Portavadie () is a village on the shores of

Loch Fyne Loch Fyne (, ; meaning "Loch of the Vine/Wine"), is a sea loch off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal, Cowal Peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound o ...

on the coast of the Cowal Peninsula, 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 ...

, West of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The Portavadie complex was built in 1975 by the then

Scottish Office The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the es ...

for the purpose of constructing concrete platforms for extraction of oil from the North Sea. However, the intention was soon overtaken by acceptance that steel platforms were the future for the oil industry in Scotland. Despite suggestions to turn the complex into a holiday village, it lay redundant until in the mid-1980s the enclosed port was used by a local fish farm company. In 2013 a further report in the '' Dunoon Observer and Argyllshire Standard'' says that the derelict "village", known as Polphail, was sold to a forestry company who planned to demolish the buildings and build new houses. By 2016 the buildings had been demolished, but the plans had changed to the construction a whisky distillery on the site, with construction to commence in early 2023.

Sport and recreation

Portavadie Marina

In late 2009 the marina was used for the first time to tie up yachts for the Scottish series by the Clyde Cruising Club, won by Nigel Biggs; England; J109-IRC. The new Portavadie Marina complex opened to the public in 2010. The first phase of the complex consisted of five-star luxury apartments, with private sauna facilities and four-star cottages, alongside a restaurant, conference suites and a retail space. The second phase, The Lodge, arrived shortly after, consisting of hotel style accommodation, fully accessible studio apartments, staff accommodation and a second "family style" restaurant. The third phase was officially launched in August 2016, with a luxury spa and leisure complex being added to the amenities.

Loch Lomond and Cowal Way

The Loch Lomond and Cowal Way starts and finishes at Portavadie; this long-distance waymarked footpath takes one to

Inveruglas Inveruglas () is a hamlet on the west shore of Loch Lomond, fairly near the north end of the loch and is within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. It is situated on the A82 road (Great Britain), A82 trunk road, connecting Glasgow t ...

on the shore of

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; ) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF), often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands.Tom Weir. ''The Scottish Lochs''. pp. 33-43. Published by ...

, in the

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 ...

, of walking later.

National Cycle Route 75

Portavadie is on the NCR75 a route from

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Tarbert Tarbert () is a place name in Scotland and Ireland. Places named Tarbert are characterised by a narrow strip of land, or isthmus. This can be where two lochs nearly meet, or a causeway out to an island. Etymology All placenames that variously s ...

on the

Kintyre peninsula Kintyre (, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately north of Kintyre is ...

. The National Cycle Network is maintained by

sustrans Sustrans ( ) is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United ...

. If you cross

, continuing on the NCR75 onto the

, you can join the

National Cycle Route 78 National Cycle Route 78 runs from Campbeltown to Inverness. It was officially launched as the Caledonia Way in 2016 as part of the wider redevelopment of Scotland's cycle network. It runs from the Kintyre peninsula to the Great Glen and the route ...

(The Caledonia Way).

Transport

Portavadie Ferry Terminal

National

There is a 25-minute-long

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne (), in short form CalMac, is the trade name of CalMac Ferries Ltd, the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries to the west coast of Scotland, serving ports on the mainland and 22 of the major islands. It is a subsid ...

ferry service across

on the

Kintyre Kintyre (, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East Loch Tarbert, Argyll, East and West Loch Tarbert, Argyll, West Loch Tarbert in t ...

Peninsula. It runs eleven times on weekdays (ten on Sundays), between 8:30 am and 6:30 pm. There is no 8:30 am ferry on Sundays.

Bus

Portavadie is the destination of the 478 bus from Dunoon, away. It runs six days a week.

References

External links

Caledonian MacBrayne, Portavadie page - Website

Portavadie Marina - website

Loch Lomond and Cowal Way - Website

Clyde Cruising Club - website
History of the petroleum industry in the United Kingdom Marinas in Scotland Ports and harbours of Scotland Villages in Cowal {{Argyll-geo-stub