History
In 1753 the Bonawe Iron Furnace was constructed on the north side of Taynuilt. [1] The furnace was of such strategic importance that in 1756 a military road was built to reach it, crossing the Pass of Brander and the Bridge of Awe. Despite flooding during construction, which swept away the partially built bridge, it was completed in 1779. [2] It was twenty years before the road was extended westward to Connel, and later still to Oban. [1]
The Bonawe Iron Furnace, was an industrial complex located in Bonawe, Lorn District, Scotland. It operated in the middle of the eighteenth century, with the aim of producing pig iron. Central to this complex was a charcoal fired blast furnace.
Connel is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is situated on the southern shore of Loch Etive. The Lusragan Burn flows through the village and into the loch.
Oban is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, the town can play host to up to 25,000 people. Oban occupies a setting in the Firth of Lorn. The bay is a near perfect horseshoe, protected by the island of Kerrera; and beyond Kerrera, the Isle of Mull. To the north is the long low island of Lismore and the mountains of Morvern and Ardgour.
The original bridge featured in the 1959 film 'The Bridal Path' starring George Cole and Gordon Jackson.
A reinforced concrete bridge was built in 1938 as a replacement for the old bridge. This is still in use today, carrying the A85 road from Oban to Dalmally over the River Awe.
The A85 is a major road in Scotland. It runs east from Oban along the south bank of Loch Etive, through Lochawe and Tyndrum, Crianlarich, Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Crieff before passing through Perth, where it crosses the River Tay via Perth Bridge. Its name between the latter two locations is the Crieff Road. It then multiplexes with the A90 to the Swallow Roundabout before diverging to follow the Invergowrie Bypass, Riverside Avenue and Riverside Drive before terminating in Dundee city centre.
Dalmally is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is near the A85 road and is served by Dalmally railway station.
The River Awe is a short river in the Southwest Highlands of Scotland by which the freshwater Loch Awe empties into Loch Etive, a sea loch. The river flows from a barrage which stretches across the end of a deep arm of the loch which protrudes northwestward through the Pass of Brander from the northeast-southwest aligned Loch Awe. The river is accompanied for much of its length both by the railway from Glasgow to Oban and by the A85 road both of which cross the river halfway along its length. The Awe is also crossed by a minor road bridge and a foot bridge.
The original bridge was destroyed in January 1992 following heavy floods. High winds had damaged the roof of the Inverawe Power Station, resulting in its temporary closure. Minimal water was drained from Loch Awe until the gates were opened to their maximum to relieve the level of Loch Awe and the Awe Barrage from overflowing. Two of the three arches of the old bridge were washed away, with one arch on the Taynuilt bank remaining, in part due to the deflection of the main flow by the small island upstream.
Loch Awe is a large body of freshwater in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe, or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such as Innis Chonnell and Inishail.
The course of the river has changed greatly since the 1992 floods. The island upstream now joins to the land on the Taynuilt bank in summer months when the river is low.
The River Ness is a river about 6 miles or 10km long, which flows from the northern end of Loch Ness in Scotland, through Loch Dochfour, north-east to Inverness, with a total fall in height of about 16 metres before discharging into the Beauly Firth. The river is the origin of the name of Inverness which is from the Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Nis, meaning "Mouth of the Ness".
The West Highland Line is a railway line linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban in the Scottish Highlands to Glasgow in Central Scotland. The line was voted the top rail journey in the world by readers of independent travel magazine Wanderlust in 2009, ahead of the notable Trans-Siberian line in Russia and the Cuzco to Machu Picchu line in Peru. The ScotRail website has since reported that the line has been voted the most scenic railway line in the world for the second year running.
Loch Etive is a 30 km sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It reaches the sea at Connel, 5 km north of Oban. It measures 31.6 km long and from 1.2 km to 1.6 km (1 mi) wide. Its depth varies greatly, up to a maximum of 150 m (490 ft).
The Callander and Oban Railway company was built with the intention of linking the sea port of Oban to the railway network. This involved a long line from Callander through wild and thinly populated terrain, and shortage of money meant that the line was opened in stages from 1866 to 1880.
McCaig's Tower is a prominent tower on Battery Hill overlooking the town of Oban in Argyll, Scotland. It is built of Bonawe granite taken from the quarries across Airds Bay, on Loch Etive, from Muckairn, with a circumference of about 200 metres (660 ft) with two-tiers of 94 lancet arches.
The Clachan Bridge is a simple, single-arched, hump-backed, masonry bridge spanning the Clachan Sound, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) southwest of Oban in Argyll, Scotland. It links the west coast of the Scottish mainland to the island of Seil.
Dalavich is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies on the western bank of Loch Awe and has a population of around 70. (It is located 30 miles from the main town and port of Oban, connected by the villages of Kilchreanan and Taynuilt)
Kilmelford is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
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.
Dalavich Church is a kirk (church) in the settlement of Dalavich in the Lorne district of Argyll in Scotland, belonging to the Church of Scotland. It is situated 14.0 miles (22.5 km) south of Taynuilt and 7.0 miles (11.3 km) south–west of Kilchrenan on the B845 road on the western shore of Loch Awe.
The River Orchy is a river that passes through the village of Dalmally, Argyll in the West Highlands of Scotland. It rises in the Black Mount Forest, and flows southerly, passing through Loch Tulla and Glen Orchy before reaching Loch Awe. The hills of Beinn Mhic-Mhonaidh, Beinn Udlaidh and Beinn Bhreac-liath are to the north and south; there are falls and islands within the river. Reachable by the A82 road, tourists partake in kayaking, whitewater rafting, and fishing. Recent gold mining exploration has occurred in one of the river's glens just outside the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.
Aray Bridge, also known as Inveraray Bridge, is a stone two-arch public road bridge on the Inveraray Castle estate near Inveraray in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, carrying the A83 road over the mouth of the River Aray where it flows into Loch Fyne.
The Inverarnan Canal was a short length of canal terminating at Garbal, close to the hamlet of Inverarnan, Scotland. This waterway once linked the old coaching inn, now the Drovers Inn, at Inverarnan, on the Allt Arnan Burn to the River Falloch and passengers could continue southward to Loch Lomond and finally to Balloch. From Inverarnan stagecoaches ran to various destinations in the north of Scotland.
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