Landscape Character Assessment: Argyll and Firth of Clyde - Landscape Evolution and Influences

This document provides information on how the landscape of the local authority area has evolved. It complements the Landscape Character Type descriptions of the 2019 dataset.

The original character assessment reports, part of a series of 30, mostly for a local authority area, included a “Background Chapter” on the formation of the landscape. These documents have been revised because feedback said they are useful, despite the fact that other sources of information are now readily available on the internet, unlike in the 1990’s when the first versions were produced.

The content of the chapters varied considerably between the reports, and it has been restructured into a more standard format: Introduction, Physical Influences and Human Influences for all areas; and Cultural Influences sections for the majority. Some content variation still remains as the documents have been revised rather than rewritten.

The information has been updated with input from the relevant Local Authorities. The historic and cultural aspects have been reviewed and updated by Historic Environment Scotland. Gaps in information have been filled where possible. Some reports have been combined where original LCA area coverage was very small.

The new documents include photographs. They do not include the maps or sketches from the original LCAs, but these are still available from the NatureScot Information Library. Additional information can be obtained from the websites of:

• British Geological Survey  www.bgs.ac.uk
• Historic Environment Scotland (Historic Land use Assessment, Gardens and Designed Landscapes, historic features and their designations, etc). www.historicenvironment.scot/
• NatureScot website: landforms and geology (more specifically the “Landscape Fashioned by Geology” series) and About Scotland’s Landscapes (soils; wild land; landscape character; designations etc.) www.nature.scot
• The relevant local authority, which will have information on landscape policies, etc.

The content of this document was drawn from the background chapter information in “NatureScot Review 78 - Landscape assessment of Argyll and the Firth of Clyde 1996, Environmental Resources Management”.

If you have any comments, please email [email protected]

INTRODUCTION / CONTEXT

The landscapes of Argyll and the Firth of Clyde have been shaped by a combination of both physical and human influences. Of these, the most significant is the region's underlying geology and the extensive modification of landform which took place during the glacial period. Humans have also been an important influence, initially in clearing the original forests, and subsequently through the ongoing management, cultivation and subdivision of the land.

Contrasts in scale and character provide a dramatic range of landscapes, from the vast mountain landscapes of north Argyll, to the gently rolling lowlands in the Dumbarton district around the Firth of Clyde; and from the exposed upland moors, with their wild expanses of peatland, to the hidden valleys on the east coast of Kintyre which have an intimate character. The western islands each possess their own individual landscape characters.

PHYSICAL INFLUENCES

The region of Argyll and the Firth of Clyde includes some of Scotland's most magnificent scenery. Most lies between the Highland Boundary Fault and the Great Glen and extends westwards to cover the archipelago of islands from Coll and Tiree, Iona, north-west of Mull, to Islay. There are strong contrasts in the scale and character of the landforms, from the rugged mountains of the Grampians in the far north-east, the parallel ridges and glens of Knapdale and the jagged, island-studded coastline of Argyll, to the flat meadow and arable farmland of the Moine Mhor and the rolling moorland at the Mull of Kintyre.

Geology and Landform

Scottish rocks are generally aligned in a north-east to south-west direction, forming the well-known Caledonian trend. The rocks of the British geological succession gradually become older towards the north west of the country and some of Britain's most ancient rocks are exposed in the far west of the area, on the islands of Coll and Tiree, and on south-west Islay. The ancient metamorphic Lewisian complex found in these areas forms the bedrock of all the Argyll islands. The geology of the area is described chronologically, from these ancient Lewisian rocks to the hard, quartzite Dalradian rocks and the sedimentary sandstones. In the vast geological timescale, the volcanic eruptions of the Tertiary period are relatively recent. They produced the igneous rocks which cover parts of the area. Still more recently, glaciation has moulded and scraped the rocks to form the spectacular fjords and glens of the contemporary landscape.

In addition to the character of the rocks and the sequence in which they were deposited, the geological structure of Scotland is heavily influenced by movements of the earth's crust which have split and buckled the rocks to form prominent fault lines, notably the Campsie Fault, the Highland Boundary Fault and numerous parallel faults running in a southwest to northeast direction. These faults, which were later scoured by the ice sheets, created the jagged coastline and lochs characteristic of the Argyll landscape. At the end of the last ice age, the glaciers and their meltwater rivers also left behind many examples of glacial deposits, moraines and river terraces that form key features in the landscape today. During and following deglaciation, the major changes that occurred in the position of the coastline led to the formation of extensive raised shorelines and raised beaches in the area.

The area is dominated by Dalradian rocks which were laid down as a mixture of sediments which  subsequently metamorphosed into schists, and folded and faulted by the collision of two continents 450 million years ago to form the diverse topography we see today. The Dalradian rocks of the older Southern Highland group are exposed where a massive 'overfold' in the rocks - the Cowal Arch - extends from Loch Lomond down through Kintyre. The same folding process also produced a complex down-fold, the Loch Awe Syncline, but in this case the younger Dalradian rocks, known as the Argyll Group, are exposed. These rocks are less resistant than those of the Southern Highland Group, and they have been eroded to form the peninsulas and islands of west Knapdale. To the east, the rocks of Knapdale are folded remarkably tightly into a series of steep, narrow ridges and valleys. The original up-folded arches of rock, the anticlines, are structurally weak and have been eroded into valleys and loch basins while the synclines remain as the more resistant, upstanding ridges.

To the west of the Cowal Arch, hard quartzite Dalradian rocks form the backbone of the islands of Islay and Jura. On parts of Islay, folding and buckling of the rocks has exposed underlying slates and limestones and, to the west of the island, the ancient Lewisian gneisses.

In the southeast comer of the area, the Highland Boundary Fault divides the metamorphic ancient Dalradian rocks of the Scottish Highlands from the younger Old Red Sandstone of Lowland Scotland which lies to the south of the fault. These softer sedimentary rocks survived intact through the volcanic activity of the Tertiary, although prominent conical hills, such as Duncryne to the south of Loch Lomond, are formed from volcanic vents and are distinctive local landmarks. An outlier of Old Red Sandstone lies much further north, in the Nether Lorn area near Oban. It was formed as a shallow lake deposit and has survived only because the bedrock here is protected by a thick blanket of volcanic lava.

Fifty million years ago, a series of volcanic eruptions produced vast lava flows, which smothered the underlying rocks. The Kilpatrick Hills, to the northwest of Glasgow, were formed from rocks that resisted erosion because they were covered by the Clyde Plateau Lavas, an extensive sheet of lavas over 600 metres thick. Prominent landmarks have been carved from volcanic vents, the most famous of which is located at Dumbarton. Here Dumbarton Rock rises in contrast above the mudflats of the Clyde.

