Carradale ( gd, Càradal, ) is a village on the east side of Kintyre, overlooking the

Kilbrannan Sound Kilbrannan Sound (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Caolas Branndanach'') is a marine water body that separates the Kintyre Peninsula of Scotland from the island of Arran. Kilbrannan Sound is the western arm of the Firth of Clyde. See also * Dippen Bay * Ki ...

and the west coast of the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...

in the Firth of Clyde, approximately from

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing ...

. To the north of Carradale is the coastal peak known as Torr Mor; nearby are the hamlet of Dippen and

Dippen Bay Dippen Bay is an embayment along Kilbrannan Sound on the east coast of the Kintyre Peninsula in Scotland. Coastal erosion has been documented at Dippen Bay as well as nearby Torrisdale Bay.Escape.org The bay is located along the coast near the ha ...

. Population: 578~ (2021)

History

There is a vitrified Iron Age fort at Carradale Point. In the 17th and 18th centuries there were small communities of

crofters A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural area ...

and fishermen working in and around Carradale. The introduction of steam ships transformed Kintyre and from the 1830s until the Second World War daily steamers went from

to Glasgow, calling at Carradale. With the

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

industry thriving, Carradale's first pier was built in 1858, developing and encouraging the

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

trade. This situation persisted until the Second World War, with hotels developing and a tradition of families returning year after year. Now this situation is reversing again. Carradale still has a fishing fleet, largely dealing in

shellfish Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater envir ...

. Since the 1950s, forestry has also played an important part in the village with large scale afforestation taking place. The Free Church was opened on 2 December 1887. The novelist and poet

Naomi Mitchison Naomi Mary Margaret Mitchison, Baroness Mitchison (; 1 November 1897 – 11 January 1999) was a Scottish novelist and poet. Often called a doyenne of Scottish literature, she wrote over 90 books of historical and science fiction, travel writin ...

lived in

Carradale House Balfron Tower is a 26-storey residential building in Poplar, Tower Hamlets, East London. Built in a Brutalist style, it forms part of the Brownfield Estate, an area of social housing between Chrisp Street Market and the A12 northern approa ...

from 1938 until her death in 1999.

Suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

Flora Drummond, who was raised on Arran, lived in Carradale from 1944 until her death in 1949.

Segments of the village

The village has five main areas: *Carradale Village, situated at a crossroads formed by the junction of the B842 and B879 roads. *Carradale Bay, site of a large caravan park overlooking an expanse of white sand. *Carradale Harbour (and the surrounding area), situated at the end of the B879. *Port Righ Bay, overlooking a small sheltered beach. *Waterfoot, at the mouth of the Carradale River.

Transport

The only public transport available to Carradale is a bus service operated by

West Coast Motors West Coast Motors (legally incorporated as Craig of Campbeltown Limited) is a bus, coach and ferry operator, based in Campbeltown, Scotland. The company also operates under the name ''Borders Buses'' and ''Glasgow Citybus''. History The foundi ...

, to and from

via

Peninver Peninver (pronounced ''"Pe-NEE-ver")'' is a small village situated on the east coast of Kintyre, Scotland. It lies north of Campbeltown, the principal town in the area. The village is located on Ardnacross Bay, with an outlook over the bay to ...

, and

Saddell Saddell ( gd, Saghadal, ) is a small Scottish village situated on the east side of the Kintyre Peninsula of Argyll and Bute, overlooking the Kilbrannan Sound and the Isle of Arran, from Campbeltown on the B842 road to Carradale. The name Sa ...

Pictures

File:Carradale Bay.jpg, Carradale Beach with the snow-capped hills of the Isle of Arran in the distance. File:Stepping stones across the River Carra.jpg, Stepping stones across the River Carra. File:Carradale Point.jpg, Carradale Point. Image:CarradaleHarbour.jpg, Carradale Harbour

References

External links

{{Portal bar, Scotland Villages in Kintyre Firth of Clyde