Portavadie

Portavadie
Road into Portavadie
Scotland
Scotland
Portavadie
Location within Argyll and Bute
OS grid referenceNR930694
• Edinburgh82 mi (132 km)
• London368 mi (592 km)
Council area
  • Argyll and Bute
Lieutenancy area
  • Argyll and Bute
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTIGHNABRUAICH
Postcode districtPA21
Dialling code01700
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
55°52′25″N 5°18′37″W / 55.8735°N 5.3103°W / 55.8735; -5.3103

Portavadie (Scottish Gaelic: Port a' Mhadaidh) is a village on the shores of Loch Fyne and the coast of the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, West of Scotland. Portavadie is also the site of a yard built for the construction of oil platforms, which has since been converted into a marina. A ferry service across the loch to the Kintyre Peninsula departs from Portavadie, which is also on a long distance footpath and cycleway.

Oil rig construction yard

The Portavadie complex was built in 1975 by the then Scottish Office for the purpose of constructing concrete platforms for extraction of oil from the North Sea. However, the intention was soon overtaken by acceptance that steel platforms were the future for the oil industry in Scotland.

Despite suggestions to turn the complex into a holiday village, it lay redundant until in the mid-1980s, when the enclosed dock was used by a local fish farm company. In the 2000s, the dock was further reused as a marina.

The nearby housing development built for the yard's workers, known as Polphail, remained unused and derelict. In 2013, it was sold to a forestry company who planned to demolish the buildings and build new houses. By 2016 the buildings had been demolished, but the plans had changed to the construction a whisky distillery on the site, with construction to commence in early 2023.

Sport and recreation

Portavadie Marina

Portavadie Marina

In late 2009 the marina was used for the first time to tie up yachts for the Scottish series by the Clyde Cruising Club, won by Nigel Biggs; England; J109-IRC. The new Portavadie Marina complex opened to the public in 2010.

Loch Lomond and Cowal Way

The Loch Lomond and Cowal Way starts at Portavadie; this long-distance waymarked footpath takes one to Inveruglas on the shore of Loch Lomond, in the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, 57 miles (92 kilometres) of walking later.

National Cycle Route 75

Portavadie is on the NCR75 a route from Edinburgh to Tarbert on the Kintyre peninsula. The National Cycle Network is maintained by sustrans. If you cross Loch Fyne, continuing on the NCR75 onto the Kintyre peninsula at Tarbert, you can join the National Cycle Route 78 (The Caledonia Way).

Transport

Ferry

Portavadie ferry terminal, with ferry approaching

A Caledonian MacBrayne car ferry service runs across Loch Fyne from Portavadie to Tarbert on the Kintyre Peninsula. The Portavadie terminal is situated some 500 metres (1,600 ft) to the west of the village. The crossing takes 25 minutes and runs eleven times on weekdays (ten on Sundays), between 8:30 am and 6:30 pm. There is no 8:30 am ferry on Sundays.

Preceding station   Ferry   Following station
Terminus   Caledonian MacBrayne
Ferry		   Tarbert

Road

An unclassified road connects Portavadie to Millhouse, a distance of about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi). From Millhouse, the B8000 provides connections to Dunoon, 45 kilometres (28 mi) away, and Inveraray, 77 kilometres (48 mi) distant.

Bus

Portavadie is the destination of the 478 bus from Dunoon. It runs to Portavadie six times a day, six days a week.

References

  1. ↑ "Visitor Information". Portavadie. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "Portavadie (Public Inquiry)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 998. House of Commons. 3 February 1981. col. 147–154. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  3. ↑ "Marina rebirth for 'ghost yard'". BBC News Scotland. BBC. 26 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "Cowal Ghost Village Sold". Dunoon Observer. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "Plans for distillery in 'ghost village' approved by council". STV News. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  6. ↑ Collins, Georgie (28 October 2022). "New plans submitted for Portavadie Distillery". The Spirits Business. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "Portavadie, Loch Fyne, Scotland". Portavadie Marina. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "Scottish Series Yacht Racing Event - Scottish Series". Clyde Cruising Club. Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  9. ↑ "Welcome to the Loch Lomond & Cowal Way". Loch Lomond and Cowal Way. Retrieved 22 February 2026. Portavadie in the south of Cowal and winds its way up through the peninsula to end at Inveruglas at Loch Lomond....
  10. ↑ "National Cycle Network routes in Glasgow and the West". Sustrans.
  11. ↑ "About us". Sustrans.
  12. ↑ "National Cycle Network routes in Argyll & Bute and Highland". Sustrans.
  13. ↑ "Cowal & Kintyre: Tarbert Loch Fyne - Portavadie". CalMac Ferries. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  14. ↑ Explorer Map 362 - Cowal West & Isle of Bute (Map). 1:25000. Ordnance Survey. 2015. ISBN 978-0-319-246139.
  15. ↑ "478 Dunoon to Colintraive (for Isle of Bute) & Portavadie". West Coast Motors. Retrieved 19 August 2026.