To the west of the Firth of Lorn, the scenery is dominated by the Tertiary igneous rocks of north-west Scotland. The Isle of Mull is a deeply dissected basalt plateau with steep cliffs of lava. Mull's 1800 metres thick basalt crust exceeds the thickness found anywhere else in the British Isles. The lower layers of lava are more resistant and differential erosion of the successive lava flows has formed a series of flat benches so that the landform rises in a sequence of broad, stepped terraces, known as a 'trap' landscape. One of the best examples is the Island of Ulva, where the successive tiers lead to a flat-topped summit.

Associated with the volcanic centre on the Isle of Mull are a number of dolerite and basalt dykes which run approximately in a north-west to south­ east direction. These fissures of intrusive, igneous rocks effectively baked the surrounding bedrock. Sometimes this process strengthened the outer rocks to the extent that the dyke itself has been eroded to form a narrow trench, such as those characteristic of south-east Islay. More often, however, the dyke itself is more resistant and forms a steep, upstanding 'wall' in the landscape such as those visible on the south-east shores of Mull.

Glaciation

The contemporary landscape has been moulded by relatively recent geomorphological processes; there were probably many glaciations during the Pleistocene period. Following the retreat of the last major ice sheet, around 13,500 years ago, there was at least one glacial readvance known as the Loch Lomond Readvance, but the last remnants of the glaciers had finally melted by some 10,000 years ago.

The whole area was blanketed by ice during the Pleistocene period. Ice sheets moved in a westerly direction, although in places the orientation was south-west due to the grain of the landscape. The mountains were severely eroded and glacial drift was deposited on the low ground. The south-west to north-east grain of the underlying bedrock was emphasised by the glacial scouring process, and by subsequent invasion by the sea. For instance, in Knapdale, quartzites form the resistant rocky ridges, while the less resistant limestones have been etched by the ice to form narrow parallel depressions. The heads of many valleys have been gouged out to form steep-walled corries such as those found around Ben Vorlich. Over-deepened valleys are another feature of the area; their floors are often occupied by deep freshwater lochs or by the sea to form fjords. Loch Lomond was created as a part of the radiating pattern of glacial troughs cut out by the most powerful centre of ice dispersal in Britain. The valley it now occupies is largely a product of the Pleistocene period.

Glacial deposits of till, sand and gravel, moraines, boulder clay, and outwash are all present in the area. For instance, there are massive outwash terraces in the Ford-Kilmartin areas, and at Connel and prominent moraines near Loch Awe, on Mull (the 'Valley of a Thousand Hills') and at Tyndrum. Terminal moraines and outwash deposits, formed at the final limit of the Loch Lomond Readvance glacier, separate the Clyde estuary from Loch Lomond; without these glacial deposits this freshwater loch would be another sea loch, similar to Loch Long. The glaciers carried large boulders far from their point of origin and such 'glacial erratics' are found on the uplands of the Isle of Coll, probably in this case transported from Mull.

At the end of the last Ice Age, the land was depressed under the weight of the ice and, as the ice retreated, rising sea levels flooded the coastline. The beaches and shorelines formed (for example on the west coasts of lslay, Jura and Kintyre) were later raised above sea level as the land 'rebounded', freed from the weight of the ice. These raised beach deposits are of great geomorphological interest and the loamy soils of extensive raised beach terraces combined with wind-blown deposits of shell-sand produce good agricultural land. Marine sands and gravels deposited on Colonsay and Oronsay have rendered these islands the most fertile of the Hebrides. Raised beaches and wind-blown shell-sand deposits, known as machair, are also a feature of the islands of Coll, Tiree and Iona, as a result, these island landscapes show little of the influence of the ancient Lewisian rocks.

The broad geological divisions within the area are reflected in the materials and styles of local vernacular architecture: the white washed, slate roofed schist rubble houses found to the north of the Highland Boundary Fault contrast with the square built sandstone houses to the south.

Climate, Soils and the Evolution of Landcover

The distribution of natural vegetation is determined by two principal factors: climate and soil type. The climate of this region is strongly influenced by the warm currents of the Gulf Stream which drift past the coast from the south­ west; it is relatively mild, with a high annual rainfall. The formation of soils is influenced by geology, landform, parent materials, climate and time. In some areas, the boulder clays, moraines and sands and gravels deposited during the glacial period have produced fertile agricultural soils in areas where the parent rock would otherwise have formed a barren landscape.

The region's landcover varies from the dunes and machairs of the islands to the ribbons of houses and farms along the coastal raised beaches, the wooded lower hill slopes and exposed moorland summits. Much of the land surface has peaty soils and the vegetation is therefore dominated by species of moss, heather and purple moor grass.

On the windward, western shores of the islands, fine shelly sands, derived from reworking of off-shore glacial deposits, have been blown inland to form flat plains known as 'machair', which lie between the sand dunes and the rocky inland slopes. Gradually, the machair has been stabilised by vegetation, by the formation of thin soils and, eventually, has formed relatively good agricultural land. The machair is a finely balanced ecosystem. The farmland and the settlements it supports can easily be destroyed by overgrazing or other forms of erosion which damage the protective sward.

Mineral soils, derived from basic rocks, are found at low altitudes throughout the region.  Permanent and semi-natural pastures occur in these areas, with arable farms in pockets of well-drained land, for example around Dumbarton. These soils may also support woodlands of larch, Scots pine and a variety of broadleaved species, although native woodland is relatively scarce. Exotic species in estates, ornamental parks and gardens, provide a more diverse landcover. Changes in grazing practice and the over-burning of heather has, in some areas, led to the spread of bracken, diminishing the value and usability of the land.

Peaty gleys and peat are found on the wet humid lowlands and foothills of west Argyll. They generally form boreal heather moor, bog heather moor or blanket bog. Commercial forestry is also abundant on some of these soil types with Sitka spruce being the predominant species.

The peaty podzols found at altitudes of over 200 metres are less organic and support dry heather moors or bog heather moors. Above the 500 metre mark, subalpine podzols predominate, supporting lichen-rich heather moorland. The high mountain summits are covered by alpine azalea-lichen heath, fringe moss heath or fescue grassland.

