Kilcreggan

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Kilcreggan
Dunbartonshire
Kilcreggan in winter.jpg
Kilcreggan and the hills beyond Loch Long
Location
Grid reference: NS238805
Location: 55°59’6"N, 4°49’34"W
Data
Post town: Helensburgh
Postcode: G84
Local Government
Council: Argyll and Bute
Parliamentary
constituency:
Argyll and Bute

Kilcreggan is a village in Dunbartonshire at the end of the Rosneath Peninsula – the long, narrow, hilly snip of land isolated between Loch Long and Gairloch. At the foot of the peninsula, Kilcreggan is on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde.

The village developed at a time when Clyde steamers brought it within easy reach of Glasgow at about 25 miles west of the centre of Glasgow by boat. Many Glasgow shipowners and merchants made their summer retreats or even permanent residences there, and this is reflected in some very grand houses along the shore. Not all have remained occupied, some were demolished and others have been converted into flats.

The village's location, between the Gare Loch and Loch Long, makes the journey to Glasgow 38 miles by road. The B833 minor road runs along the shore for the length of the village then cuts north inland just to the east of Kilcreggan pier rather than going east along the shore past Portkil bay to Rosneath Point. About 2 miles north of Kilcreggan the road reaches the village of Rosneath then continues north along the shores of the Gare Loch.

The majority of the houses look south across the Clyde towards the towns of Gourock and Greenock, and further down the firth towards the Isle of Arran.

Large attractive houses continue westwards from the pier towards Baron's Point which marks the southern entrance to Loch Long, almost to the adjoining village of Cove which looks across Cove Bay towards Blairmore only about two miles distant, but separated by the deep waters of Loch Long. To the east of the pier, houses at Portkil extend down to Portkil bay, and the 413–foot hill at Rosneath home farm is topped by a television mast.

Ferries

A subsidised ferry provides a regular service from Kilcreggan pier across the Clyde to Gourock.

Until 2012, the ferry service also included crossings of the Gare Loch to Helensburgh. After re-tendering, the contract for the Gourock to Kilcreggan route was awarded to Clydelink which bought the smaller MV Island Princess for the run and ended the manning of Kilcreggan pier. On 24 March 2012 more than 400 people protested at the pier over fears for the future of the service.[1][2]

Pictures

References