Oban, Ganavan Sands 1903
Oban, Ganavan Sands 1903 Ref: 50782
Memories of Oban, Ganavan Sands
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Oban & local memories
Read and share memories of Oban and Argyll inspired by Frith photos
 Connel Ferry, Bridge 1903 (ref: 50787) |
Cnocaruan A memory of Connel Ferry, Argyll The photograph shows our house in the foreground, originally built in 1890 and has a self-catering extension added on to make the most of the spectacular Falls of Lora. The photos I am looking for are of Connel Bridge under construction. If you do or know of a web page please email cnocaruan@aol.com Last edited: 20/01/2007 20:37 by Gabriella Mckenzie |
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The Whins, North Connel A memory of Huntworth, Somerset My mum and dad took me to Scotland when I was a small boy in the 1960s. We stayed at The Whins in North Connel. Jessie the owner cooked all our meals, it was wonderful. She asked me to stay for the rest of the school holidays which I did, and every year I would go and stay with her to keep her company. She became another grandmother to me. I was so happy in Scoltland I got married in Oban in the year 2000. I visited Jessie on her 90th birthday. Then I went to visit and the house was empty and I was told by a neighbour she was in hospital in Oban. I went to see her and we chatted for a while and then she asked the nurse if we could leave because she was ready to go. My life has never been the same since. I visited The Whins last year and to my sadness it was derelict and boarded up, what a mess. I visited Jessie's grave and all she had to show for her life was a pathetic plastic card. I understand the house is now going to be demolished, funny how it stood since the 1700s and now all of a sudden it needs demolishing. Last edited: 02/10/2008 15:34 by Dave Shann |
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Year: 1947
Post Office Radio Station A memory of Huntworth, Somerset The Maritime Radio service of the Post Office had medium wave radio stations at Wick (Caithness) and Port Patrick (Dumfries & Galloway). As the Minches were a very busy area for fishermen from Fleetwood and Milford Haven, it was decided to put a medium wave station in between and the initial site chosen was the airfield at North Connel. The first station was situated in a caravan. The staff were drafted from other stations around the UK Coast and a 24 hour watch was kept to enhance the safety of life at sea in the northwestern approaches. The staff were Donald Morrison (a Lewisman), Angus Stark, Andrew Brown, Sam Kennedy, Stan Hardman (the token Englishman), Bill Moffat and Bob Mason came later. As time went by the station was moved into more permanent quarters; a Nissan hut left by the RAF. Later, four houses were built for the staff in Connel. This meant that the staff who lived in these houses had to finish their watch at 10 p.m. - in time for them to get over the bridge before it was closed at 10.30 p.m.!! I was posted to the station in November 1961 and lived in 8 Dal na Beich with the Roberstons, Charlie and his sister. I married Shirley on 31st March and, after our honeymoon in Skye, we moved in to The Whins (Jessie Haley's place). We had our first house built on Peter Macleod's croft and called it "Lynwood". The radio station was kept busy with telegrams, telephone calls, weather bulletins, gale warnings and most importantly, distress traffic. The station was instrumental in saving many lives over the years. There was even one occasion when I gave a telephone call the 'Nordhauk', a German coaster, to his owners in Germany only to be told at the end of the call that he was hard aground at the north end of Skye and was sinking! The Stornoway lifeboat got there in time and all the crew were taken off safely. Just one instance of the many that never made the headlines. We were under strict instructions, on pain of a severe reprimand, not to talk to the Press. With the improvement of technology, the Post Office decided to improve the facilities at Obanradio as we were named. New stations had already been built at Stonehaven, Anglesey and Ilfracombe and they ran out of money so Obanradio was scheduled to close. That announcement was made in 1967 but the station did not finally close until 1982. Two of the original staff, Donald Morrison and Sam Kennedy, were there to end and they both retired. When the closure was announced, the department said they wanted me to go to Wickradio. That prospect did not appeal in the least so we went th New Zealand instead where I worked in the N.Z. equivalent at Awaruaradio near Bluff. When we first arrived in North Connel in 1961, trains were still running over the bridge and the toll was 10/6 for cars to cross. Shirley had to take refuge in the little spaces built in to the side of the bridge on many occasions when Joe let cars over when she was pushing the pram over to Connel! The road was just as narrow but there was not nearly so much traffic using it. When we built 'Lynwood' we were at the end of the Black Crofts. The Common Grazing was unfenced and the youngsters played football over there. Munro's van called to the door and Hugh Cameron delived the milk. We have many happy memories of our days in North Connel. Posted: 05/08/2008 19:08 by Graham Allister |
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 Taynuilt, Bonawe Ferry Crossing c1955 (ref: T171305) |
Year: 1950
