| Garelochhead Training Camp | |
|---|---|
| Garelochhead | |
 Military access road to the training area | |
  Garelochhead Training Camp Location within Argyll and Bute | |
| Coordinates | 56°04′24″N04°49′17″W / 56.07333°N 4.82139°W |
| Type | Barracks |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Operator |  British Army |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1940 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1940-Present |
Garelochhead Training Camp is a military training camp located near Garelochhead in Scotland.
The camp was originally built in 1940 during World War II. Some 22,000 American servicemen were accommodated and trained at the camp prior to Operation Overlord. [1] There is an extensive Training Area in the surrounding region that extends up Glen Fruin to the west bank of Loch Lomond and along Loch Long through Glen Mallan to DM Glen Douglas. The entire training area is some 8,200 acres (33 km2) in area, with its highest point rising to some 700m above sea level and includes two parachute Drop zones. The Range complex at Garelochhead is equipped for live firing up to platoon level, with additional grenade and mortar ranges. The camp itself can accommodate up to 500 personnel and has been used as a base by Strathclyde Police during protests at the nearby HMNB Clyde. [2]
The Ministry of Defence built a new 100m grouping and zeroing range, a new 600m electronic firing range, a range warden's complex, a range console building and access tracks at the camp in 2014. [2]
In August 2022, the Ministry of Defence announced plans to demolish the existing accommodation and replace it with modern energy efficient accommodation. [3]
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.
Helensburgh is a coastal town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute council area following local government reorganisation in 1996.
Cape Wrath is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in Great Britain.
The Gare Loch or Gareloch is an open sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland and bears a similar name to the village of Gairloch in the north west Highlands.
Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town 3 miles (5 km) south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres. Under plans announced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in November 2005, its population is expected to grow to over 25,000, making it the largest population centre in the local area.
Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word barraca 'soldier's tent', but today barracks are usually permanent buildings. The word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes, and the plural form often refers to a single structure and may be singular in construction.
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.
Garelochhead railway station is a railway station serving the village of Garelochhead, on the Gare Loch, in Scotland. This station is on the West Highland Line and is a boundary station for SPT. It is sited 8 miles 76 chains (14.4 km) from Craigendoran Junction, near Helensburgh, between Arrochar and Tarbet and Helensburgh Upper. ScotRail manage the station and operate most services, with others provided by Caledonian Sleeper.
Garelochhead is a small town on the Gare Loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is the nearest town to the HMNB Clyde naval base.
Rhu is a village and historic parish on the east shore of the Gare Loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
Shandon is an affluent settlement of houses forming a village on the open sea loch of the Gare Loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Shandon overlooks the Rosneath Peninsula to the west and is bordered by Glen Fruin to the east, which is the site of the Battle of Glen Fruin, one of the last clan battles in Scotland, fought on 7 February 1603, in which an estimated 300 warriors on foot from the MacGregor Clan claimed victory over an estimated 600–800 men from the Colquhoun Clan on horse-back.
Aldershot Garrison, also known as Aldershot Military Town, is a major garrison in South East England, between Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire. The garrison was established when the War Department bought a large area of land near the village of Aldershot, with the objective of establishing a permanent training camp for the Army. Over time, this camp grew into a military town and continues to be used by the Army to the present day. It is home to the headquarters of the Army's Regional Command and Home Command, and it is also the headquarters for the Army Special Operations Brigade. The garrison plays host to around 70 military units and organisations.
Glen Fruin is a glen in Scotland, adjacent to Loch Lomond. It contains the Fruin Water which flows into the loch, and a road, now the A817 road, known as the Glen Fruin Haul Road, which goes from the A82 up the glen and over the top of the hills to HMNB Clyde at Garelochhead.
The Munster Training Area is a military training area in Germany on the Lüneburg Heath. It comprises two separate areas with different purposes: Munster North (Munster-Nord) and Munster South (Munster-Süd). The two areas are separated geographically by the town of Munster and several barracks. When the military training area was established a camp or Lager was built about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from the town centre which became known as Munsterlager. Between Munster North and South there is a road corridor to the nearby training area of Bergen-Hohne over which exercising troops can transfer from one area to the other. There are many rare and endangered plant species on this terrain today that thrive in the environment created by the training area.
Hermitage Academy is a non-denominational secondary school in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is one of two secondary schools in the Helensburgh area and is currently the largest secondary school in Argyll and Bute.
The Dartmoor Training Area (DTA) is a military training area on Dartmoor in Devon in southwest England. The area consists of approximately 13,000 hectares in the Dartmoor National Park.
Finnart Oil Terminal, also known as Finnart Ocean Terminal or Chap Point, is an oil depot on the eastern shore of Loch Long, Firth of Clyde on the west coast of Scotland, about 2 miles (3.2 km) to the north of Garelochhead on the A814 road to Arrochar. It has piers extending a short distance into the loch, providing a deep water berth for oil tankers up to 324,000 tonnes. Two pipelines connect the terminal across the width of Scotland to the Grangemouth Refinery on the Firth of Forth on the east coast, and extensive oil storage tanks have been built into the hillside on both sides of the main road.
Stonehouse Barracks, or RM Stonehouse, is a military installation at Stonehouse, Plymouth. It is the home of 3 Commando Brigade and referred to by commandos as 'the spiritual home of the Royal Marines'.
Whistlefield, later Whistlefield Halt, was a minor station on the West Highland Line 10.30 miles from Craigendoran Junction railway station near the hamlet of Portincaple on Loch Long, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Opened in 1896 by the West Highland Railway, it was built on a single track section without a passing loop in between Garelochhead and Glen Douglas and closed by the British Railways Board in 1964.
Faslane Platform railway station or Faslane Junction Platform railway station was a temporary private railway station located near the Stuckendoff PoW camp, Shandon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Opened in 1945 by the LNER in connection with the construction of the Loch Sloy Hydro-Electric facility and was located on the Shandon side of the Chapel Burn and recorded to be out of use by around 1949 in the British Railways era.