Loch Fyne ( gd, Loch Fìne, ; meaning "Loch of the Vine/Wine"), is a

sea loch ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...

off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from 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 ...

, making it the longest of the sea lochs in Scotland. It is connected to the Sound of Jura by the Crinan Canal. Although there is no evidence that grapes have grown there, the title is probably honorific, indicating that the river, (river Fyne), was a well-respected river. In the north the terrain is mountainous, with the Arrochar Alps, ,

Glen Shira Glen Shira ( Gaelic: Gleann Siara, "Glen of the eternal river") is a glen in Argyll, Scotland at the northern end of Loch Fyne, just to the north of Inveraray. It is a Special Area of Conservation within the UK, bordered by Beinn Bhuidhe on t ...

, Glen Fyne,

Glen Croe Glen Croe ( gd, Gleann a' Chrò) is a glen in the heart of the Arrochar Alps on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The glen is surrounded by large and rugged mountains characterised by huge boulders. The glen is within the L ...

, Arrochar, Tyndrum and Loch Lomond nearby. It is overlooked by

the Tinkers' Heart The Tinkers' Heart is a Scottish Travellers' commemorative monument near Loch Fyne in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is also known as the Gypsy's Heart, Gypsies' Heart or Gypsy's Wedding Heart. A field visit in 2012 shows the Heart as being ...

, an old travellers' monument. It was a place for weddings to traditionally take place.

Transport

Roads

The loch has several roads surrounding it. The A83 goes round the head of the loch then travels down the west coast of Loch Fyne, from

Ardrishaig Ardrishaig ( gd, Àird Driseig) is a coastal village on Loch Gilp, at the southern (eastern) entrance to the Crinan Canal in Argyll and Bute in the west of Scotland. It lies immediately to the south of Lochgilphead, with the nearest larger to ...

Tarbert Tarbert ( gd, An Tairbeart) 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 ...

along the Knapdale coast. Leaving the A83 north of Cairndow the A815 travels down the east shore of Loch Fyne along the Cowal peninsula coast to

Strachur Strachur; ( gd, Srath Chura) and Strathlachlan; ( gd, Srath Lachlainn) are united parishes located on the Cowal peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Strachur is a small village on the eastern coast of Loch Fyne. Geography Cowal is the l ...

, where to continue down the east shore the A886 leads to

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

. Where you turn off onto the B8000 which carries on down the east shore to Millhouse, where you can go to

Portavadie Portavadie ( gd, Port a' Mhadaidh) is a village on the shores of Loch Fyne on the west coast of the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. The Portavadie complex was built by the then Scottish Office for the purpose of construc ...

Kames Kames may refer to: ;People * Henry Home, Lord Kames, Scottish philosopher * Abdesalam Kames, Libyan footballer * Bob Kames, American organist * Kambūjia, otherwise Cambyses of Persia * Kamose, last Egyptian pharaoh of the Seventeenth dynasty ...

(direct) or via the Ardlamont peninsula, a longer route to Kames.

Ferries

At the mouth of Loch Fyne between

on the Cowal peninsula, on the east shore of the loch. A vehicle ferry traverses the loch to

on the Kintyre peninsula on the west shore.

Crinan Canal

The Crinan Canal connects Loch Fyne at

and the Sound of Jura at the hamlet of Crinan itself, giving a shortcut for smaller vessels out to the Hebrides saving the longer route of going around the Kintyre peninsula. The canal was built between 1794 and 1801 when the canal was opened, under the supervision of John Rennie. In 1816 Thomas Telford redesigned parts of the canal to remedy technical issues with water supplies for the canal. There are fifteen locks along the canal's length.

History

World War Two

During the Second World War, HMS Quebec (a shore establishment) also known as the "No 1" Combined Operations Training Centre (CTC) was centred a few miles south of Inveraray and used the shores of the Loch Fyne and surrounding coastline. It trained personnel in the techniques involved in the use of landing craft and the setting up of a beachhead. The No1 CTC was manned and trained personnel from all three services, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the Army, troops of the allies were also trained. This important military facility was set up in October 1940, around 250,000 personnel passed through the training centre by 1944. The main site is now occupied by Argyll Caravan Park.

