River Eachaig | |
---|---|
Etymology | place of horses [1] |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Loch Eck |
• location | Cowal |
• coordinates | 56°02′20″N4°59′05″W / 56.038795°N 4.9847063°W Coordinates: 56°02′20″N4°59′05″W / 56.038795°N 4.9847063°W |
• elevation | 24 m (79 ft) |
Mouth | Holy Loch |
• location | Cowal |
• coordinates | 55°59′54″N4°57′06″W / 55.998381°N 4.9517269°W |
• elevation | Sea level |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | Little Eachaig River, River Massan |
• right | Inverchapel Burn |
The River Eachaig is a river on the Cowal peninsula, Argyll and Bute, in western Scotland.
The river flows from Loch Eck to the Holy Loch, passing Benmore Botanic Garden, Rashfield and Cot House. It is joined by the Inverchapel Burn and the River Massan. The Little Eachaig River joins the River Eachaig immediately before it empties into the Holy Loch. [2] [3]
The old route from Inveraray to the Firth of Clyde involved travelling down Loch Eck, then crossing the River Eachaig to get to Dunoon – Mary Queen of Scots went this way in 1563. A small boat or punt called a coite carried passengers over the river, and the thatched house of the ferryman became known as the Cot House, eventually the Cot House Inn. [4]
Around 1835 David Napier built a road from Kilmun pier to Loch Eck as part of the "new route to Inveraray", and at this time the ferry was replaced by a wooden bridge. This in time needed replaced, and around the end of 1884 the Trustees of the Dunoon District of Roads, Argyllshire, arranged for engineers and contractors to construct a new malleable iron girder bridge spanning 70 feet (21 m) over the river; this bridge was completed in May 1885. [4] It is a single-span wrought iron double warren lattice truss bridge, spanning between abutments at each end with splayed stone parapets. [5]
This route was still shown in the Ordnance Survey 7th series one-inch map published in 1960, in following decades the A815 main road was realigned with a curve crossing the river on a new bridge to the north of the old bridge, and the A880 side road from Kilmun extended to join this as a side road. [6] The old bridge is still in place, and is a listed building as a rare example of an unaltered wrought iron bridge. [5]
Argyll and Bute is one of 32 unitary authority 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 Robin Currie, a councillor for Kintyre and the Islands.
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles. The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula, which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran. Within the Firth of Clyde is another major island – the Isle of Bute. Given its strategic location at the entrance to the middle and upper Clyde, Bute played a vital naval military role during World War II.
Dunoon is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in the south of Argyll and Bute, 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 peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde.
The Holy Loch is a sea loch, a part of the Cowal peninsula coast of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
Loch Fyne, is a sea loch off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends 65 kilometres (40 mi) inland from the Sound of Bute, making it the longest of the sea lochs in Scotland. It is connected to the Sound of Jura by the Crinan Canal. Although there is no evidence that grapes have grown there, the title is probably honorific, indicating that the river, Abhainn Fìne, was a well-respected river.
Kilmun is a linear settlement on the north shore of the Holy Loch, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands.It takes its name from the 7th century monastic community founded by an Irish monk, St Munn. The ruin of a 12th-century church still stands beside the Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausoleum.
Benmore Botanic Garden is a large botanical garden situated in Strath Eachaig at the foot of Beinn Mhòr, on the Cowal peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The gardens are on the west side of the A815 road from Dunoon, between the Holy Loch and Loch Eck, and include footbridges across the River Eachaig. It is one of the sites of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
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.
Ardentinny is a small village on the western shore of Loch Long, 14 miles (23 km) north of Dunoon on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands.
Clachaig; is a small settlement, on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the B836 road between the Holy Loch and Loch Striven, the hamlet is just over a mile long. Clachaig is a Gaelic word meaning 'stone place'.
Strachur; and Strathlachlan; are united parishes located on the Cowal peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Strachur is a small village on the eastern coast of Loch Fyne.
Ardnadam is a village on the Holy Loch on the Cowal peninsula, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located northwest of Hunters Quay and east of Sandbank, and sits across the loch from Kilmun.
Loch Eck is a freshwater loch located on the Cowal peninsula, north of Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is seven miles long. Along with Loch Lomond, it is the only naturally occurring habitat of the Powan (fish). The loch also has salmon, sea trout, brown trout and arctic charr.
David Napier was a Scottish marine engineer.
The A815 is a major road in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It runs for about 37 miles (60 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.
James Duncan was a Scottish sugar refiner and businessman, who then became a philanthropist and art collector. His house and grounds on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll became Benmore Botanic Garden, now managed by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
Coylet is a hamlet on Loch Eck, Cowal peninsula, Argyll and Bute, in West Scotland.
Puck's Glen is a river-formed ravine on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, with a popular scenic walking trail beside the Eas Mòr stream. In 2020 the glen and adjoining trails were closed temporarily due to COVID-19 restrictions, issues of stability of the gorge, and felling of trees infected by larch disease.