Places to see in ( Taynuilt - UK )
Places to see in ( Taynuilt - UK )
Taynuilt is a large village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland located at the western entrance to the narrow Pass of Brander. The village is situated on the River Nant about a kilometre before the river flows into Loch Etive at Airds Bay. This is just to the west of a narrowing of the loch down to about 0.2 km. The larger River Awe passes about 1 km to the east of the village and joins the loch just to the east of the narrow point. The West Highland Line and A85 road pass through the village.
The narrows form a natural crossing to Bonawe on the north shore, and for centuries the village was a staging post and resting place for travellers. A small hill immediately to the east of the main street of the village was the site of Killespickerill, which was built in 1228 as the seat of the Bishop of Argyll. Some of its ruins were incorporated into Muckairn Parish Church, built in 1829. On the north shore of Loch Etive more extensive ruins remain of Ardchattan Priory, which was founded in 1230. In 1308 it was the venue for the last Scottish Parliament held in Gaelic. A regular ferry service ran to Bonawe from 1690.
In 1753 the Bonawe Iron Furnace was constructed by the Newland Company, later known as Harrison Ainslie. It stood just to the north of the village, between the rivers Nant and Awe, making use of timber from the local forests for charcoal fuel to smelt iron ore brought by sea from England. Although small in comparison to the huge 'hot-melt' furnaces of the 19th century, the furnace provided work not only at the site of the smelter but also for up to 600 charcoal burners over a large area of local woodlands. The effects of coppicing trees for charcoal burning can still be seen in local woods where, for a time, during the early part of the 20th century, birch brooms for use in steel mills were manufactured. The furnace was of such strategic importance that in 1756 a military road was constructed, crossing the Pass of Brander and the Bridge of Awe to reach the furnace. Twenty years afterwards the road was extended westward to Connel, and later still on to Oban. The factory produced 42,000 cannonballs in 1781. Closed in 1876, the furnace is still substantially complete and is a tourist attraction in the care of Historic Scotland.
What is claimed to have been the first monument to be erected in Britain to commemorate the death of Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar stands at Taynuilt with an inscription dated 1805 on its base, a reminder of the wide popularity of Nelson and of the many Scots crew and captains at the battle.
The Callander and Oban Railway opened Taynuilt railway station in 1880, making the village a popular place for tourists visiting the Scottish Highlands. The ferry service across Loch Etive to Bonawe eventually became a car ferry. Connel Bridge, which had been built to carry the railway over tidal rapids the mouth of the loch, with cars later sharing it as a toll bridge, was converted to being a road bridge when the railway was closed. The Taynuilt to Bonawe ferry closed in 1966.
Taynuilt has two main beaches. Airds Bay is a pebble bay with views to the Duirinnis hill and Bonawe. Kelly's Pier has both old and new parts, with a sweep of pebble beach as well, where small craft can be launched. Day trips up and down the loch are available to see the seals on the Anne of Etive, which is a few minutes from Kelly's Pier. From the loch there are panoramic views of the loch, Bonawe, Ben Cruachan, and Connel.
( Taynuilt - UK ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting Taynuilt . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Taynuilt - UK
Join us for more :
???? A Look Inside OUR World - Wild Edibles/Natural Remedies
Wild Edibles/Natural Remedies
Native Plants for Edible Landscaping
The Edible Pond and Bog Garden
Common Edible Wild Plants
Wild Edible Plants – an Overview
Wild Food School Berried... or Buried!
Yew
Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia
**Woodworking and longbows
Wood from the yew is classified as a closed-pore softwood, similar to cedar and pine. Easy to work, yew is among the hardest of the softwoods; yet it possesses a remarkable elasticity, making it ideal for products that require springiness, such as bows.
Yew is also associated with Wales and England because of the longbow, an early weapon of war developed in northern Europe, and as the English longbow the basis for a medieval tactical system. The oldest surviving yew longbow was found at Rotten Bottom in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It has been given a calibrated radiocarbon date of 4040 BC to 3640 BC and is on display in the National Museum of Scotland. Yew is the wood of choice for longbow making; the heartwood is always on the inside of the bow with the sapwood on the outside. This makes most efficient use of their properties as heartwood is best in compression whilst sapwood is superior in tension. However, much yew is knotty and twisted, and therefore unsuitable for bowmaking; most trunks do not give good staves and even in a good trunk much wood has to be discarded.
There was a tradition of planting yew trees in churchyards throughout Britain and Ireland, among other reasons, as a resource for bows. Ardchattan Priory whose yew trees, according to other accounts, were inspected by Robert the Bruce and cut to make at least some of the longbows used at the Battle of Bannockburn.
The trade of yew wood to England for longbows was so robust that it depleted the stocks of good-quality, mature yew over a vast area. The first documented import of yew bowstaves to England was in 1294. In 1350 there was a serious shortage, and Henry IV of England ordered his royal bowyer to enter private land and cut yew and other woods. In 1423 the Polish king commanded protection of yews in order to cut exports, facing nearly complete destruction of local yew stock. In 1470 compulsory archery practice was renewed, and hazel, ash, and laburnum were specifically allowed for practice bows. Supplies still proved insufficient, until by the Statute of Westminster in 1472, every ship coming to an English port had to bring four bowstaves for every tun.[41] Richard III of England increased this to ten for every tun. This stimulated a vast network of extraction and supply, which formed part of royal monopolies in southern Germany and Austria. In 1483, the price of bowstaves rose from two to eight pounds per hundred, and in 1510 the Venetians would only sell a hundred for sixteen pounds. In 1507 the Holy Roman Emperor asked the Duke of Bavaria to stop cutting yew, but the trade was profitable, and in 1532 the royal monopoly was granted for the usual quantity if there are that many. In 1562, the Bavarian government sent a long plea to the Holy Roman Emperor asking him to stop the cutting of yew, and outlining the damage done to the forests by its selective extraction, which broke the canopy and allowed wind to destroy neighbouring trees. In 1568, despite a request from Saxony, no royal monopoly was granted because there was no yew to cut, and the next year Bavaria and Austria similarly failed to produce enough yew to justify a royal monopoly. Forestry records in this area in the 17th century do not mention yew, and it seems that no mature trees were to be had. The English tried to obtain supplies from the Baltic, but at this period bows were being replaced by guns in any case
Musical instruments
The late Robert Lundberg, a noted luthier who performed extensive research on historical lute-making methodology, states in his 2002 book Historical Lute Construction that yew was historically a prized wood for lute construction. European legislation establishing use limits and requirements for yew limited supplies available to luthiers, but it was apparently as prized among medieval, renaissance, and baroque lute builders as Brazilian rosewood is among contemporary guitar-makers for its quality of sound and beauty.
7000 Edible, Medicinal & Useful Plants
Edible Hedge Plant Mix