Nature and conservation

Dolphins, seals and

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

s inhabit the loch, and basking sharks can appear in its waters during the summer months. A Ross's gull was present at the loch in early 2007. In 2014 Loch Fyne was declared a Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area (NCMPA). The designation covers the entire loch northwards from a point near

Otter Ferry Otter Ferry ( gd, An Oitir) is a settlement on the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, formerly the site of a ferry across Loch Fyne. Otter Ferry is situated 9 miles from Portavadie from where there is a ferry to Tarbert, in Kintyre, o ...

Fisheries

Loch Fyne has a reputation for its oyster fishery, and as a consequence, the loch has given its name to the once locally owned

Loch Fyne Oysters Loch Fyne Oysters is a seafood and meat company that operates on the banks of Loch Fyne, Scotland. The company created the Loch Fyne Restaurants chain, which was later sold to Greene King. Loch Fyne Oysters still owns the Loch Fyne brand and suppl ...

and to the associated Loch Fyne Restaurants. It is also notable for its

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 ...

-fishing industry, and hence the famous Loch Fyne Kipper, originally caught using the drift-net method. In the mid-19th century, Loch Fyne was the centre of the battle between the traditional drift-net fishermen and the new trawl-net fishermen who sprang up around

and

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 ...

in 1833. Several Scottish sea-fishing records have been set in the loch:

Sport and leisure

Diving

Loch Fyne is a popular area for sport diving. Off the coast at St Catherines, is a boulder field and a wrecked speedboat. At Kenmore Point is Stallion Rock, a single rock that rises from the sea bed.

Sight seeing

Castles

It is also a popular tourist destination with attractions such as Inveraray Castle,

Dunderave Castle Dunderave Castle is an L-plan castle built in the 16th century as the Scottish seat of the MacNaughton clan. Description The castle lies on a small promontory on the northern shores of Loch Fyne, around north-east of Inveraray, Argyll. Th ...

, Kilmory Castle,

Minard Castle Minard Castle is a 19th-century castellated mansion on the north-western shore of Loch Fyne Argyll and Bute, on the west coast of Scotland, in the parish of Kilmichael Glassary. The castle is located slightly south of the village of Minard. The ...

and the nearby ruins of

Castle MacEwen Castle MacEwen ( gd, Caisteal Mhic Eoghainn) is a ruined fort in the Cowal peninsula, on the east shore of Loch Fyne in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is near Kilfinan, around south of Otter Ferry. History The site was a medieval dun, which wa ...

and Old Castle Lachlan around the shores of Loch Fyne.

Crarae Garden

Crarae Garden located 10 miles south of Inveraray, the National Trust gardens overlook Loch Fyne.

Inveraray Bell Tower

The Loch is overlooked by the 126 feet (38 m) high Inverary Bell Tower, visible from much of the Loch, and is a popular tourist attraction.

Gallery

Image:Inveraray Bridge - Loch Fyne.jpg, Inveraray Bridge on Loch Fyne. The spires of Inveraray Castle can just be seen on the left. Image:Wfm loch fyne.jpg, Loch Fyne at Inverary harbour. Image:2008-08 - Plum Island and Cowal Games 543.jpg, A view towards the north-eastern tip of the loch from St Catherines. Image:Lochfyne.JPG, The view down Loch Fyne, from Inveraray. The Fairy Hill can be seen in the distance to the right. Image:Shoreline and Loch Fyne - geograph.org.uk - 156498.jpg, Shoreline and Loch Fyne Image:The foreshore of Loch Fyne near Castle Lachlan. - geograph.org.uk - 412516.jpg, The foreshore of Loch Fyne near Castle Lachlan.

References

External links

Old Castle Lachlan - website

* ttps://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/crarae-garden/ National Trust, Crarae garden - website {{DEFAULTSORT:Loch Fyne Fyne Fyne Firth of Clyde Cowal Underwater diving sites in Scotland Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas of Scotland