| Loch Long | |
|---|---|
Nov2007.jpg) Looking down Loch Long from the torpedo testing facility. The houses to the left are at Ardmay. | |
  Loch Long | |
| Location | Argyll and Bute, Scotland. |
| Coordinates | 56°02′04″N4°53′08″W / 56.034395°N 4.8855839°W /56.034395; -4.8855839,grid referenceNS2031486146 |
| Type | Sea Loch |
| Basin countries | Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Frozen | No |
Loch Long is a body of water in the council area ofArgyll and Bute,Scotland. Thesea loch extends from theFirth of Clyde at its southwestern end, to theArrochar Alps at the head of the loch. It measures approximately 20 miles (30 kilometres) in length, with a width of between one and two miles (two and three kilometres). The loch also has an arm,Loch Goil, on its western side.
Loch Long forms part of the coast of theCowal Peninsula, and forms the entire western coastline of theRosneath Peninsula.
Loch Long was historically the boundary betweenArgyll andDunbartonshire; however, boundary redrawing in 1996 meant that it moved wholly within the council area of Argyll and Bute.[1]
Villages and hamlets on the loch include.
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On the eastern shore of the Loch is theRoyal Navy's Coulport Armament depot, with the Glen Mallan jetty, both part ofDefence Munitions Glen Douglas. Part of the extensive Royal Navy's, His Majesty's Naval Base Clyde.[2][3]
InArrochar, the Royal Naval Torpedo Testing Station and Range was established on the Loch in 1912, in connection with theClyde Torpedo Works on Eldon Street,Greenock, established in 1910. Both sites are now closed.[4][5][6][7][8]
TheFinnart Oil Terminal is located on the eastern shore of the loch, linked to theGrangemouth Refinery via a 58-mile-long (93-kilometre) pipeline.[9]
In September 2024, it was announced that the oil terminal is scheduled for closure.[10]
Loch Long has a long term issue with rubbish collecting at the head of the loch. Rubbish mainly washed down water courses from theGlasgow area.[11][12]
From about 2010 to 2025, due to inadequate maintenance of 1,500 water pipes atRNAD Coulport, sometritium used periodically to replenishTrident nuclear weapons leaked into Loch Long, constituting a low level of radioactive pollution. Analysis byScottish Environment Protection Agency suggested that up to half of the pipeline components at the base were beyond their design life.[13]
The name is not a reference to the loch's length; it actually comes from theGaelic for "ship lake". Prior to their defeat at theBattle of Largs in 1263, Viking raiders sailed up Loch Long toArrochar, and then dragged theirlongships 2 miles overland toTarbet and intoLoch Lomond. Being inland, the settlements around Loch Lomond were more vulnerable to attack.[14]
ThesteamboatChancellor used to traverse the loch, departingDunoon at 11:00 and returning about five hours later.[15]PSWaverley was also built to serve Loch Long and Loch Goil from 1947,[16] a route that she still sailed as of 2021,[17] albeit as more of an attraction than a primary means of transport.
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