HUMAN INFLUENCES

The wealth of surviving archaeological sites across Argyll reflects land use and settlement patterns from the Mesolithic period through to the later 19^th Century, and beyond, which may seem remarkable in a land which is so sparsely populated today. The cultural history of the area began some 7,500 years earlier, with the first Mesolithic settlers. Settlement expanded during the Neolithic and Iron Age. But it was during the Early Medieval period that the history of these remote islands and shores takes on a special significance. Early Christian civilisation flourished here, had a profound impact on the development of Christianity across Europe, and left an indelible mark on the landscape. Throughout the Middle Ages Argyll continued as a centre of Gaelic culture and learning, although the instability caused by the collapse of the Lords of Isles had a disrupting effect.

Since the mid-18^th Century, the region's history has been a story of gradual depopulation, with potato blight and changes in the agricultural and political climate forcing the emigration of thousands of crofters. The castles of the clan chieftains, with their estates and designed landscapes, remain important local landmarks. The landscape is dotted with deserted settlements, farms and quarries - a testament to the changing pattern of history.

Historic Landuse

Mesolithic and Neolithic Periods (7500 – 2000 BC)

The first people arrived in Argyll about 8,000 years ago, during the Mesolithic. They are thought to have been nomadic hunter­ gatherers and fishermen who seem to have settled along the coasts, exploiting the different resources available at different times of the year. Findings of microliths and other small stone tools suggest occupation of sea caves of the lower basalt cliffs near Oban, and amongst the dunes of Oronsay, where monumental sand-hill middens of limpet shells and animal bones have been found. Evidence of Mesolithic settlement and tool manufacture have also been found recently during excavations on Islay.

The area was covered in natural woodlands of Scots pine, juniper, birch, aspen, oak, rowan, hazel, willow and alder. There would have been some forest clearance, but the effect of Mesolithic humans was minimal and any effects would have been short-lived. After 4000 BC, the influx of Neolithic lifeways, possibly introduced by immigrants moving up the Irish Sea, brought new skills, including knowledge of farming. Pollen records indicate distinct changes in vegetation between 3500 and 3000 BC, when a decline in tree pollen suggests forest clearance and a simultaneous increase in grass and cereal pollens - the initial development of agriculture. It is thought that these early farming communities primarily raised livestock but continued to hunt and gather and grew cereals, though less intensively than in later periods. Many of these sites have since been eradicated through agriculture, re-afforestation, peat growth and the flooding of valleys to create reservoirs.

The number of known Neolithic settlements is small, and evidence of human activity comes mainly from funerary and ritual monuments, some of which are highly impressive. Along with Arran, and clearly in conjunction with similar practices in Northern Ireland, a distinct type of chambered tomb, the Clyde Cairn, developed in Argyll, with the biggest concentrations to the south and west, including Bute and the other southern islands. These are often built on sites of earlier activity and located in highly elevated positions, often just below hilltops on hillsides, with wide sweeping views along nearby valleys, low lying ground and routeways. Most have a clear visual relationship with the sea and more distant landmarks. Whilst the cairns have often suffered over time, the inner chambers and outer stonework often remain highly visible. Some of the most impressive, easily accessible and expansive views can be found at Blasthill, Ballochroy and Brackley in Kintyre, Glenvoiden in Bute, Cragabus and Port Charlotte in Islay. Other forms of chambered tomb can be found throughout Argyll but in Lorn and further north they often come to more closely resemble Hebridean forms. They often occupy similar positions to Clyde Cairns, sharing a relationship with seaways and other routeways, and/or good agricultural ground, but some have more discrete settings. For example the isolated small pocket of good agricultural land high up in Musadale is overlooked by a cairn which is also highly visible in most approaches. Concentrations can also be found around more liminal places, such as wetlands, like the Moss of Achnacree, on the north side of Achnacree.

From the later Neolithic, and lasting into the Bronze Age, standing stones were introduced throughout Argyll, often occurring alone or in alignments of between two to five stones. Many are of a significant size, marked the change between lowland and highland zones and remained highly visible throughout their surroundings. Many became the focus for later folk tales and continue to mark parish and other land boundaries.

The Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age also saw the introduction of rock art throughout Argyll. These were usually carved on living rock faces, although there are examples on boulders, most often around the upper ground at the mouths of valleys, water holes used by migrating animals, mostly deer, and along rouetways. Their interpretation remains highly enigmatic but they are highly evocative. These normally range from single or small groups of simple cup marks: but cup marks occasionally occur in dense concentrations, particularly in more notable locations, one of the most impressive examples being the Ringing Stone in Tiree, a huge and unusual boulder just above the shoreline which makes a noise when struck.  Argyll rock art panels also often include ring marks alongside and around cup marks and boats. Some of Scotland’s most complex rock art panels, displaying high concentrations of different forms of cup and marks are found here. Ormaig and Auchnabreac in mid-Argyll are amongst the most impressive.

Kilmartin Glen contains one of the most important prehistoric, ritual, archaeological landscapes in Scotland, largely uncovered during peat clearance from the 19^th Century. Occasionally described as a linear cemetery, it is comprised of an alignment of cairns, standing stones, stone settings, stone circles and a henge, highly unusual for western Scotland, along the floor of the valley. Many of the standing stones contain rock art and appear to have been cut from pre-existing bedrock panels. The upper slopes around the edges of the Glen and at its mouth are also marked by chambered cairns and complex rock art panels. Excavation has revealed this was augmented by timber monuments. Although not displaying the same density or complexity of monument types, the linear pattern spills out through most of the connecting valley systems, such as Killmichael Glassary, but also as far as Glen Lonan and Glen Feochan. Kilmartin suggests that the area was held to have huge religious significance. Its position, near the connecting point between the nearby sea lochs and inland routeways into central and northern Scotland, suggests it may have been at a meeting point between routeways from the Irish Sea and the Scottish interior, which may help explain its importance. Although the complex of monuments here began in the Neolithic, the importance of Kilmartin reached its zenith in the early Bronze Age, around 1500 BC.

The Bronze Age (2000 – 700 BC)

Comparatively few Bronze Age artefacts have been found and, as with the Neolithic period, evidence of human activity is mainly confined to monuments of burial practices such as stone circles and round cairns. However, some good examples of settlement sites comprising hut circles and field systems survive, particularly on Oronsay, Colonsay and Islay. 

The earliest Bronze Age is noted by the introduction of the Beaker assemblage, defined by the beaker pottery, most often, but not exclusively, found in cists built for individual internment in earlier monuments. Recent research appears to suggest the assemblage was accompanied by European settlers who then integrated with the existing populations. 

