LOCATION

Inveraray was created a Royal Burgh by King Charles 1 in 1648.
The present town, situated about 1/2 mile from the old town, dates from the mid to late 18th Century and is one of the earliest examples of a planned town in Scotland, or indeed the U.K.
Nothing remains of the old town, which was close to the old castle, the outline of which is marked by 3 white stones.
The present day castle, started by the 3rd Duke of Argyll in 1746 remains inhabited by the Campbell Family to this day, the present Duke and his mother, Duchess Iona, both being active members of our Church.
Indeed both his young sons were baptized in the Church, a building which dominates the Main Street and round which all traffic must travel.

Inveraray is on the main A83 Glasgow to Campbeltown road (A82 to Tarbet and then A83 onwards) through spectacular countryside - Mountains, Lochs, Glens, the well known "Rest and be Thankful" over the lovely old Aray Bridge over the River Aray from which the town takes its name.

The Town, once famous for its Herring Industry and Fishing, is now a well known Tourist town with the Castle, the Jail, the Maritime Heritage Centre and other tourist attractions. There are several Hotels, Restaurants and Cafes of which more later.

MEMBERSHIP etc.

The population of the Parish, including Glenaray to the North and onwards to Dalmally/Oban, and Glen Shira, with at its head a Hydro Electric Dam is around 800 including children.

Membership of the Church is around 120 and there are at least as many adherents. Church attendance tends to be around 30-35 in the Winter months and upwards of 50 in the Summer months helped by the nearby caravan park and holiday visitors.

Over many years Communion numbers have been quite steady in the 27-35 category plus visitors.

The Church is an A-listed building, originally 2 Churches under one roof - one for the Gaelic worshippers and the other for the English speakers, but with the decline in Gaelic, the Gaelic Church was turned into the Church Hall in 1957 and serves a very important part in the Community Life.

The elegant Steeple was taken down for safety reasons before the war, the stones numbered and stored, but sadly lost and to re-establish the Steeple had become horrendously expensive (excess of 1/2 million pounds) and may never take place.

The manse, about 3/4 mile south on the main road towards Campbeltown is a traditional Scottish Manse, dating from the 19th Century, with Lounge, Study, Dining Room and large modernised Kitchen with Utility Room and Toilet, whilst on the first floor there are 4 good bedrooms and a Bathroom with modern fittings. There is oil fired central heating, a good sized garden and views over Loch Fyne to the Cowal Shore. It is believed that the Manse property is in good order.

The bulk of the population consider themselves to be Church of Scotland, and though not attending worship in great numbers (a feature of religious life not peculiar to us these days) are supportive of the Church where local weddings take place, baptisms, and well attended funeral services are held.

In the Town Avenue, a stones' throw away, is All Saints Church which is the Scottish Episcopal Church, nowadays shared with the Roman Catholic Church. Both the Episcopal Minister and the Roman Catholic Priest travel from Lochgilphead, 24 miles away. We have cordial relations with them both.

Whilst our population is, like most others, an aging population, there are still many youngsters in the town, young parents and children too, with employment in farming (Argyll Estates), Fish Farming (Cairndow), local shops and Hotels and B&B's, though there are many young incomers from Poland, Latvia etc working (and well) in the Town.

SCHOOLS

Inveraray has a very good Primary School, achieving good standards with excellent teachers. The nearest Secondary school, a brand new one, is at Lochgilphead, 24 miles away, and the children are bussed there and back every day. Standards in these schools appear to be high compared to some City standards, and sports and music have their welcome places too. Meeting the local children in the street is a pleasure - polite, well behaved but in no way repressed.

HOSPITALS

There is a good surgery in Inveraray and the local Doctor, Dr Bijral, has been here almost 25 years.

The nearest Hospital is Lochgilphead (again brand new) but very serious or emergency cases may have to go to the Royal Alexandra Infirmary, Paisley, or one of the Glasgow Infirmaries. There is also a good hospital at Oban and the Vale of Leven, Dumbarton. Dedicated ambulance crews are at hand and cannot be praised enough for their expertise. There is also a Chemist's shop with part-time dispensing of prescriptions.

