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Sgat Mòr and Sgat Beag

Sgat Mòr and Sgat Beag (Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [s̪kat̪ moːrˠ ɪs̪ s̪kat̪ pɛk]; English: The Skate Islands or, less commonly, Skate Island and Wee Skate Island) are two small islands that lie at the mouth of Loch Fyne by the shore of the Cowal peninsula on the west coast of Scotland. Sgat Mòr lies at grid reference NR930666 directly south of Eilean Aoidhe and rises just 11 metres (36 ft) above sea level. Sgat Beag is a similar but slightly smaller island that lies approximately 1 kilometre to the east, across the mouth of Asgog Bay. The islands appear to have been named after the Skate fish however there is a Skate Point and Skate Bay on nearby Great Cumbrae so it is not impossible that skate is a local toponym with a different derivation. The channel between Sgat Mòr and the Cowal shoreline at Eilean Aoidhe is navigable and local sailing regattas, paddle steamer Waverley and MV Balmoral regularly pass inside this narrow channel. The waters to the south of the islands are the deepest in the Clyde area. A beacon resembling a small lighthouse is situated on the southwestern shore of Sgat Mòr.

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2.4 km

Polphail

Polphail was a ghost village, located at Portavadie in Argyll & Bute, Scotland. Originally built in the 1970s, it was never occupied and was demolished in 2016.
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2.8 km

Portavadie

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. 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 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.
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4.3 km

Asgog Castle

Asgog Castle is situated on the north-western shore of Loch Asgog, on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland. It has been designated a Category B listed building since 20 July 1971.
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4.3 km

Asgog Loch

Asgog Loch is a natural freshwater loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southwest of Tighnabruaich, on the Cowal peninsula. The loch was dammed during the 19th century to create an impounding reservoir for the supply of freshwater to the Low Mills of the nearby gunpowder mills at Millhouse (the Kames Powder Works). The remains of three crannogs, or artificial islands, have been observed within the loch on occasions when the water level has been lowered. Asgog Castle stands on the northwest shore of the loch.