Ardentinny () is a small village on the western shore of

Loch Long Loch Long is a body of water in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The sea loch extends from the Firth of Clyde at its southwestern end, to the Arrochar Alps at the head of the loch. It measures approximately in length, with a wi ...

, north of Dunoon in

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

, Scotland. Nearby is Cruach a Chaise (Cheese Hill). On the opposite side of Loch Long is the village of Coulport, home of

RNAD Coulport Royal Naval Armaments Depot Coulport, shortened to RNAD Coulport, on Loch Long in Argyll, Scotland, is the storage and loading facility for the nuclear warheads of the United Kingdom's Trident programme. The base, near the village of Coulpo ...

, the storage and loading base for the UK's Trident submarine fleet, part of the extensive

HMNB Clyde His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It ...

. The name ''Ardentinny'' means "hill of fire", deriving either from the ancient rite of lighting fires to the god Bel on 1 May or, more likely, from warning fires to aid mariners. It was the fife of the McInturner's Baron's Craigcoll, Ardentinny & Glenfinart before they were murdered by

Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...

for supporting Clan Lamont in the reign of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

. The ferry between Ardentinny and Coulport was summoned by a fire and was used by the Dukes of Argyll travelling between Dunoon,

Inveraray Inveraray ( or ; meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Located on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, Inveraray is a former royal burgh and known affectionately as "The Capital of Argyll." It is the ...

and

Rosneath Rosneath () is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It sits on the western shore of the Gare Loch, northwest of the tip of the Rosneath Peninsula. It is about by road from the village of Kilcreggan, which is sited on the southern shore ...

Castle and in later years by drovers from Argyll travelling to the markets in Central Scotland. The village had two hotels catering for the general public. The Ardentinny Outdoor Centre is run by Actual Reality, which has two centres in Cowal. The local economy is reliant on tourism and agriculture, with major employers being the outdoor centre and the caravan park. There was one working fishing boat based in Ardentinny, trawling for prawns but that no longer resides there. Residents also work in Dunoon and across the Clyde. The village is served by the 489 (direct) and 486 (via Kilmun) bus service to and from Dunoon. There are many holiday home rentals now being offered to tourists, as Ardentinny is within Argyll Forest Park, which is itself within

Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park () is a national park in Scotland centred on Loch Lomond and the hills and glens of the Trossachs, along with several other ranges of hills. It was the first of the national parks of Scotland, two nati ...

. The Ardentinny Hotel was struck by lightning on 19 May 2014. It re-opened in June 2017, after refurbishment, as a bar and bistro named The Ardentinny.

Education

Ardentinny had a primary school until 1997, when it was closed due to falling pupil numbers. Children in the village are now sent to nearby Strone Primary School. The school had been proposed for closure in 1987 and the case was covered by the

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

documentary series ''First Tuesday''. The only secondary school in Cowal is Dunoon Grammar School, and students from the village are bussed there each day.

Leisure

There is a path from the village along the shore to

Carrick Castle Carrick Castle is a 14th-century tower house on the west shore of Loch Goil on the Cowal, Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It is located between Cuilmuich and Carrick, south of Lochgoilhead. The castle stands on a rocky ...

Loch Goil Loch Goil; () is a small sea loch forming part of the coast of the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The sea loch is entirely within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. It is an arm of Loch Long. The village of Lochg ...

In literature

The village of Ardentinny is featured in Don Brown's

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

novel ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

'', the prequel to his Navy Justice Series.

Notable people

* John Craig, Scottish classicist, and his brother Robert Meldrum Craig,

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

, were born in Ardentinny. * George Gardner, botanist, was born in Ardentinny in 1810. * Paul Murton, TV presenter/broadcaster of the ''Grand Tours of Scotland'' series, was raised in Ardentinny.

Gallery

File:Loch Long shoreline - geograph.org.uk - 125970.jpg, Loch Long shoreline at Ardentinny File:Road to Ardentinny - geograph.org.uk - 125962.jpg, Road to Ardentinny from Blairmore File:Loch Long - geograph.org.uk - 581545.jpg, Loch Long from above Ardentinny

References

External links

Argyll Forest Park - website

The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park - website

Ardentinny Community Website

Ardentinny Centre - website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardentinny Villages in Cowal Firth of Clyde Highlands and Islands of Scotland