Machrihanish Bay

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Machrihanish Bay
Machrihanish Bay - panoramio.jpg
Machrihanish Bay with headland of Machrihanish village.
Argyll and Bute UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Machrihanish Bay
Location Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Coordinates 55°26′07.9296″N5°44′1.1364″W / 55.435536000°N 5.733649000°W / 55.435536000; -5.733649000
Ocean/sea sources Atlantic Ocean
Basin  countries Scotland
Max. length4 mi (6.4 km)
Max. width3 mi (4.8 km)
Average depth40 ft (12 m)

Machrihanish Bay is a large remote tidal north by northeast coastal facing embayment, located next to the Campbeltown Airport within Argyll and Bute, Scotland. [1] It is located on the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula. Machrihanish Bay has the longest continuous stretch of sand in Argyll. [2]

Contents

Settlements

The closest settlement to Machrihanish Bay is the small village of Machrihanish which sits on the headland at the south end of the bay. Directly east of the bay sits Campbeltown Airport (RAF Machrihanish) [3] and further east on the other side of the peninsula, a distance of 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) sits the town of Campbeltown. To the north of the airport and close to the northern shore of the bay, is the village of West Darlochan. The main A83 Road follows the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula, when traveling south, until it reaches the north coast of the bay, where it cuts east through the peninsula, to miss the airport, cutting through the small villages of Kilchenzie, Glencraigs, Drumore before finally meeting Campbeltown. The B842 road leaves Campbeltown traveling in a westerly direction, and passes through the small village of Stewarton, before reaching the bay as the B843.

Geography

To the north of the bay, around 2.3 nautical miles (4.3 km; 2.6 mi) lies Bellochantuy Bay. To the south of the bay, 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi), lies Earadale Point, where the peninsula starts to curve inwards to the east. To the south of the bay lies the forested hill of The Slate, with the larger hill of Cnoc May which overlooks the bay, 4 miles to the northeast. The river Machrihanish Water flows into the bay.

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Machrihanish</span> Former RAF station in Argyll and Bute, Scotland

Royal Air Force Machrihanish or RAF Machrihanish is a former Royal Air Force station located near the town of Machrihanish and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of Campbeltown, at the tip of the Kintyre peninsula, Argyll and Bute, in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campbeltown Airport</span> Airport in Machrihanish, Argyll and Bute

Campbeltown Airport is located at Machrihanish, 3 nautical miles west of Campbeltown, near the tip of the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute on the west coast of Scotland.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kintyre</span> Peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saddell</span> Human settlement in Scotland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southend, Argyll</span> Human settlement in Scotland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarbert, Kintyre</span> Village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland

Tarbert is a village in the west of Scotland, in the Argyll and Bute council area. It is built at the head of an inlet of Loch Fyne called East Loch Tarbert, on a narrow isthmus which connects Kintyre to the south with Knapdale to the north and separates East Loch Tarbert from the much longer West Loch Tarbert. Tarbert had a recorded population of 1,338 in the 2001 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway</span> Former railway line in Scotland

The Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway was a 2 ft 3 in narrow-gauge railway in Kintyre, Scotland, between Campbeltown and the coalmining village of Machrihanish. Only three other passenger-carrying lines in the UK operated on the same gauge, all of them in Wales - the Corris Railway, the short-lived Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway and the Talyllyn Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machrihanish</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Machrihanish is a village in Argyll and Bute, on the west coast of Scotland. It is a short distance north of the tip of the Mull of Kintyre, which faces out towards Northern Ireland and the Atlantic.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drumlemble</span>

Drumlemble is a small village on the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tayinloan</span> Human settlement in Scotland

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The Machrihanish Coalfield is a coalfield on the Kintyre peninsula in southwest Scotland. It is one of the smallest British coalfields. With the exception of a thin coal beneath the Lyoncross Limestone in the overlying Upper Limestone Formation, all of the coal-bearing strata are found within the Limestone Coal Formation, a subdivision of the Clackmannan Group; all being strata of Namurian age. There are numerous seams of which the Main Coal is the principal one, being some 3 to 4m thick. A further, higher seam known as the Kilkivan Coal has also been worked. The full sequence is:

The Gauldrons (Scottish Gaelic: Innean nan Gailleann meaning "Bay of Storms" is a bay facing the Atlantic Ocean in the village of Machrihanish in Argyll, on the west coast of Scotland, a short distance north of the tip of the Mull of Kintyre.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kintyre Way</span> Long-distance path in Argyll and Bute, Scotland

The Kintyre Way is a waymarked footpath through the Kintyre Peninsula in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It runs between Machrihanish near the southern end of the peninsula's west coast, and Tarbert at the northern end of Kintyre where the peninsula is linked to Knapdale, via Campbeltown. The way is 161 kilometres (100 mi) long, and is fully waymarked. Additionally there are distance markers at 1 mile (1.6 km) intervals along the route. The route is primarily intended for walkers, but most sections can also be cycled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machrihanish Lifeboat Station</span> Former lifeboat station in Argyll and Bute, Scotland

Machrihanish Lifeboat Station was located in the village of Machrihanish, on the west coast of the Kintyre peninsular, 6 miles (9.7 km) west of the town of Campbeltown, in Argyll and Bute.

References

  1. Microsoft; Nokia. "Machrihanish Bay" (Map). Bing Maps . Microsoft. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  2. Rob Humphreys; Darren (Norm) Longley; Helena Smith (1 May 2014). The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands & Islands. Rough Guides Limited. p. 130. ISBN   978-0-241-00768-6.
  3. Samer Bagaeen; Celia Clark (10 June 2016). Sustainable Regeneration of Former Military Sites. Routledge. pp. 26–. ISBN   978-1-317-22099-2.