Ardentinny
Ardentinny (Scottish Gaelic: Àird an t-Sionnaich or Àird an Teine) is a small village on the west shore of Loch Long, fourteen miles north of Dunoon in Argyll on the Cowal peninsula. Nearby is 'Cruach a Chaise' (Cheese Hill) while on the opposite side of Loch Long is the village of Coulport, home of RNAD Coulport, the storage and loading base for the UK's Trident Nuclear Defence Force.
The name Ardentinny means 'the hill of fire' deriving either from the ancient rite of lighting fires to the God of Bel on May 1 or more likely for warning fires to aid mariners. The ferry between Ardentinny and Coulport was summoned by a fire and was used by the Dukes of Argyll travelling between Dunoon, Inveraray and Rosneath Castle and in later years by drovers from Argyll travelling to the markets in Central Scotland. The village has 2 hotels catering for the general public. The Ardentinny Outdoor Centre is run by Actual Reality, which has two centres in Cowal.
The local economy is reliant on tourism and agriculture with major employers being the hotel, outdoor centre and the caravan park. There is one working fishing boat based in Ardentinny trawling for prawns. Residents also work in Dunoon and across the Clyde. The village is served by the bus service to and from Dunoon.
More and more holiday houses are offered to tourists as Ardentinny is now in the new National Park.
The Ardentinny Hotel was closed for some years but is being refurbished and is close to reopening.
Education
Ardentinny had a primary school until 1998 when it was closed due to falling pupil numbers. Children in the village are now sent to nearby Strone Primary School. The only secondary School in Cowal is Dunoon Grammar and students from the village are bussed there each day.
In Literature and Fiction
The village of Ardentinny is featured in Don Brown's Historical fiction novel Destiny, the prequel to Brown's Navy Justice Series.[1]
People from Ardentinny
- John Craig (classicist) and his brother Robert Meldrum Craig FRSE
- George Gardner (botanist)
References
Coordinates: 56°02′N 4°54′W / 56.033°N 4.900°W
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