The Islands of the Firth of Clyde are the fifth largest of the major Scottish island groups after the Inner and Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland. They are situated in the Firth of Clyde between Ayrshire and Argyll and Bute. There are about forty islands and skerries. Only four are inhabited, and only nine are larger than 40 hectares. The largest and most populous are Arran and Bute. They are served by dedicated ferry routes, as are Great Cumbrae and Holy Island. Unlike the isles in the four larger Scottish archipelagos, none of the isles in this group are connected to one another or to the mainland by bridges.
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 Kingdom of the Isles was a Norse-Gaelic kingdom comprising the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The islands were known to the Norsemen as the Suðreyjar, or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the Norðreyjar or Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland. In Scottish Gaelic, the kingdom is known as Rìoghachd nan Eilean. The territory is sometimes called the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, although only some of the later rulers claimed that title. The historical record is incomplete, and the kingdom was not a continuous entity throughout the entire period. At times the rulers were independent of external control, although for much of the period they had overlords in Norway, Ireland, England, Scotland or Orkney. At times there also appear to have been competing claims for all or parts of the territory. The islands have a total land area of over 8,300 square kilometres (3,205 sq mi) and extend for more than 500 kilometres (310 mi) from north to south.
Blackwaterfoot is a village on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The village is within the parish of Kilmory. It is located in the Shiskine valley in the south-west of the island. It is one of the smaller villages of Arran and home to one of Europe's two 12-hole golf courses. Nearby Drumadoon Point is home to the largest Iron Age fort on Arran. Further north is the King's Cave, reputed to be a hiding place of Robert the Bruce.
The Holy Island or Holy Isle is an island in the Firth of Clyde, off the west coast of central Scotland, inside Lamlash Bay on the larger Isle of Arran. The island is around 3 kilometres long and around 1 kilometre wide. Its highest point is the hill Mullach Mòr.
The County of Bute, also known as Buteshire, is a historic county and registration county of Scotland.
Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about 30 miles, from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately north of Kintyre is known as Knapdale.
Gigha or the Isle of Gigha is an island off the west coast of Kintyre in Scotland. The island forms part of Argyll and Bute and has a population of 163 people. The climate is mild with higher than average sunshine hours and the soils are fertile. The main settlement is Ardminish.
North Ronaldsay is the northernmost island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. With an area of 690 hectares (2.7 sq mi), it is the fourteenth-largest. It is mentioned in the Orkneyinga saga; in modern times it is known for its historic lighthouse, migratory bird life and unusual breed of sheep.
The Isle of Bute, known as Bute, is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault.
Ailsa Craig is an island of 99 ha in the outer Firth of Clyde, 16 km west of mainland Scotland, upon which microgranite has long been quarried to make curling stones. The now-uninhabited island comprises the remains of a magmatic pluton formed during the same period of igneous activity as magmatic rocks on the nearby Isle of Arran.
Campbeltown Loch is a small sea loch near the south of the Kintyre Peninsula facing eastwards towards the Firth of Clyde. The town of Campbeltown, from which it takes its name, is located at its head. The island of Davaar is located in the loch, and can be reach by foot along a natural shingle causeway at low tide. Oddly, while in English the Loch takes its name from Campbeltown, in Gaelic, Campbeltown takes its name from the loch - "Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain".
Southend is the main settlement at the southern end of the Kintyre peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies 8 miles (13 km) south of Campbeltown, the main town in the area. The civil parish of Southend comprises the village and the surrounding land, used mainly for farming and forestry. The population of the parish is 497.
Pladda is an uninhabited island 1 km (0.62 mi) off the south coast of the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde at grid reference NS027191, western Scotland. It is home to the automated Pladda Lighthouse. The island is privately owned, having been put up for sale by Arran Estate in 1990. The island was put on sale in 2022 for £350,000, and bought shortly after.
Western Ferries (Clyde) Ltd is a private ferry company with its headquarters in Hunters Quay, Scotland. It currently operates on the Firth of Clyde running a year-round, high-frequency vehicle carrying service between Hunters Quay, near Dunoon, and McInroy's Point, on the outskirts of Gourock in Inverclyde.
Dunaverty Castle is located at Southend at the southern end of the Kintyre peninsula in western Scotland. The site was once a fort belonging to the Clan Donald (MacDonald). Little remains of the castle, although the site is protected as a scheduled monument.
The Isle of Arran or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at 432 square kilometres (167 sq mi). Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire. In the 2011 census it had a resident population of 4,629. Though culturally and physically similar to the Hebrides, it is separated from them by the Kintyre peninsula. Often referred to as "Scotland in Miniature", the Island is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault and has been described as a "geologist's paradise".
The modern names of Scottish islands stem from two main influences. There are many names that derive from the Scottish Gaelic language in the Hebrides and Firth of Clyde. In the Northern Isles most place names have a Norse origin. There are also some island place names that originate from three other influences, including a limited number that are essentially English language names, a few that are of Brittonic origin and some of an unknown origin that may represent a pre-Celtic language. These islands have all been occupied by the speakers of at least three and in many cases four or more languages since the Iron Age, and many of the names of these islands have more than one possible meaning as a result.
