Ardgour () (, meaning ''Height of the goats'') is an area of the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

on the western shore of

Loch Linnhe Loch Linnhe () is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. The part upstream of Corran is known in Gaelic as (the black pool, originally known as Loch Abar), and downstream as (the salty pool). The name ''Linnhe'' is derived from the Gaelic w ...

. It lies north of the district of

Morvern Morvern, historically also spelt Morven, is a peninsula and traditional district in the Highlands, on the west coast of Scotland. It lies south of the districts of Ardgour and Sunart, and is bounded on the north by Loch Sunart and Glen Tarbert, ...

and east of the district of

Sunart Sunart ( , Scottish Gaelic: ''Suaineart'') is a rural district and community in the south west of Lochaber in Highland, Scotland, on the shores of Loch Sunart, and part of the civil parish of Ardnamurchan. The main village is Strontian, at the head ...

. Administratively it is now part of the ward management area of

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creation ...

, in

Highland council area Highland ( gd, A' Ghàidhealtachd, ; sco, Hieland) is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It share ...

. It forms part of the traditional

shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...

and current

registration county A registration county was, in Great Britain and Ireland, a statistical unit used for the registration of births, deaths and marriages and for the output of census information. In Scotland registration counties are used for land registration purpose ...

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

. The modern term Ardgour, together with Kingairloch, is applied to a large area of countryside around the village, from the Glensanda Superquarry, Kingairloch and Kilmalieu in the south and west (bordering Morvern and Sunart districts), up to Conaglen, Stroncreggan, Treslaig, Camasnagaul,

Achaphubuil Achaphubuil (Scottish Gaelic: Achadh a' Phùbaill- the field of the tent or pavilion) is a small settlement to the north of Ardgour in Lochaber, in the Highlands of Scotland. Achaphubuil lies to the south of The Narrows, which link Loch Linnhe ...

, Blaich,

Duisky Duisky ( gd, Dubh-uisge – "black water") is a small hamlet on the south shore of Loch Eil, directly across from Fassfern, and approximately west of Fort William on the south shore of Loch Eil, Lochaber, Scottish Highlands and is in the Sc ...

, Garvan and Drumfin in the north (bordering

Glenfinnan Glenfinnan ( gd, Gleann Fhionnain ) is a hamlet in Lochaber area of the Highlands of Scotland. In 1745 the Jacobite rising began here when Prince Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") raised his standard on the shores of Loch Shiel. S ...

). Until 1829 Ardgour was part of Kilmallie Parish - the largest in Scotland - at which time a Quoad Sacra Parish (QSP) - 'Ballachulish & Corran of Ardgour' - was formed, together with Ballachulish, in Inverness-shire across Loch Linnhe. Parliamentary churches were built at Creag Mhòr, (north) Ballachulish and at Corran, Ardgour with the Manse at the former in Onich. 'Ardgour' and 'Ballachulish & Onich' became Parishes in their own rights in 1894. Ardgour took in Kingairloch when this was dis-joined from Lismore and Appin Parish in 1911. From 1930 to 1975 Ardgour formed part of the (civil) landward district of

Ardnamurchan Ardnamurchan (, gd, Àird nam Murchan: headland of the great seas) is a peninsula in the ward management area of Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoiled and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main access ...

in Argyll. From 1975 it was subsumed civilly into the Lochaber District of Highland (Region) The area is served by the

A861 road The A861 road is a circuitous, primarily coastal, road in Lochaber, within the Highland council area of Scotland. The A861 serves the communities of the remote Ardgour, Sunart, Moidart and Ardnamurchan areas Although the ends of this road are o ...

. The easiest access from the A82 (Glasgow - Inverness Trunk road) is via a short ferry crossing from

Corran Corran may refer to: Given name *Corran Addison, South African canoeist *Corran Horn, fictional character from the ''Star Wars'' franchise * Corran McLachlan, scientist and entrepreneur *Coran: character from Voltron Surname * Andrew Corran, born ...

to Ardgour; the alternative is a trip around Loch Linnhe and Loch Eil. The ferry runs every half-hour from about 6:30 am (8:45 am on Sunday) until about 9:30 pm and costs £8.00 per PLG vehicle (wef 1 Apr 2018) for a single ticket - passengers/pedestrians free.Books of 30 tickets valid for 1 year cost £ 72.40 per PLG vehicle. Foot passengers and

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

s are carried free of charge. Ardgour has formed part of the territory of the Clan MacLean ever since the MacMasters were removed from the territory in the 15th Century. The current

Laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

of Ardgour, Robin Maclean, is a MacLean by adoption. He is the nephew of the last hereditary Maclean of Ardgour - a lady Laird - having changed his name by legal action in The Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh.

Lairds

At the instigation of MacDonald of the Isles, the MacMasters were usurped by the Macleans in 1410. A

Maclean of Ardgour The Macleans of Ardgour are a Scottish family and a branch of the ancient Clan Maclean, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands. In Scottish Gaelic they are known as Mac Mhic Eoghainn, which means ''the son of the son of Owen''. MacLean of Ardg ...

has been Laird til the current time, Robin Maclean, 18th Laird of Ardgour succeeding his aunt, Catriona Louise Maclean, 17th Laird in 1988.

References

Lochaber Highland Estates Civil parishes of Scotland {{Highland-geo-stub

Lairds

See also

References