Ford ( gd, Àth na Crà) is a small village at the southern end of

Loch Awe Loch Awe (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Obha'') is a large body of freshwater in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such ...

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 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The village originated as a stopping point on the drove route to

Inveraray Inveraray ( or ; gd, Inbhir Aora meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former royal burgh, the traditional county town of Arg ...

. The Ford Hotel dates back to 1864, and was probably erected on the site of the old change house. Today it is a

guest house A guest house (also guesthouse) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), guest houses are a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the exclusive use ...

and is a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. There are historic paddocks along the side of the

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Dalavich Dalavich ( gd, Dail Abhaich) is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies on the western bank of Loch Awe and has a population of around 70. It is located from the main town and port of Oban, connected by the villages of Kilchrenan and ...

road. A hill known as Dun Dubh overlooks the village.

Prehistoric remains

Many prehistoric structures survive within the village boundary and are all easily accessible or can be seen from the public road. Opposite the guest house, in the village centre, stands a prehistoric burial mound known in Gaelic as ''Cnoc an Ath'' (hillock of the ford). It is a cist burial thought to have been opened in the 1800s and the remains of a food vessal found in it is thought to be in the National Museum of Scotland. Several standing stones are scattered around the area, the three most notable ones being the one in the field next to the guest house, the one opposite Glennan Farm, and the largest one at Torran Farm. A

crannog A crannog (; ga, crannóg ; gd, crannag ) is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes and estuarine waters of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were bu ...

is also present in Loch Ederline and is clearly visible from the road. In 2000, a local bird-watcher discovered a prehistoric urned cremation in a boulder shelter at Glennan. It was excavated by GUARD archaeology and found to contain the remains of probably a male, aged 25–40 years old. They had suffered from slight spinal joint disease, mild iron deficiency anaemia and were cremated shortly after death, together with a young sheep/goat, whose bones were also in the urn.

Media

File:Hotel, Ford - geograph.org.uk - 529871.jpg, alt=image of ford hotel, Ford hotel File:Standing stone in the snow - geograph.org.uk - 1626454.jpg, alt=A standing stone in the snow, Standing stone in the snow With Ford Wood behind. File:Approaching Ford - geograph.org.uk - 1369027.jpg, alt=Approaching Ford The pedestrian's view approaching Ford from the south along the B840., The pedestrian's view approaching Ford from the south along the B840. File:Cattle near Ford - geograph.org.uk - 1369021.jpg, alt=Cattle in a field, Cattle near Ford File:Ford Church, Argyll - geograph.org.uk - 15419.jpg, alt=Ford Church, Ford Church

References

Villages in Argyll and Bute {{Argyll-geo-stub