Over time, older chambered cairns were adapted and new cairns generally became slightly smaller round cairns. Both were now more focussed on the internment of individuals and small groups and perhaps more closely associated with smaller territories and farmland. New forms of cairn also developed, such as the kerbed cairn. One of the most impressive Bronze Age monuments is Kintraw in mid-Argyll. A large cairn and prominent standing stone were built on a high shelf of hillside overlooking the nearby coastland and passage inland, a small cluster of smaller kerb cairns are scattered around it. As with many cairns it continued to be recognised by later communities, although unlike the giants associated with many others this was believed to have been built for a Danish king.

Kilmartin continued to be used, with older monuments heavily altered, new monuments built and different forms of monument added throughout the Bronze Age. It reached its richest and most complex form around 1500BC, in what has been described as Argyll’s ‘Golden Age’. Over time arable farming appears to have intensified in this period, leading to a significant intensification of deforestation, which combined with climatic changes, led to the loss of good soils and the development of peat.

Possibly as a result of the pressure on the land resources caused by the failure of earlier farming intensification and the resulting encroachment of peat, the late Bronze Age saw the first construction of stone-walled hill forts, such as Castle Dounie, to the south of Ardnoe Point.

The Iron Age and Early Christian Period (700 BC – 1200 AD)

Settlement sites surviving from the Iron Age are of two types; fortifications and early Christian sites. The most common type of fortification are known as duns. These were generally either one or more circular homesteads enclosed within a large drystone wall perimeter, or houses built with monumentalised, thick, high drystone walls, sometimes containing internal galleries. These were generally built in high and prominent locations adjacent to routeways and good agricultural ground, which would have supported their inhabitants. There are few good bays with broad interiors along the Argyll coastline which are not overlooked by duns. There are numerous examples throughout the entirety of Argyll, including Dun a'Bhuic at Cleongart and Dun Urgadul on the Isle of Mull. Amongst these there is an occasional broch tower, mostly in the islands, such as Dun Mor in Tiree. Place names sometimes provide a clue to features that may no longer be visible. Hence dun survives in Dunoon (dun obhainn - river fort) and as dum in Dumbarton (dun breatainn - fort of the Britons).

Another form of fortified household common in Argyll are settlements built close to loch shores, known as crannogs. These were artificial islands made from wooden palisades and stones which supported a timber thatched house. There are examples at Eriska and at Eilean Fraoch on the shores of Loch Avich. There are no less than twenty crannogs on Loch Awe and they are a feature of many lochs throughout Argyll. The crannog at Eriska, on Loch Creran is an unusual example, insofar as it is located on a sea loch, whereas the majority are on freshwater lochs.

The tradition of fortified enclosures continued to grow as stone forts were built with defensive stone walls up to three metres high, ramparts and external ditches, such as those at Kildalliog in Kintyre, Dun Fhinn on Islay, and Caisteal Aoidhe at Ardmarnock, which evolved from an enclosure with a simple wooden palisade. Dun Skeig in Kintyre is possibly the most prominent dun along the Argyll coastline and is visible throughout the coastline and the maritime routeways to and from Islay and Gigha. As with many other duns it was also built as part of an interconnected pattern of duns which could see one another. The earliest fort encircled the entire hilltop, a smaller dun was then constructed later on the south end of the summit, and a second dun with a massive stone wall was built on the north end during the final phase of occupation; there is no evidence that the three structures were contemporary.   

Only a few unfortified house sites have been recovered in Argyll: however, these are likely to have been the commonest form of settlement site in the Iron Age. Caves also seem to have been occupied in the Argyll, with evidence from Bute, the Oban area and Tiree. Elsewhere, caves seemed to have been one of the few locations where Iron Age burial has been recovered.

During the 1^st Century AD the Roman advance was the catalyst for the construction of a line of forts known as the Antonine Wall. They linked the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth along the edge of the Highlands and were built as a deterrent against attacks from the north. However, the Romans had completely withdrawn by AD 410, without penetrating far into the remote landscape of Argyll, and their departure was marked by the general enlargement of territorial holdings.

Sometime around the 5^th Century Argyll became part of the Gaelic kingdom of Dal Riada, which at its height in the 7^th Century extended over most of Ulster, most of Argyll and parts of the western seaboard. The inhabitants of the region came to be referred to as Scotti, which was originally meant to be derogatory, as it meant pirates, and eventually, after their influence surpassed by their Pictish neighbours, their name was given to the whole of Scotland. Argyll and Bute was split into four sub-kingdoms led by different lineages – the Cenel Loairn being preserved in the name of the district of Lorn. Each had its own seat, main citadels surviving at Dunagoil on Bute, Dunaverty in Kintyre, Dunollie and Dunstaffnage in Lorn and Dunadd in Kilmartin Glen, each surrounded by multiple rings of fortification. Dunadd is the only one to survive without a later castle being built on top of it and it continued to be used for royal and then lordly inauguration into the later middle ages. Outside the dun on its summit is a stone with a footprint carved into it – the king placed his foot into this to signify their joining with the land, and from it the king would have been able to see across Kilmartin Glen to Ben Cruachan, the heart of Argyll. It is an imposing monument rising high over its surroundings. Prior to the development of the adjacent peat bog of Moine Mhor it was connected to the sea. Excavation provided evidence for the manufacture of high status goods and trade and exchange as far as the Mediterranean. Away from these royal sites some duns and crannogs continued to be occupied but almost no evidence survives  to reveal how most people lived.

The greatest legacies of this period are the Gaelic language, the depth of which is revealed in placenames across the Argyll landscape, and in evidence for early Christianity.

The arrival of Irish missionaries in the 6^th Century led to the spread of Christianity. St Columba first arrived in Scotland, from Ireland, in AD 563, landing on the Isle of Oronsay south of Colonsay, where he founded a priory before travelling on to lona. The islands of Argyll are rich in archaeological evidence from this period, although many of the Early Christian ecclesiastical sites, such as the ancient monastic settlement on Eileach an Naoimh, have been deserted since the Reformation, which, together with their remoteness, gives them an evocative and spiritual sense of place.

Each kingdom of Dal Riada patronised a monastery. Some, such as Iona and St Moluag’s on Lismore were placed alone on islands, others, however, were located near a royal centre.  All sat at the centre of a complex landscape of related sites, including satellite monasteries, boundaries and crosses. Another good example if St Blane’s or Kingarth in Bute, with its satellite site at Inchmarnock and near to the fort at Dunagoil. Other sites have only been discovered relatively recently, such as Baliscate in Mull. Iona became the most important monastic centre and its complex earthwork divisions remain one of the best preserved early medieval monasteries in Scotland and Ireland. From sites like these Gaelic missionaries converted most of the rest of western Scotland and influence Early Christian thinking in Scotland, Ireland, northern England and central Europe.