HOUSING

Though the town dates back to the 18th Century, in the Mid 1950's the 11th Duke sold most of it to the then Town Council in order to enable it to upgrade the living standards of the tenants, through Government grants not available to the private sector. That along with the "modern" Council housing of Barn Park, Riochan and Upper Riochan, and later of new housing at Argyll Court and Glen Aray View has meant that, on the whole, there is not a desperate Housing Shortage in Inveraray. This does not mean that "new" owners can readily afford to buy, but the mix of leased and owned property is not unreasonable.

EMPLOYMENT

GARAGE

There is a Renault dealership in town and two petrol/diesel outlets.

COMMUNICATIONS

The nearest Railway station is at Dalmally (15 miles) or Arrochar (20 miles). City Link and West Coast Motors however provide good coach coverage to Glasgow, Oban, Dunoon, Lochgilphead and Campbeltown.

SHOPS

Two "mini" supermarkets, the Co-op and Londis provide a reasonable range of foodstuffs, general groceries, hardware, wines and spirits but the nearest main Tesco and Co-op stores are at Oban (40 miles) although a Co-op supermarket and a new Tesco food outlet are available in Lochgilphead. In Oban there is a larger Co-op, Tesco, Aldi. Argos etc as well as shoe shops, dress shops and so on.

Inveraray has a good quality Butcher, A Fish Shop and a Fish Van, Post Office, Shoe Shop, 2 uni-sex hairdressers, clothes shops, woollen mill, newsagents(3), toyshops and tourist outlets. There is a branch of both the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Bank of Scotland in the town and a Clydesdale Bank in Lochgilphead.

HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS ETC

Because of our Tourist Trade, there are several hotels - The George Hotel having been in the same family for 4 generations, The Argyll and Loch Fyne are separately owned Company Hotels, the latter with a Swimming Pool and Leisure Centre, and the smaller Fernpoint round by the Pier. There are several cafes and small restaurants and, of course others some miles away.

SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

We have a 9 hole Golf Course, Tennis Court, Leisure Centre and Swimming Pool as mentioned above, Indoor Bowls, a Senior and Junior Shinty team of renown and a ladies team, also, a History Society, Neil Munro Society (our local esteemed author). Cubs, Guides, Scouts (at Furnace village - 8 miles away), local dances, discos, Fiddle and Accordion Club, Whist Drives etc etc.

Opera and Theatre and for that matter Cinema are further afield - mainly Glasgow or environs, but we have every reason to be proud of our young Inveraray and District Pipe Band - Champion of Champions in their class last year, competing against as many as 20 other bands. Classical evenings are held during the winter months at Ardkinglas House, Cairndow, and fine musicians and singers may be heard there.

DRAWBACKS

There must be some, in any environment.

• Distances between places, mainly.
• Distances to Hospitals even for visiting purposes are large.
• Distance to secondary day school
• Without a car journeys have to be well planned.
• Road conditions at times - roadworks, waterworks etc can be frustrating.

But this is a lovely area in which to live, with a friendly population who make you welcome. Our Ministers tend to stay for many many years (till retirement in fact)

CUMLODDEN, LOCHFYNESIDE & LOCHGAIR PARISH PROFILE

LOCATION

Cumlodden Lochfyneside and Lochgair parish lies between the parish of Lochgilphead to the south and Inveraray to the north and comprises the villages of Furnace, Minard, Lochgair and Port Ann. The parish is approximately 14 miles long by three-quarters to a mile wide, bounded by hills on the west and Loch Fyne on the east.

THE CHURCHES

The number of communicant members is 96 and is divided as such:-

• Cumlodden: 39
• Lochfyneside: 21
• Lochgair: 36

There are also 16 adherents, many of whom participate actively in the church. There are probably 40-50 others in the parish who attend Christmas watchnight services, fund raising events etc.

Cumlodden Church in Furnace was built in 1841 with a church hall added in the early 1900's. The church can accommodate up to 160 people. Lochfyneside Church in Minard is a corrugated-iron Speirs building erected in 1910 and can accommodate up to 70 people.

Lochgair Church was built in 1867 and can accommodate up to 90 people. Lochgair Church Hall was built in 1972.

