Ettrick Bay is a wide, tidal, sandy coastal

embayment A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

with a chord of , on a 218° bearing, located on the west coast of the

Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent isl ...

in the

Firth of Clyde 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 (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

, within council area of

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) 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 (14 July 2020) ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The bay was used for practice training for the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

landings.

Geography

The bay faces the

Kyles of Bute The Kyles of Bute ( gd, Na Caoil Bhòdach) form a narrow sea channel that separates the northern end of the Isle of Bute from the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, on the Scottish mainland. The surrounding hillsides are roughly wooded, and ove ...

, a narrow sea channel that separates the northern end of the

from the

Cowal Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde. The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arrochar ...

peninsula, and offers views of

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 ...

. The bay is bounded by a coarse sandy beach which is popular with tourists and local people. During low tide, the water's edge can be up to from the high tide mark. A number of rivers flow into the bay, including the Glenmore Burn, Ettrick Burn, Drumachloy Burn and St Colmac Burn. At the north end of the bay, which mainly consists of rocky outcrops, lies the Kildavanan Point, with the feature known as Macallister's Gun, located close to the point. At the south end of the bay is the rocky outcrop called Island McNeil, which forms the outer boundary of the bay. The surrounding area is mostly rural with agriculture being the main land use. Average rainfall for the region is 392mm, compared to 331mm in Scotland as a whole. Windy Hill is the highest peak on the Isle of Bute. Located directly to the north of the bay, it is . Other small hills surrounding the bay include: *Eanan Hill to the north east – *Glenabea Hill, behind Eanan Hill – *Kilbride Hill, which bounds Windy Hill at the east side – *Muirton Hill, which is to the south of Windy Hill – also To the east and south of the bay, all the hills are shallow. miles directly south of Ettrick Bay lies the sheltered bay of St Ninian's Bay, which is named after the 8th-century

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

Saint Ninian Ninian is a Christian saint, first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland. For this reason he is known as the Apostle to the Southern Picts, and there are numerous dedication ...

. The island of

Inchmarnock Inchmarnock ( gd, Innis Mheàrnaig) is an island at the northern end of the Sound of Bute in the Firth of Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The island is privately owned. Geography Inchmarnock lies to the west of the Isle of Bute at the no ...

can be seen from Ettrick Bay and lies on a south by south west bearing of around 200° at a distance of from the bay, and is located at the northern end of the

Sound of Bute In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

in the

on the same

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

as St Ninian's Bay.

Settlements

The nearest town to the bay is

Rothesay Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail ...

, which is to the east. The small coastal village of

Port Bannatyne Port Bannatyne ( gd, Port MhicEamailinn) is a coastal village on the Isle of Bute, Firth of Clyde, Scotland that is home to many steamers. Port Bannatyne developed into the 1900s as a quieter and more unusual alternative to Rothesay. It is a pop ...

is located to the north east, on Ardbeg point of Kames Bay. Kames Castle and, to the north,

Wester Kames Castle Wester Kames Castle is located near Kames Bay near Port Bannatyne, Isle of Bute, Scotland. Dating from around 1700, the castle was rebuilt around 1900 from a ruined state. History The tower house of Wester Kames dates from around 1700, and was o ...

stands near to Kames Bay.

Features

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

stone circle A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The be ...

is situated at St Colmac Farm, which is located south of the B875 road to Ettrick Bay from Port Bannatyne, about northeast of the shore of Ettrick Bay. A

Celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...

that is often associated with the stone circle is located at the ruined 19th-century and Category C

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

St Colmac's Church St Colmac's Church is a ruined 19th-century church in St Colmac, north-east of Ettrick Bay, on the Isle of Bute, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Built in 1835, it is now a Category B listed structure, as are its kirkyard, boundary wall, gatepiers ...

, about from the stone circle in a north west direction. A well-known tourist attraction, and often associated together, they were built several thousand years apart. The church's manse, today known as '' Cnoc an Raer'', is contemporary with the former place of worship. At the bridge over Glenmore Burn lie concrete frames built for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

for exercises on Inchmarnock. These frames represented practice

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. Pr ...

for

landings.

Gallery

File:St Colmac, Isle of Bute, Scotland.jpg, Abandoned St Colmac Church with ancient Celtic Cross File:Stone Circle near St Colmac Farm - geograph.org.uk - 1314389.jpg, Stone Circle near St Colmac Farm File:Ettrick Bay - geograph.org.uk - 496144.jpg, Ettrick Bay File:Ettrick Bay - geograph.org.uk - 952168.jpg, Ettrick Bay looking towards the

File:Ettrick Bay - geograph.org.uk - 38585.jpg, Looking towards the north and the point on the Kildavanan Point File:Ettrick Bay - geograph.org.uk - 53461.jpg, Looking south over a stormy Ettrick Bay. The island of Arran is visible in the distance File:Shipwreck, Ettrick Bay - geograph.org.uk - 294261.jpg, This view of Ettrick Bay beach, taken from the cafe car park, shows an abandoned and wrecked fishing boat File:Beach, Ettrick Bay - geograph.org.uk - 1491373.jpg, The beach from the car park looking south File:Drumachloy Bridge, Ettrick Bay - geograph.org.uk - 279961.jpg, The ancient and ruined Drumachloy Bridge over the Drumachloy Burn File:Ettrick Bay looking south. - geograph.org.uk - 804177.jpg, Ettrick Bay looking south File:Shipwreck at Ettrick Bay - geograph.org.uk - 414749.jpg, Fishing boat that was wrecked in 1994 and removed in 2007 when it became dangerous after a winter storm. The crew mistook low-lying ground for a channel to the north of the island and foundered

References

{{reflist Isle of Bute Bays of Argyll and Bute