An important part of early monastic tradition was the idea of peregrination. Evidence of this being put into practice is likely to be the source of many of the tiny chapels, usually surrounded by small circular enclosures, scattered in coastal, or near-coastal, settings across Argyll, and revealed by cille placenames, but with a remarkable concentration on Islay; Gleann a’Gaoidh, Cladh Cill Iain and Cilleach Mhicheil set on Loch Indaal are good examples, with Duisker, Ballimartin and Cill a’Chuibein examples of the slightly inland ones. Dedications to early Gaelic saints adds a local distinctiveness to these early church sites. This was accompanied by a rich legacy of related carved sculpture, ranging from simple cross slabs to high crosses adorned with religious and royal symbolism, such as references to lions and King David. Outside Iona Kildalton in Islay is perhaps one of the best preserved and most impressive, but others can be found at less well known sites, such as Cladh A’Bhile near Ellary in Knapdale. These often mark passing places but more commonly the boundary of ecclesiastical territory, which was often regarded as a sanctuary from secular power. There is a general lack of visible directly associated agricultural remains, such as field systems.

Dal Riada’s expansion was checked in the east in the 8^th Century by the Picts and in the west in the ninth century by Viking incursions. The density of Norse placenames, particularly in the islands and Kintyre and surviving for both topographical features and settlements, suggests a significant influx of settlers in western Argyll, which is not matched in the archaeological record, where few Viking period and Norse structures have been identified and many of the duns and crannogs were abandoned. The best archaeological evidence for Viking occupation are the boat and other burials at places like Swordle and Colonsay. By the 10^th Century the islands were incorporated into the Kingdom of the Isles, centred on the Isle of Man. The Gall Geadhil – foreign Gaels – later came to be more popularly associated with south-western Scotland but may have originally referred to the inhabitants of Argyll, at least the mainland parts, in this period. However, the survival of Gaelic language and culture, the survival of the structure of the Dal Riadan kingdoms and, after some initial setbacks, the resilience of the church and its main monastic centres, including Iona, indicate a significant degree of integration. Indeed Gaelic culture reasserted itself so strongly that the region was ultimately identified as Airer Goidel - the Coast of the Gaels.

Medieval Settlement (1100 AD – 1650 AD)

In the 11^th Century one faction, under Somhairle/Somerled, came to dominate the Argyll territories of the Kingdom of Man and expanded their influence over mainland Argyll and further north. The centre of this kingdom appears to have shifted to the islands at Finlaggan in Islay, one of which is a crannog, and Iona was reimagined in the fashion of the Catholic church. After Somerled’s death the kingship shifted amongst his sons, who founded some of the most famous Argyll clans, including the Clann Dhubhgail/MacDougals, centred on Lorn and Mull, and then the Clann Domhnaill/MacDonalds, centred in Kintyre and Islay. 

In the 13^th Century Argyll saw some of the construction of some Scotland’s earliest castles, often in the form of enclosure castles or hall houses, such as Cairnbugh on the Treshinish Isles, Rothesay Castle in Bute, Castle Sween in Knapdape, Dunstaffnage in Lorn, Duart and Aros in Mull, Dunyvaig in Islay and Fincharn on the shores of Loch Awe. The MacDougals patronised a cathedral in Lismore and a monastery at Archattan in Lorn, to compete with Iona, but their power waned after the Wars of Independence these gradually lost influence in favour of the MacDonalds in western Argyll, who ultimately became the Lords of the Isles, and the Campbells in mid-Argyll. Many duns and crannogs were reoccupied during this period as well, perhaps one of the best preserved being Dun Mhuirich in Knapdale. The Lordship of the Isles reached its zenith in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and expanded their power into northern Ireland and throughout north western Scotland. They retained their seat at Finlaggan and patronised a flowering of Gaelic culture. 

The stone and lime-built medieval parish churches were largely abandoned in the century or so after the Reformation, fell into ruin, and often now appear austere whilst retaining spiritual significance and importance for local communities. Some, especially the earlier exampled such as Killean in Kintyre, contain highly ornate carvings and display the vibrancy of medieval Gaelic worship.

The Scottish crown came to increasingly see Argyll and the Kingdom of the Isles as an afront to their sovereignty. A small number of mottes in eastern Argyll, mainly in Cowal, possibly indicate early attempts to Normanise or feudalise the area. The 13^th Century saw several campaigns to bring the Kingdom of the Isles, previously subject to Norway, into the Scottish kingdom and a royal castle erected at Tarbert, which later became a royal burgh.  The Stewarts also expanded their own power base into Bute and Knapdale, which they then placed into the hands of loyal families. After the battle of Harlaw in 1411 and the Forfeiture of the Lords of the Isles later in the century the MacDonald hegemony collapsed and many smaller clans filled the vacuum, such as the MacLeans, MacNeills and MacPhie’s, but the Campbells being the most notable, eventually become one of the most powerful families in Scotland and agents for the crown in Gaelic Scotland.

Castle building became more common amongst some of the noblest families from the 14^th Century, with large towers appearing in earlier castles and duns and on new sites, mostly around good harbours and along lochs which were one of the main routeways through Argyll. Examples include Carrick Castle on Lochgoil, Castle Lachlan in Cowal, Innis Connel on an island in Loch Awe and Dunollie just outside Oban. In the 16^th Century tower houses became more prolific and become more domestic by the end of the century and into the following one, with good examples at Gylen in Kerrera, Moy in Mull, Kilmartin and at Saddel.

Argyll lords continued to patronise Gaelic culture with the most visible remnants being sculpture. Ornate crosses can be found around churches and in the larger settlements, with good examples presented with Inverary and Campeltown town centres as well as more remote examples such as on the road above the church at Lerags in Lorn. However, the most prolific expression can be found in the burial slabs that adorn nearly every historic graveyard in Argyll and which are beloved of most communities. Many of these depict vines, knotwork, hunting animals, mythical beasts, craft tools, swords, galleys, etc. and despite a few depictions of women and clergy they are perhaps best known for their display or warriors in distinctive Highland armour.

Again, evidence for settlement remains scant, although the remains of individual, small and oval or barrel shaped structures have occasionally been identified in the hills above Kilmartin – sometimes alongside patches of cultivation, Colonsay and on a small islet between Coll and Tiree. These are perhaps unusual survivors and may be the result of attempts to create a living during periods of clan warfare, particularly after the collapse of the Lordship of the Isles but may also suggest a shift towards pastoralism in the 15^th and 16^th Centuries. House remains have also been identified in Lorn and Cowal alongside charcoal burning platforms, indicating extensive woodland management in these areas in this period.

