Although I've had a wander about on the southeast corner down there, the southwest corner never called me over. You can see an outcrop of rock, and it hides whatever might be past, and none of the old tours I have documented ever mentioned this boathouse, just the historic fort, of which there is nothing really to be seen.
Zak went for a walk there, complete with camera, and brought back a set of pics:
As you can see, it has the inevitable winch, that is almost a standard feature of such sites
From the side, the associated little building can be seen:
A good record of the site, as there was also another feature nearby, and this seems to be connected, being made of assorted concrete bits and pieces:
No mention of historic details, and as I've noted, no references to this in any of the books in my Bute library, or stories of the wartime island, which all relate to Port Bannatyne, HMS Varbel, the depot ships, Loch Striven, decoys at the north end, and an observer post.
There's also a listening post (submarine) of which little has been found other than the location and structure.
It would be nice if something cropped up with greater detail, or if someone who knew more made themselves known.
That's a fairly modern farm building, but the location really calls for a centuries old ruin, don't you think? Comments left about this photograph: From Norrie at 2007-05-22 22:17:43 : The original Isle of Bute Sub-Aqu Club used to dive from here, and we new it as the 'Old Boathouse' as it was seeminly built during the last war, with the remnants of the winch that was used to haul up the boats still to be seen, but the building is in a bad state . From Slow-on-the-draw at 2007-05-23 00:20:07 : Thanks for all the background, Norrie. I must investigate more closely next time I'm there.
Not mentioned on the WoSAS site.
It is about the closest point to Arran, could it have been used for a boom?
It appears to be part stone built in the pics but only a Mk1 eyeball will sort that out. The pics so far suggest that the roof is concrete which is somewhat unusual. I'll try and take a run across there one of these days.
That's ButeNet, the site I was able to have a teeny-weeny hand in, and still have some contributions (and galleries ferretted away on) too.
Between them (over the past six years), Zak and Slow have just about covered the island in their galleries, and I suspect Zak might made the trip after seeing Slow's earlier pic. I certainly didn't recognise the original name - I can manage Dunagoil, but R... etc all look the same to me
If it could be driven to, bussed to, cycled to, or even walked to, one of them will have been there jmb
I have never been to Bute (might have a flying visit in a few weeks time when I take some friends' son on the five ferries trip!).
It sounds odd for a "submarine listening post" to be in a cottage that is not right by the shore.
Shield of Empire refers to the Harbour Defence ASDIC operators at Wemyss Bay trying to detect a Dutch submarine - they didn't or not until it was well past them! It mentions Station A with a fixed beam and Station B with a moveable beam.
Thanks to the web revealing all the places you've been, I'm almost amazed you say you've never been to Bute, but it's no great surprise, as I've no knowledge of some very common places near me, and even thought I recognise the name and could almost walk to them, I have to ask where they are!
I seem to have omitted to add some further info I received about the submarine listening post, possibly because it was completely anecdotal with no reference at all, but it made more sense, and told of the listening post actually being located in a hut to the west, across the road from the cottage. The implication being that the work was done in the hut, while the cottage was accommodation.
When "we" mention or refer to submarine listening posts, we're talking about stations with hydrophones installed below water to catch the sound of engines and propellers - much as was positively identified at Erie Port on Arran, and linked to coastal area of Toward.
Harbour defence at Wemyss sounds intriguing, but I'd have thought the place was far too busy - as opposed to the sea channel - for ASDIC to be any use for anything other than training, and even that feels like a stretch of the imagination. I'm not surprised the sub passed them.
It seems to imply that the ASDIC sites were there already and not put in place for the experiment. They detected the submarine but thought it was a surface vessel. It was said that the harbour ASDIC operators did not get much practice because they would rarely encounter an enemy vessel, presumably friendly submarines would travel on the surface normally.
Shield of Empire is worth reading, the first half deals with pre-WWI but then a lot on Scotland in WWI and WWII though it cannot go into detail on every topic obviously.
That makes more sense with a hut by the beach and the cottage used for accommodation etc.
Never been to Bute or Arran, did not cover those areas at work - I did try to wangle a trip to Arran once but it did not come off.
U-33 was spotted and reported over at Campbeltown, then later mined the Firth of Clyde, and was finally sunk off Arran - handily depositing some new Enigma rotors for shipment to Bletchley Park, but getting as far as Wemyss Bay seems a bit far fetched, but if they installed a harbour ASDIC, they must have thought it possible. Should have had the same planners looking after Scapa Flow, with the Home Fleet anchored there, and easy channels to monitor, ASDIC might have worked better there.
I have one contact left regarding the sub listening post, and this thread reminds me I never did cash in the option. I might give it a try. (Some just don't volunteer info, and if you don't ask the right question, you get a negative answer, even though there is info to be had - strange, stuff gets lost that way).
I did manage and official, paid day on Bute - minimum time on site, maximum time at play
Arran's been one of my great failures. Never manage it, even though the plan was in place once a few years ago. Don't want the cost of staying there, and the time taken for the trip put me off - the motivation brain cell just couldn't be persuaded to fire on the day, even though I'd stacked up everything the day before, and just had to jump in the car and go.
Slightly off on a tangent, the book " In Which They Served" states that the Hedgehog was developed at Fairlie. It gives no further info so it hardly warrants a thread of its own at present.
Slightly off on a tangent, the book " In Which They Served" states that the Hedgehog was developed at Fairlie. It gives no further info so it hardly warrants a thread of its own at present.
A bit more complicated than that.
According to Shield of Empire a team headed by B S Smith (unsurprising!) developed the Fairlie Mortar at Fairlie in 1941. This fired ten 20lb depth charges each side of the ship's forecastle. The Admiralty felt 20lb was too light and ordered an increase to 30lb. This caused problems with Smith and he was removed from Fairlie in 1942. A new weapon, the Hedgehog which fired a circular pattern os twenty four projectiles ahead of the ship, was developed and the Fairlie Mortar abandoned. The Hedgehog was developed by the Admiralty Miscellaneous Weapons Department in the West of England. It was tested on the Fairlie ranges early in 1942.
Initially the Hedgehog was a disappoinment was credited with only eight U-Boats in 1943.
The Admiralty returned to the principle of the Fairlie Mortar and took it further to fire three 60lb depth charges ahead of the ship, the Squid. This could be controlled directly from the ASDIC. It was a devasting weapon when combined with the Type 144 and 147 ASDIC. Ships fitted with the double Squids had a 40% success rate in each attach by 1945.
Slightly off on a tangent, the book " In Which They Served" states that the Hedgehog was developed at Fairlie. It gives no further info so it hardly warrants a thread of its own at present.
Er... um... oh... put it down to lack of sleep
But...
I get my revenge fairly quickly
As you should know the Hedgehog already has a thread in here:
The walls of the building are all of cement rendered rubble construction as can be seen by holes in the render. This includes the wall of the small attached yard. The roof is 3 or 4 inch concrete supported on steel trusses.
The interior shows no signs of any fixings for services or anything else.
The water off the end of the pier is quite deep at all stages of the tide. There are remains of a slipway beside the pier. There is a rubble wall in the harbour area blocking off the top section.
It may have been used in WWII but is likely to predate it. My thoughts are a lifeboat station of a fish landing station.
Strangely there are no signs of rubble from the missing sections.
Just had a lengthy trolll through old-maps. There is nothing onsite on the 1901 map but it is marked as a "Boathouse" on the 1924 map. Could it be a WWI structure?
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