bonawe ferry crossing A memory of Taynuilt, Argyll I lived in Bonawe from 1947-1956. My dad worked in Bonawe Quarries. We left in 1956 to live in Glasgow. I have lived in Yorkshire for over 30 years now but I love to go back to Bonawe. My last visit was 2007, it has changed but I still have my memories. I think the chap who ran the ferry was called "deucher". I am sorry if I have got that wrong. I remember the village store putting a working train set in the shop window at Christmas. I can still see the school, Ardchattan Primary, one classroom and one teacher for all the pupils. We used to cross Loch Etive from Bonawe to Taynuilt by rowing boat for a treat to maybe continue on to Oban for a day out. Happy memories all because of a photograph. Thank-you Last edited: 25/02/2008 09:12 by Christine Mcphie |
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Year: 2005
The Slate Islands : Easdale. A memory of Huntworth, Somerset THE SLATE ISLANDS By Walter Deas Some 24k (15 miles) south and west of Oban lies an area with interesting old villages, megalithic cairns, Iron Age forts, standing stones and castles. One heads south on the Oban - Lochgilphead Road, leaving this road at Kilninver, eventually reaching the Clachan Bridge. It is well known as the Atlantic Bridge as it actually crosses the Atlantic, which flows, between Argyll and Seil Island. The site was selected as early as 1787, and John Stevenson constructed the bridge in 1791 at a cost of four hundred and fifty pounds. Once across there is the Tigh an Truish Inn, ‘The House of Trousers’. So named because when the kilt was banned during the Jacobite rebellion, soldiers would change to trousers before heading over to the mainland and change back into their kilts on their way home. Travelling south towards the island of Luing before heading over to Easdale, one can find the old Seil cemetery on the left of the crossroads. It contains some interesting carved gravestones dating from the 14th and 15th century. One that intrigued my wife, Jean and I in the 1980s was the broken table-tomb of the MacLaclans, which was situated close to an arched recess on the northern side of the burial ground Here we found the Chin of MacMarquis. This was an oddly shaped piece of basalt, about 30cm (12 inches) high. It resembled a jutting human chin which we were told could turn of its accord and point in the direction of the most recent burial It was also stated that if it was removed it mysteriously it returned to its customary spot in the churchyard. However its power must have waned as it has now disappeared and has not been seen since! The village on Seil should be called Ellenabeich (The Isle of Birches). But over the years, both it and the island of Easdale have jointly been named Easdale. Ellenabeich is now a peaceful village but a century ago it was a hive of industry. It was one of the main centers of slate quarrying. From 1842 to 1862, slates to the value of £50,000.000 were cut from the ground. That was a vast sum of money in those days. In 1881 the quarries were being worked to a depth of 250 feet, (76m). Castle Stalker (built 1631) north of Oban in Appin was roofed with Easdale slates and they were also incorporated into Iona Abbey on the island of Mull and Cawdor Castle in Inverness-shire and buildings in Eastern Canada and New Zealand and Australia also bear roofs of Easdale slate. Early in the morning of Tuesday, November 1881 a westerly gale of unparalleled ferocity pounded against the islands. The seas smashed the retaining walls and thousands of tons of water poured into the quarries and within a few hours the prosperity of the slate islands had been shattered. However with hard work some of the quarries were re-opened but eventually the industry declined as slate lost way to clay tiles. Most of the population eventually moved to other areas in search of work and the village became empty and forlorn. Many migrated to Canada, Australia and New Zealand through earlier contacts made in the slate trade. Today Ellenabeich boats a charming square overlooking the harbour, a village shop, the Oyster Bar Restaurant and the nearby Highland Arts Exhibition geared for the tourists. In Back Street is the Slate Islands Heritage Centre, which records the social and industrial history of the area. It provides information about the geology and natural history of the islands and supplies maps and details. Easdale Sound separates the nearby island of Easdale from Ellenabeich, and small ferryboat plies back and forth on call taking only a few minutes, which can be a pleasant trip on a sunny day. The island, about half a mile across was once the centre of a very productive slate quarrying industry in Argyll. A half-hour walk around the island reveals quantities of slate waste and rusting machinery. Today, most of the old dwellings are again in use and the slate-built wharves and quays with neat rows of whitewashed cottages give the area a quaint old-world beauty of its own, loved by artists and tourists alike. The main industry today is tourism. There is a Restaurant and the Puffer Bar, which at present serve as the focal point for both visitors and residents. The nearby Drill Hall undergone a major renovation and is well used by the community. There is also the Easdale Island Folk Museum, set up in 1980 by the then owner of the island, Chris Nicholson. The curator, Jean Adams MBE is a direct descendant of one of the quarry workers, a Duncan McGreggor. It was Jean, with the assistance of local residents and families of past quarry workers who had kept in touch with the island, collected, collated and arranged displays and artefacts all of from the surrounding area. Although small, it covers every aspect of live during the years when the quarries were productive. It is a fascinating and professionally presented record of time past. Who would think that today’s rows of white washed cottages were once the centre of the Scottish slate quarrying industry. Against a blue sky the charm is all there in the old dwellings, the green of the Square, the harbour and the water filled quarries. © Walter Deas. 2008. Last edited: 19/03/2008 10:25 by Walter Deas |
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