Despite disruptions during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and Jacobite Wars, Argyll became increasingly settled and prosperous from the 17^th Century. Towerhouses become more domestic in nature and were sometimes replaced with large houses, often surrounded by polite gardens. The beginnings of commerce and industry starts appearing as well. At Inverary the dilapidated medieval towerhouse was demolished and the settlement relocated to the current town to make way for the new Inverary Castle, the seat of the Argyll Campbells. By 1648 the town had become a Royal Burgh. 

The first real evidence for settlement appears, often now surviving around or beneath later villages. The basic unit of farming was the clachan, a cluster of dwellings and outbuildings which was surrounded by a mosaic of small, unenclosed fields of irregular shapes and sizes. The system of landholding, known as 'runrig', meant that ownership of different strips of land was intermingled, but the overall layout was structured by the 'infield-outfield' system in which the clachan was surrounded by intensively-farmed arable land, with more distant land being farmed on a rotational basis, or, as permanent pasture. In upland areas, there was a slightly different pattern, with pastures and settlement remains known as 'shielings' on rugged land at a distance from the settlement, where communities would move with their herds in the summer.

The Eighteenth Century (1700 – 1800AD)

By the 18th Century, the estate had become the basic unit of land organisation, but there were radical changes in the structure of landholdings and the character of the landscape. The Jacobite Rebellions in the early 1700s resulted in the building of several garrisons and the construction of a military road network overseen by Roy and Caulfield replacing the more strategic rough drovers' tracks.

With the defeat of the Jacobites at Culloden in 1746 and the subsequent flight abroad of many surviving supporters of the failed cause, including significant landowners, considerable changes to land management were brought into being under the broad heading of “agricultural improvement”. Fields were formalised from irregularly-shaped enclosures to a more rectangular shape, changing the appearance of farmed lands. Houses became larger and were increasingly stone, rather than turf, built, and displaying regionally distinct vernacular architectural features.  Many of these settlement can be found dotted throughout the area.

Although emigration to America started in the eighteenth century the early nineteenth century saw an increase in the number of Clearances in Argyll. The violence of the evictions from settlements like Kilmory Oib and Arichinan, and the Malcom estates in mid-Argyll were well recorded and caused public outrage. 

This had a significant impact on the landscape. The landowners demanded higher rents, forcing the tenants from the land and ending the traditional agricultural systems. Once the shielings were abandoned, the clachans were no longer viable and there was a decline in the rural population, with many tenant farmers leaving for America. The crofting villages which once dotted the hillsides were replaced by extensive burning and sheep grazing. In some instances the land was deliberately cleared to make way for estate policies and large houses:  Bowmore was founded to house tenants cleared to make way for Islay House and the surrounding gardens.

They left behind a relatively small class of prosperous tenants, or tacksmen, on large estates and a much larger group of workers who were no longer dependent on the land. Farm structures were gradually modified, with tenants selected for their ability rather than for paternalistic reasons. Agricultural land was gradually 'improved'; peat was removed, the land drained and many estates were planted with shelter belts and woodlands. A few wealthy landowners built new planned settlements on their estates. They were often entrepreneurs and developed settlements such as the fishing port of Tobermory on a speculative basis in association with the British Fisheries Society. The development of Campbeltown, both as a port and as a town also dates to this period.

The development and formalisation of large designed landscapes during the period had a major impact on the area.  The prime example, Inveraray, involved the remodelling of a vast landscape area, including rebuilding the town of Inveraray, which along with the arrangement of bridges and landscape features remains central to the understanding of the area.

Slate quarries on the islands of Seil, Luing, Easdale, Shuna and Belnahua, which were worked until they were either exhausted or became uneconomical to operate, supplied roofing material not only for much of western Scotland, but also for export worldwide. Slate quarried from Ballachulish seems to have been largely used within Scotland and became increasingly prized for monumental masonry. 

Iron works were established on the shores of Loch Fyne at the villages of Furnace (1755) on Loch Fyne, Bonawe (1753-1876) and Kinglass (1721-38) on Loch Etive. The surrounding extensive natural, mainly oak woodlands were the source of charcoal used in the iron works. Platforms constructed for the production of charcoal survive within the remaining oak woodlands around Loch Awe, with those in Glen Nant being good examples. (Some also survive in pockets of oak within 20^th Century commercial conifer plantations.) Larger timbers were extracted for ship building. These oak woodlands were predominantly coppice-with-standards and were managed to maximise productivity over the long term, until the nineteenth century, when the industrial revolution was the catalyst for the relocation of the iron smelting industry. However, the demand for oak products continued in a different guise as oak bark was used as a raw material for the tanning factory on the shores of Loch Lomond until the 1860s. The surviving oak woodlands are concentrated in areas close to the sites of the early iron ore furnaces and most of the trees date from the last cutting in the 1860s.

Great engineering works have significant impact on the landscape. The building of the 14.5 kilometres long Crinan Canal between Ardrishaig, on Loch Fyne, and Crinan near the Sound of Jura is one such example. Constructed between 1794 and 1809, initially under John Rennie, with later improvements under Telford, it was designed to cut journey times and facilitate movement between the Clyde and the north-west of Scotland, avoiding the treacherous coastlines and dangerous tidal streams round the Mull of Kintyre and in the Sound of Jura.

 

The Nineteenth Century (1800-1900 AD)

Over a period of about 10 years from 1846, potato blight reduced the remaining crofters to starvation and decimated many remote rural communities. Thousands of people emigrated abroad, leaving deserted settlements such as Shiaba and Ulva on Mull. The remaining crofts were amalgamated into larger farming units and crofting only survived on a larger scale on the relatively fertile island of Tiree, where the Dukes of Argyll persisted in maintaining landholdings of an economic size despite enormous pressure for subdivision.

By 1850, agricultural enclosure had begun to transform the rural landscape. Fields were laid out in regular geometric patterns, separated by stone dykes (in the uplands), hedges and ditches. Hawthorn was most commonly used although additional species such as blackthorn, beech, elder and honeysuckle were also common. Shelter belts of broadleaved trees were introduced as both functional and aesthetic features and, in the Highlands and Islands, clustered settlements replaced crofts and isolated farmsteads. The 19^th Century saw the rise of sporting estates, especially in larger hill and moorland areas in places like Islay, Jura and Mull.

