Sandbank
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Looking southeast along the A815 in Sandbank | |
Location within Argyll and Bute | |
Population | 1,320 (2022) [1] |
OS grid reference | NS 163 802 |
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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Sandbank (Scottish Gaelic : an Oitir or Taigh a' Chladaich) [2] is a village on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located 2.5 miles (4 kilometres) north of Dunoon on the coastal A815 (low road) or the inland A885 (high road). It sits on the southern shore of the Holy Loch, a sea loch of the Firth of Clyde. [3]
Alexander Robertson started repairing boats in a small workshop at Sandbank in 1876, and Alexander Robertson & Sons went on to become one of the foremost wooden boat builders on the River Clyde. The 'golden years' of Robertson's yard were in the early 1900s, when they started building classic 12- and 15-metre racing yachts. Robertsons was well known for the quality of its workmanship and was chosen to build the first 15-metre yacht designed by William Fife (Shimna, 1907). More than 55 boats were built by Robertsons in preparation for the World War I, and the yard remained busy even during the Great Depression in the 1930s, as many wealthy businessmen developed a passion for yacht racing on the Clyde. During World War II, the yard was devoted to Admiralty work, producing a wide range of large high-speed Fairmile Marine motor boats. After the war, the yard built the successful one-class Loch Longs and two David Boyd designed 12-metre challengers for the America's Cup: Sceptre (1958) and Sovereign (1964). Due to difficult business conditions, the Robertson family sold the yard in 1965, and it was turned over to GRP[ clarification needed ] production work until it closed in 1980. During its 104-year history, Robertson's Yard built around 500 boats, many of which are still sailing today. The yard ceased trading in the early 1980s, and the site was levelled soon after. It has since been replaced by residential building and the new Holy Loch Marina development. [4]
Sandbank was the site of the shore facilities of the U.S. Navy submarine base in the Holy Loch from 1961 to 1992, part of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. [3] It was, for thirty years, until the end of the Cold War, the home port of the U.S. Navy's Submarine Squadron 14. As of 2024 [update] , part of the old navy complex that was the former location of Morris & Lorimer's boat building yard, is a timber loading berth and marina.
Sandbank is on the National Cycle Route 75, which runs between Edinburgh and Tarbert. [5] The National Cycle Network is maintained by sustrans. [6]
The Holy Loch Sailing Club is situated in Sandbank. [7]
Sandbank is the location of the Holy Loch Marina, a development with over 200 berths. [8]
Sandbank Primary School was originally located in the village centre between 1864 and 1977, [9] when it moved to a new building to the southeast of the village, but still on the high road. [10]
As of 2024 [update] , after the closure of the Oakbank Hotel, there are no public houses in Sandbank. [11] It followed the closure of the Holy Loch Inn, at the head of Rankin's Brae, in 2023. [12]
The former Sandbank Parish Church (built in 1868) [13] stands on the high road. Its congregation merged with that of Kirn Parish Church in 2017, becoming Kirn & Sandbank Parish Church, and its church building was put on the market. [14]
Cowal Cemetery is located on the high road (A885) between Sandbank and Dunoon. It was established in 1972. [15]
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.
Dunoon is the main town on the Cowal Peninsula in the south of Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well as forming part of the council area of Argyll and Bute, Dunoon also has its own community council. Dunoon was a burgh until 1976.
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.
The Holy Loch is a sea loch, a part of the Cowal Peninsula coast of the Firth of Clyde, 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.
Strone is a village on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands at the point where the north shore of the Holy Loch becomes the west shore of the Firth of Clyde. The village lies within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.
Kirn is a village on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands on the west shore of the Firth of Clyde on the Cowal peninsula. It now forms part of the continuous habitation between Dunoon and Hunters Quay, where the Holy Loch joins the Firth of Clyde. It originally had its own pier, with buildings designed by Harry Edward Clifford in 1895, and was a regular stop for the Clyde steamer services, bringing holidaymakers to the town, mostly from the Glasgow area.
Portavadie is a village on the shores of Loch Fyne on the coast of the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, West of Scotland.
Dunoon Grammar School is a secondary school in Dunoon, on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It was founded in 1641.
Ardnadam is a village on the Holy Loch on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It is located northwest of Hunters Quay and east of Sandbank, and sits across the loch from Kilmun.
The A815 is a major road located on the Cowal peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It runs for about 35.7 miles (57.5 km) from the A83, near Cairndow, in the north, to Toward in the south. It passes beside three lochs, while its final stretch is along the Firth of Clyde.
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.
Hunters Quay is a village, on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. Situated between Kirn to the south and Ardnadam to the north, Hunters Quay is the main base of Western Ferries, operating between Hunters Quay and McInroy's Point.
Alexander Robertson & Sons was a boatyard in Sandbank, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, from 1876 to 1980. The yard was located on the shore of the Holy Loch, not far from the Royal Clyde Yacht Club (RCYC) at Hunters Quay, in the building that is now the Royal Marine Hotel, which was the epicentre of early Clyde yachting. Alexander Robertson started repairing boats in a small workshop at Sandbank in 1876, and went on to become one of the foremost wooden boatbuilders on Scotland's River Clyde. The "golden years" of Robertson's yard were in the early 1900s, when it started building some of the first IYRU 12mR & 15mR racing yachts. Robertson's was well known for the quality of its workmanship and was chosen to build the first 15-metre yacht designed by William Fife III. More than 55 boats were built by Robertson's in preparation for the First World War and the yard remained busy even during the Great Depression in the 1930s as many wealthy businessmen developed a passion for yacht racing on the Clyde. During World War II the yard was devoted to Admiralty work, producing a wide range of large high-speed Fairmile Marine Motor Boats. After the war, the yard built the successful one-class Loch Longs and two 12-metre challengers for the America's Cup: Sceptre (1958) and Sovereign (1964). Due to difficult business conditions, the Robertson family sold the yard in 1965, and it was turned over to glass-reinforced plastic production work until it closed in 1980. During its 104-year history, Robertson's Yard built 482 numbered boats, many of which are still sailing today.
Loch Loskin is a freshwater loch in Ardnadam, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The outflow from the loch is the Milton Burn, which winds its way through Dunoon to the Firth of Clyde. The A885 from Sandbank, known as the "High Road" locally, passes the loch.
Milton Burn is a watercourse in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is sourced from Loch Loskin in Kirn and largely runs parallel to the A885 road as it leads south to Dunoon. It is around 1.02 miles (1.64 km) long.
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.
Ardnadam Farm is the site of an ancient cromlech in the village of Ardnadam, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The relic was, according to popular tradition, the grave of a king who was named after Adam. Ardnadam Farm, located near Loch Loskin, was supposedly so-called in accordance with the tradition. The stones were later considered to be fragments of a Druidical altar.
Sandbank Parish Church is a former Church of Scotland church building in Sandbank, Argyll, Scotland. Completed in 1868, it was designated a Category C listed building in 2007. It stands on the A885 high road between Sandbank and Dunoon.