Portavadie

Portavadie 2005
© J M Briscoe

Portavadie is small settlement on the Cowal peninsula, and lies on the eastern shore of Loch Fyne. Road access from the east is along a single track road which leads from the B8000 road connecting Tighnabruaich and Kilfinan. A ferry terminal with slipway provides access for the Cowal and Kintyre ferry which connects with Tarbert on the Kintyre peninsula to the west. Nearby, the derelict village of Polphail is used as parking space.

Portavadie was once a small fishing village, and became a popular holiday destination for many visitors from Hamilton, Motherwell and Glasgow. More recently, the ferry terminal was relocated, and the sheltered waters used to provide facilities for a fish farm and marina.

The area became a victim of the collapse of the oil boom which Scotland enjoyed during the 1970s. Easy access to deep water offshore led to its selection as a site for the construction of concrete North Sea oil rig platforms. Unfortunately, it was only after completion of the site that the authorities realised that the treacherous tides found on Loch Fyne meant that it would be too risky to float the massive platforms out to sea once they had been completed, rendering it useless. Despite promises to reinstate the site to its original condition, the area was abandoned and left to decay.

One story from the time describes the area as home to the world�s largest man-made hole, on the Salon (explanation of the name Salon would be welcome), said to have been dug at a cost of �14 million or �4 million, depending on report chosen (thanks to a typo, both cost figures appear in separate reports, a definitive source would be welcome), for oil rig construction orders which never materialised.

The area was described by some who worked there at the time to have been reminiscent of the type of sudden wealth the villagers enjoyed in the 1983 film, Local Hero.

Polphail

Polphail buildings
� John Ferguson

The village of Polphail was built to provide accommodation for up to 500 workers at the construction yard, but was never occupied.

There have been numerous proposals to create timeshare facilities in the village over the years, but all have failed to attract sponsors. A further proposal reviewed in 2006 projects a village which could rival Tighnabruaich in size, with a marina for up to 250 vessels. Our selected picture shows the area in 2005.

In June 2009, the news carried a story that the ghost village of Polphail was finally to be demolished.^[1] ^[2] Site owner Alan Bradley said changes would be evident within a year, and demolition would clear the area for 270 new properties to be built over the next five to ten years. He said the potential work dried up before the yard could go into production as concrete rigs were "no longer flavour of the month".

Local photographer Philippa Elliott has documented the derelict site in a series of photographs, and her images include a rack of door keys hanging disused and rusting washing machines. She said some locals believed Polphail was actually built as a military base on a par with Faslane, but that other suggestions for what the site was to be used for differ "depending on who you talked to".

Hansard question regarding building cost

Mr. Bill Walker : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total cost to Her Majesty's Exchequer for the building of (a) the platform yard at Hunterston, Ayrshire, and (b) other platform yards in Scotland in the periods 1975 to 1978 and 1978 to date.

Mr. Moynihan : I have been asked to reply.

Under the Offshore Petroleum Development (Scotland) Act 1975 expenditure was incurred on Portavadie and Hunterston. The trading account for the year ended 31 March 1986 indicated expenditure of �29.2 million, of which �22.8 million was incurred between 1975 and 1978. A breakdown between the two yards is not readily available. Any financial support for other platform yards in Scotland is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Scotland.

- House of Commons Hansard, May 16, 1991.^[3]

Marina development

Marina
� Johnny Durnan

Developments at Portavadie have taken place since the proposals made in 2006. The harbour has been modified and, as of 2007, hosts a marina with over 200 berths available. A hotel is under construction nearby.

Derybruich House, just to the north, is understood to have been in the one family since 1933, but there appear to be no historic references to the building. All that has been found so far is Derybruich Cottage, in a photograph.^[4]

Ferry Terminal mapping error

Current online mapping (as seen below) displays an error in the location of the Ferry Terminal. The route shown into the sheltered harbour area of the former dry dock has been used as the site of a fish farm and marina

Updated mapping options provided by Multimap (see Aerial links below) in 2007 allows us to highlight the anomaly. Zoom out and select the Hybrid view offered on the map, and this will show that the actual terminal is located not in the sheltered harbour (and fish farm) as shown below, but a short distance to the north west, in the more exposed bay. Further detail can be revealed on the Multimap Ordnance Survey map view when the Zoom is set (using the slider on the top right) between levels 12 and 15). Hover over the Map button toward the top left, and a small map will pop up. Click on this to switch between road map and OS map views. The OS map view shows the correct location of the terminal.