In 1776 a local landowner, Sir James Colquhoun, advertised the stretch of land along the Clyde coast between Dumbarton and Rhu to encourage a planned settlement of homes and gardens. Many wealthy Glasgow merchants built themselves luxury homes by the sea and the resulting 'Garden City', named Helensburgh after Lady Helen Sutherland, was born. It became home to Henry Bell who developed the world's first steam powered vessel and introduced the Glaswegian pastime of steamer trips. The Clyde Coast became a thriving sea-side resort of Victorian splendour, promoting places such as Dunoon, Rothesay and Helensburgh as popular holiday destinations.

The extensive ‘ribbon’ residential developments along the Clyde and Gare Loch, Loch Goil and Loch Long now define these landscapes, as does the substantial infrastructure that was required to service commuting on the Clyde to Glasgow. Rows of standard villas are strung out along the shore, with larger single houses in substantial grounds often set back further up the hills. 

Urban growth continued, with industry spreading along the banks of the Clyde and north along the Leven River. The arrival of the railway, in 1880, brought crowds of tourists to new Victorian resorts such as Oban; steamships and ferries took trippers to visit the lochs and islands.

Designed landscapes were created on the edges of many of the lochs and estate architecture flourished in the form of gate houses, gateways, hunting lodges and tenant houses. The ornate model village of Luss, on the shores of Loch Lomond, is typical of the 'Baronial' style of building common at this time. Many exotic species were introduced and often remain as specimen trees within woodland otherwise dominated by rhododendron, an introduced species which in many places has had as much of an impact on the overall landscape as the original estates in which it was planted.

The Contemporary Landscape

A steady increase in sheep and decline in cattle has occurred since the flockmasters of the Southern Uplands completed their occupation of the Grampians in 1790. The sheep ultimately destroyed most of the tree seedlings which had survived burning and destruction during the Highland Clearances, including native birch woodlands.

In addition to the picturesque style of planting, the first of the region's conifers were planted on large estates, such as that owned by the Duke of Argyll, from the end of the nineteenth Century. The process of afforestation increased with the establishment of the Office of Woods in 1909, followed by the Forestry Commission in 1919 and most of the region's extensive conifer plantations were planted between 1909 and the late 1970s.

Commercial forestry has brought sweeping changes to the landscapes of Argyll and the Firth of Clyde. The Forestry Commission was established in 1919 to create and manage state forests, and agricultural land was sold and planted up with vast blocks of Sitka spruce and larch as part of the Commission's target of two million hectares of new forest by the end of the century. Forestry was seen as a means of diversifying the Scottish rural economy and marginal hill land throughout the area has been deemed suitable for the purpose.

Since the 1980s an increase in subsidies has led to a slight increase in deciduous planting, although the overall proportion of broadleaf species remains relatively low. Forestry now accounts for more than 30% of landcover of Argyll and Bute – the highest proportion of any Scottish Local Authority. 42 of the total number of 109 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Argyll and Bute are designated at least in part due to woodland. The majority of this forestry is remote from the population.

In upland regions wind farms are having an impact on the landscape. Older wind farm development is largely concentrated in upland areas which have relatively limited visibility from settled loch edges and coasts, although more recently consented schemes, with higher turbines, are more seen from these areas.

Quarrying for building materials still occurs in some areas, although at a small scale.

The agricultural landscape has been transformed by the introduction of intensive farming methods, with the associated silage towers, black bags and modem barns, and the gradual reduction in the area of traditional farmland features such as herb-rich grassland and water meadows.

20^th Century development has resulted in major changes to the landscape. This includes forestry, but also developments such as golf courses and holiday villages, which are often sited in designed landscapes.

The coastal area of Argyll and Bute is exceptional and is one of its prime assets. It provides an important resource from which present and future economic, social, and environmental well-being can be derived. It is a living and working environment, home to a large proportion of Argyll and Bute’s population, and hosts a great diversity of industrial and recreational activities, each playing an important role in the area’s economy. Housing expansion, business development and infrastructure improvements can have some effect on the edges of some of the larger settlements. Away from the coast communities are dispersed.

Agricultural shows and Highland games, piping competitions and shinty matches across the region are major cultural events among the rural communities, and regattas involving large numbers of yachts, such as West Highland Week, are important to the coastal communities from the Clyde to the Sound of Mull.

Tourism is an important industry in the area, with a wide variety of visitor attractions, from distilleries, castles, gardens and museums, to active recreational facilities enabling enjoyment of the natural environment. The area plays host to a range of events and festivals, such as the Cowal Highland Gathering, Tarbert Music Festival, CowalFest (walking and arts festival), Mull of Kintyre Music Festival and the Islay and Bute jazz festivals. Tiree also hosts the Tiree Wave Classic, the UK’s premier windsurfing competition.

CULTURAL INFLUENCES/PERCEPTION

A landscape can assume national significance, not only because of its particular character, but also because of special cultural associations it may have with important writers, artists and composers. Argyll and the Firth of Clyde's association with such nationally important figures as Samuel Johnson, Wordsworth and Mendelssohn contribute to our understanding and appreciation of the landscape.

Historic Literature

Donald Monro, visiting the Argyll islands and coast in 1549, published an account of them as “A Description of the Occidental i.e. Western Islands of Scotland”. Written in the style of a gazetteer, the descriptions of the islands tend to be brief, with slightly longer passages for Islay, Mull and Iona. Martin Martin, visiting the islands of Argyll during the last years of the 17^th Century, published his observations in 1703 as “A Description of the Western Isles”. Samuel Johnson visited the area in 1773 with James Boswell as part of trip on which his “A journey to the Western Islands of Scotland” (first published in 1775) was based. They visited Coll, Mull, Ulva, Iona and their accounts of the journey give an insight into way people lived in the landscapes of that time.

Dorothy Wordsworth made a six-week 663 mile journey through the Scottish Highlands from August-September 1803 with her brother William Wordsworth and a mutual friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Some have called it “undoubtedly her masterpiece” and one of the best Scottish travel literature accounts during a period in the late 18^th and early 19^th Centuries. The three travellers were important authors in the burgeoning Romanticism movement and thus the trip itinerary was in part a literary pilgrimage to the places associated with Scottish figures significant to Romanticists such as Robert Burns, Ossian, Rob Roy, William Wallace, and contemporary Sir Walter Scott. Dorothy's descriptions and judgments of the countryside and landscapes were a mixture of her own personal aesthetics and the in-fashion aesthetics of the sublime, beautiful and picturesque. In fact Recollections is considered today a classic of picturesque travel writing. Of Inveraray she wrote “The views from the Castle are delightful. Opposite is the lake, girt with mountains, or rather smooth high hills; to the left appears a very steep rocky hill, called Duniquoich Hill, on top of which is a building like a watch-tower; it rises boldly and almost perpendicular from the plain” and that “The hills near the lake are smooth, so smooth that they might have been shaven or swept ; the shores, too, had somewhat of the same effect, being bare, and having no roughness, no woody points; yet the whole circuit being very large, and the hills so extensive, the scene was not the less cheerful and festive, rejoicing in the light of heaven.” She said of Cruachan “We thought it the grandest mountain we had ever seen”. When visiting Strath of Orchy near Dalmally she observed that “The whole vale is very pleasing, the lower part of the hills sprinkled with thatched cottages, cultivated ground in small patches near them, which evidently belonged to the cottages….. but, like all the other Scottish vales we had yet seen, it told of its kinship with the mountains and of poverty or some neglect on the part of man”.