Sunday worship is normally as follows:-
Cumlodden (Furnace) 10.30am every Sunday
Lochfyneside (Minard) 12 noon apart from fourth Sunday
Lochgair 3.00pm in English first and third Sunday,
      Gaelic 3pm second Sunday. This service attracts worshippers from places like Dunoon, Inveraray, Lochgilphead, Tayvallich, Kilmartin and Tarbert. Gaelic learners and fluent speakers attend the monthly Gaelic service.

On the fourth Sunday of the month a united service is held in Cumlodden at 10.30am, followed by tea.

When there are five Sundays in the month there is a Songs of Praise service in Lochgair Church at 6.30pm, followed by tea. As well as visitors from other Church of Scotland congregations, members of the Free Church, Episcopal Church and Catholic Church attend this service.

Communion is dispensed twice yearly, in November and May.

The worshippers are mostly middle-aged and elderly. Numbers fluctuate throughout the year depending on holidays etc. On a good Sunday there are over 50 in Church between the three services. (Cumlodden 20-25; Lochfyneside 10-15; Lochgair 10-15).

There is a small Sunday School in Cumlodden, attended at present by five boys. When the school roll was higher there was a well-attended Sunday School in Lochfyneside.

Cumlodden and Lochfyneside Guild meets in Cumlodden Church. The Guild has a membership of approximately 16. It meets monthly from September to April and organises the World Day of Prayer service which is an ecumenical event. As well as being a focus for fellowship the Guild gives generously to congregational funds.

The Church Choir was established in the 1980's and is one of the success stories in the life of the congregation. It now has over 20 members - one of the largest choirs in the Presbytery. It sings at monthly united services and on other special occasions within and outwith the parish (eg the annual Rotary Carol Service in Lochgilphead). A number of people have become more active in the life of the church through joining the choir. The choir regularly wins the shield for Church Choirs at the annual Mid Argyll Music Festival.

POPULATION

At the 2001 Census the population of the parish was 655.
339 of them claimed to have a connection with the Church of Scotland. 57 were Catholics and 78 were connected with some other Christian body. 158 people stated that they were not associated with any branch of the Church. The population in the parish is divided approximately between 50% working, 30% retired and 20% holiday homes/self catering. (The proportion of retired people in Lochgair is probably higher.)

EMPLOYMENT

Employment in the parish is mainly Argyll & Bute Council, whose headquarters are based in Lochgilphead, building contractors, self-employed plumbers, electricians, joiners, Argyll College, school teaching, nursery work, child minding, medicine, nursing, road haulage, hotel staff, farming, forestry and fish farming. Many people work in Lochgilphead and Inveraray and a few even commute daily to work in the Glasgow area. There are few employment opportunities within the parish for young people.

TRANSPORT and THE COMMUNITY

All the villages are served by the Citylink bus service from Campbeltown to Glasgow, which runs three times daily, with a few local services between Lochgilphead and Inveraray on school days. The bus service is restricted - the first bus doesn't reach Glasgow until almost midday. Furnace and Minard each have a village shop/post office, and there are three halls - village halls in Furnace and Minard, the church hall in Lochgair also acting as the community hall. Furnace Village Hall is the busiest with something happening almost every night, Brownies, carpet bowls, table tennis, films, quizzes and Youth Club. Minard Village Hall is used by Guides and the SWRI. There is an hotel in Lochgair and an inn in Furnace. A number of people in the villages do bed & breakfast. At one time each village had a petrol pump. Now the nearest filling stations are in Lochgilphead and Inveraray. Furnace Community Council covers the village of Furnace, West Lochfyneside Community Council covers the villages of Minard and Lochgair, while Port Ann is included within the bounds of Lochgilphead Community Council. There are active community associations in each village - Furnace Amenity Association, Minard Community Trust and Lochgair Association.

SCHOOLS

There is a primary school in Furnace (18 pupils at present) and in Minard (14 pupils). School rolls can fluctuate and have been over 20 in both schools in recent years. Lochgair pupils go to Lochgilphead from the age of five. Minard School is very close to Lochfyneside Church and services such as Easter, Harvest Thanksgiving and Christmas are held in the church and are well attended by people from the village.

RECREATION

Recreational facilities in the parish include Auchendrain Township Museum, Crarae National Trust Garden, forest walks and boating on Loch Fyne and Lochgair. The Leacainn Walk, a six mile circular woodland path around Furnace was established by the local community as a Millennium Project.