch Fyne, is a sea loch off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends 65 kilometres (40 mi) inland from the Sound of Bute, making it the longest of the sea lochs in Scotland. It is connected to the Sound of Jura by the Crinan Canal. Although there is no evidence that grapes have grown there, the title is probably honorific, indicating that the river, Abhainn Fìne, was a well-respected river.
Sandbank is a village on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It is located 2.5 miles north of Dunoon on the coastal A815 or the inland A885 and sits on the southern shore of the Holy Loch, branching off the Firth of Clyde.
Tarbert is a village in the west of Scotland, in the Argyll and Bute council area. It is built around East Loch Tarbert, an inlet of Loch Fyne, and extends over the isthmus which links the peninsula of Kintyre to Knapdale and West Loch Tarbert. Tarbert had a recorded population of 1,338 in the 2001 Census.
Loch Striven is a sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The loch meets the Firth of Clyde and the Kyles of Bute just north of the Isle of Bute, and forms a narrow inlet about 8 miles (13 km) long extending north into the Cowal Peninsula.
Colintraive is a village on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. Once the site where cattle were swum across the narrows to the Isle of Bute, the MV Loch Dunvegan — a ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne — now provides a link to the island.
Portavadie is a village on the shores of Loch Fyne on the coast of the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, West of Scotland.
Tighnabruaich; is a village on the Cowal Peninsula, on the western arm of the Kyles of Bute in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. In 2011 the population was 660. It is west of Glasgow and north of the Isle of Arran.
Clachaig is a small settlement in Glen Lean, on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It is located on the B836 road between the Holy Loch and Loch Striven, the hamlet is just over a mile long. Clachaig is a Gaelic word meaning 'stone place'.
National Cycle Route 75 runs from Edinburgh to Tarbert on the Kintyre peninsula, via Glasgow. It is often known as the Clyde to Forth cycle route.
National Cycle Route 78 runs from Campbeltown to Inverness. It was officially launched as the Caledonia Way in 2016 as part of the wider redevelopment of Scotland's cycle network. It runs from the Kintyre peninsula to the Great Glen and the route varies from on road to traffic-free forest trails and canal paths.
Loch Tarsan is a freshwater loch and impounding reservoir located 13 kilometres northwest of Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. This three-armed Reservoir extends into both Glen Tarsan and Glen Lean. It supplies water to the Striven Hydro-Electric Scheme. The larger of the two dams is 17.6 metres high and was completed in 1953. The water that is collected in the loch is piped to the hydro-electric generating station, located at Ardtaraig, at the head of Loch Striven.
Inveruglas is a hamlet on the west shore of Loch Lomond, fairly near the north end of the loch and is within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. It is situated on the A82 trunk road, connecting Glasgow to Inverness. It is within the historic county of Dunbartonshire, and since 1996 it has been part of the Argyll and Bute council area.
Glen Lean, is a glen on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It is a glacial-formed glen, with near vertical sides along part of the landform. It runs from the head of the Holy Loch in the east to the head of Loch Striven in the west. The only hamlet in the glen is Clachaig. The Little Eachaig River flows out of the glen, joining the River Eachaig and flows into the Holy Loch. The Tarsan Dam is the other notable feature in the glen.
Inverchaolain is a hamlet on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It lies on the east shore of Loch Striven, to the south of Glenstriven and to the north of Knockdow.
The 478 is a bus route in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, which runs between Dunoon and Portavadie via Tighnabruiach and Kames. It is operated by West Coast Motors, which was established in 1921. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport inaugurated the route, along with that of the 477 and 479, in October 1993. The route is noted for its long stretches of single-track roads with scattered passing places, especially along the B836 between Sandbank and Auchenbreck, at the junction with the A886 Colintraive–to–Strachur road. The drivers of the 477, 478 and 479 have dubbed their routes the "Bermuda Triangle" due to their complexity and remoteness.
Striven Hydro-Electric Scheme is a small-scale hydro-electric power station, built by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board and commissioned in 1951. It is located near Ardtaraig on the Cowal Peninsula, part of Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It is sometimes known as the Cowal Hydro-Electric Scheme. It was originally designed to supply power to the remote communities on the peninsula, but is now connected to the National Grid.
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