Of the Pass of Brander Wordsworth wrote “we were now enclosed between steep hills, on the opposite side entirely bare, on our side bare or woody; the branch of the lake generally filling the whole area of the vale. It was a pleasing solitary scene; the long reach of the naked precipices on the other side rose directly out of the water, exceedingly steep, not rugged or rocky, but with scanty sheep pasturage and large beds of small stones….”. Loch Etive’s scenery also appeared to capture her imagination - “The loch is of a considerable width, but the mountains are so very high that, whether we were close under them or looked from one shore to the other, they maintained their dignity”.

Modern day literature

Several modern-day novels are set in Argyll and Bute, such as The Crow Road by Iain Banks (1992), which was later made into a four part TV Series in 1996, based in a fictional Argyll town. Others include Bridal Path, by Nigel Tranter (1952) which was later made into a film in 1959 set on Eorsa, Inner Hebrides; Personality by Andrew O’Hagan, set on Bute; Morvern Caller (1995) by Alan Warner, set in Oban; and When Eight Bells Toll (1966) by Alistair MacLean set in a town based on Tobermory.

Poetry

The landscapes of Argyll and Bute have inspired poets in their work including John Leyden (1775-1811) who wrote “McGregor”, which was penned in Glenorchy near the scene of the massacre of the McGregors, and Ash Dean (contemporary) who wrote “Loch Ba” about the Isle of Mull. The great Gaelic poet Duncan Ban MacIntyre (1724-1812) was born in the now-deserted township of Druimliart but is commemorated by a fine neo-Classical monument near Dalmally. The modern Gaelic poet Iain Crichton Smith (1928-98) lived in Taynuilt during his later years, contributing actively to the local teaching of Gaelic.

Music and the Argyll and Bute Landscape

The composer Felix Mendelssohn visited Mull, Iona and Staffa in 1829. Staffa, an uninhabited island near Mull, is best known for its spectacular sea caves. The most famous is Fingal’s Cave, also known as An Uamh Binn (Cave of Melody), immortalised by Mendelssohn in his renowned Hebrides Overture. This link between music and nature, and the inspiration that can be found in the landscape is at the heart of the “Mendelssohn on Mull” Scottish chamber music festival annually.

Traditional Scottish songs and tunes which have been inspired by the landscapes and people of Argyll and Bute include “The Maid of Islay” (William Dunbar), “The Praise of Islay” (traditional), “The Glendaruel Highlanders” (Alexander Fettes) and “The Maids of Arrochar” (John MacDonald). More recently the song “Mull of Kintyre” was written in tribute to the Kintyre peninsula by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine, made famous by the band Wings who had a Christmas number 1 hit with it in 1977.

Artists and painting of the Argyll and Bute landscapes

As travel became easier from the mid-18^th Century onwards visits to the area increased, including those by artists. The glens, lochs and islands of Argyll and Bute were popular destinations, as can be seen in a painting of Loch Awe by Horatio Mcculloch (1805-1867), and “Pass of Brander” and “Loch Etive” by William Langley. On Iona the abbey was particularly frequently recorded during this early period. In a publication called “Iona Portrayed – The island through Artist’s Eyes 1760-1960” over 170 artists are listed. This can be seen in the 20^th Century landscape painting, particularly through the works of Francis Cadell and Samuel Peploe, two of the Scottish Colourists. William MacTaggart was born in 1835 near Campbeltown and as an artist in both oils and watercolours drew great inspiration from coastal landscapes and seascapes around Machrihanish. As with many artists, both professional and amateur, they were attracted by the unique quality of light, the white sandy beaches, the aquamarine colours of the sea and the landscape of rich greens and rocky outcrops. This love of these landscapes by artists still continues today, with artists like John Lowrie Morrison - Jolomo – who lives in Tayvallich and paints many scenes from Argyll and Bute, and Scottish atmospheric landscape artist Kevin Hunter.

Gaelic and the landscape

Gaelic was once extensively spoken by the population in this area, although this has declined in recent years. Speaking of Gaelic fell dramatically by 15% between 2001 and 2011 censuses, so that in 2011, only 6% had some Gaelic language ability, and of these just 4.3% said that they could speak, read or write the language.

The legacy of Gaelic can be seen in the origins of many of the place names in Argyll and Bute. The word Argyll derives from two Gaelic words – Earra and Ghaidheal – meaning coastland of the Gael. Settlements and mountains also evidence this, for example; Drumore originates from “Druim” – a ridge- and “Mor” – big, therefore meaning “a big ridge”; Kinloch means “head of the loch”; Tarbert is thought to come from “tairbeart” meaning an isthmus – a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas; Beinn an tuirc means “hill of the boar”; Kennacraig Head of the crag “Ceann na Creige”; and Dunoon  is “Fort of the harbour”, Dun Omhain.

Natural Heritage

Wild landscape character

Parts of Argyll and Bute have been identified as Wild Land Areas (WLA), which are the most extensive areas of high wildness in Scotland, identified as nationally important in Scottish Planning Policy, but which are not a statutory designation. They are mapped for the presence of four attributes - perceived naturalness of the land cover, ruggedness of terrain, remoteness from public roads, ferries or railway stations, and visible lack of buildings, roads, pylons and other modern artefacts.

A WLA is present on the mainland adjacent to the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park in north of area, comprising high mountain areas including Ben Lui, Meall Tighearn, Beinn Bhuidhe and Meall an Fhudair. There are also WLAs on the islands of north Arran, spine of Jura and central Mull centred on Ben More.

National Scenic Areas

National Scenic Areas have been designated under planning legislation to protect areas “of outstanding scenic value in a national context”. Argyll and Bute has five NSAs which highlight the variety of scenic landscapes the area has to offer. These are:

·Jura

·Scarba, Lunga and the Garvellachs

·Knapdale

·Kyles of Bute, and

·North Arran.

 

 

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