Portavadie

Portavadie Scottish Gaelic: Port a' Mhadaidh
Portavadie
Portavadie Location within Argyll and Bute
OS grid reference	NR930694
• Edinburgh	82 mi (132 km)
• London	368 mi (592 km)
Council area	Argyll and Bute
Lieutenancy area	Argyll and Bute
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	TIGHNABRUAICH
Postcode district	PA21
Dialling code	01700
UK Parliament	Argyll and Bute
Scottish Parliament	Argyll and Bute
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 on the coast of the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, West of Scotland.^[1]

The Portavadie complex was built in 1975^[2] 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 the enclosed port was used by a local fish farm company.

In 2013 a further report in the Dunoon Observer and Argyllshire Standard says that the derelict "village", known as Polphail, 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.^[3][4][5]

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.^[6]

The new Portavadie Marina^[7] complex opened to the public in 2010. The first phase of the complex consisted of five-star luxury apartments, with private sauna facilities and four-star cottages, alongside a restaurant, conference suites and a retail space.

The second phase, The Lodge, arrived shortly after, consisting of hotel style accommodation, fully accessible studio apartments, staff accommodation and a second "family style" restaurant.

The third phase was officially launched in August 2016, with a luxury spa and leisure complex being added to the amenities.

The Loch Lomond and Cowal Way starts and finishes 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.

Portavadie is on the NCR75 a route from Edinburgh to Tarbert on the Kintyre peninsula.^[8] The National Cycle Network is maintained by sustrans.^[9] 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).^[10]

National grid reference NR9259869816

There is a 25-minute-long Caledonian MacBrayne ferry service across Loch Fyne to Tarbert on the Kintyre Peninsula. It 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.^[11]

Portavadie is the destination of the 478 bus from Dunoon, 28 miles (45 km) away. It runs six days a week.

• Map sources for Portavadie

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portavadie.

• Caledonian MacBrayne, Portavadie page - Website
• Portavadie Marina - website
• Loch Lomond and Cowal Way - Website
• Clyde Cruising Club - website