Ardentinny

Not far from Strone (see my last blog) on the banks of Loch Long, 14 miles from Dunoon. A little further from the Firth of Clyde but is part of the general area and group of places I've written about here recently. What a nice day we had for this drive from Dunoon, around the lovely Holy Loch, to Kilmun, Strone, Ardentinny - and then through the impressive Glen Finart to Loch Eck!

The shoreline at Ardentinny, very picturesque and tranquil

Below, looking across the waters of the loch to Coulport and, since the 1960s, the Royal Naval Armaments Depot, part of HMNB Clyde.

Below, the road to the Ardentinny Outdoor Education Centre

I'm running out of my own photos to use for this blog but hopefully it won't be long until I'm back to take lots more! In the meantime I'll be uploading some old postcards of the area fairly soon.

Strone

We had a lovely sunny day for a drive around to Strone and beyond. All my photos were taken on the pier, sadly derelict now for many years, although it was once a regular stop for Clyde steamers. Strone is very close to Kilmun (see my previous blog) and is where the north shore of the Holy Loch becomes the west shore of the Firth of Clyde.

Above, an old photo of Strone on a postcard, from around the early 1900s

Kilmun and David Napier

A few photos taken at Graham's Point, Kilmun, on the shore of the Holy Loch, where it meets the Firth of Clyde. It was once a popular watering place for Glasgow merchants after a quay was built by David Napier (1790-1869), the famous engineer who is thought to have been one of the best builders of marine engines in Scotland.

It's a great spot to stop and admire the wonderful views!

The children's play park at Graham's Point and a poem about David Napier

(Click on photo to enlarge)

You can read an interesting account of his work, and the development of steam powered ships, written by his grandson, here

There is also an interesting piece about him on this page and I quote a sentence from it below:

"Robert Napier of Shandon, who succeeded to his business when he went to London, enjoys most of the credit today, but David Napier was the actual pioneer of the modern shipbuilding industry of the Clyde"