Strone, Cowal: Difference between revisions

'''Strone''' ({{lang-gd|An t-Sròn}}) is a village on the [[Cowal|Cowal Peninsula]] peninsula, in [[Argyll and Bute]] in the [[Scottish Highlands]] at the point where the north shore of the [[Holy Loch]] becomes the west shore of the [[Firth of Clyde]]. The village lies within the [[Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/rr-content/uploads/2016/07/Downloadable-map-of-Loch-Lomond-and-the-Trossachs-National-Park.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=17 January 2017 |archive-date=14 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614215203/https://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/rr-content/uploads/2016/07/Downloadable-map-of-Loch-Lomond-and-the-Trossachs-National-Park.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The name comes from the [[Scottish Gaelic]] for nose,<ref name=ColegateP49>''[https://play.google.com/store/books/details/John_COLEGATE_Colegate_s_Guide_to_Dunoon_Kirn_and?id=AR5bAAAAcAAJ ''Colegate's Guide to Dunoon, Kirn, and Hunter's Quay'' (Second edition)] - John Colegate (1868), page 49</ref> and applies to the hill above the village as well as to Strone Point. It adjoins the settlement of [[Kilmun]] on the loch, and the village of [[Blairmore, Argyll and Bute|Blairmore]] on [[Loch Long]]. It has a (now disused) pier (built in 1847) and was a regular stop for the [[Clyde steamer]] services.<ref>{{cite book|last=Deayton|first=Alistair|title=Clyde Coast Piers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aTqIAwAAQBAJ&q=Strone+pier+1847&pg=PT119|year=2013|publisher=Amberley Publishing|isbn=9781848684270}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Until within less than twenty years there was no such thing as a human habitation upon this commanding and picturesque promontory, with the exception of a few straggling huts and cottages. Gradually, however, its capabilities for the erection of villa residences began to be appreciated. The inhabitants now look upon an "old settlement," the entire promontory being girdled round about by villas of great architectural beauty.|''Colegate's Guide to Dunoon, Kirn, and Hunter's Quay'' (John Colegate, 1868)<ref name=ColegateP49>''[https://play.google.com/store/books/details/John_COLEGATE_Colegate_s_Guide_to_Dunoon_Kirn_and?id=AR5bAAAAcAAJ ''Colegate's Guide to Dunoon, Kirn, and Hunter's Quay'' (Second edition)] - John Colegate (1868), page 49</ref>}}

A high road on the side of the hill serves additional houses including Dunselma, a [[Scottish baronial style]] house above the point. It was built as a sailing lodge for the wealthy Coats family (proprietors of the eponymous [[Paisley, Renfrewshire|Paisley]] mills) in 1885-71885–87 by the Paisley firm of Rennison and Scott.<ref name="HES">{{Historic Environment Scotland|num=LB5075|desc=Strone, Dunselma including Outbuilding, Boundary Walls, Gates and Gatepiers|cat=A|access-date=22 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=219837|title=Basic Site Details: Dunselma|work=Dictionary of Scottish Architects|accessdate=26 August 2018}}</ref> It was bought by the [[Scottish Youth Hostels Association]] in 1941, and they used it as a [[hostel]] until 1965. It still forms a landmark clearly visible from the other side of the Clyde, and is a Category A [[Listed buildings in Scotland|listed building]].<ref name="HES"/>

[[File:Trident boat.jpg|thumb|left|A {{sclass|Vanguard|submarine|1}} leaving its base on the Clyde. The village of Strone is visible in the background.]]