Faslane on Gare Loch

Gare Loch

The Gare Loch or Gareloch is a sea loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.-Geography:A sea loch aligned north-south, Gare Loch is 10 kilometres long with an average width of 1.5 kilometres. At its southern end it opens into the Firth of Clyde through the Rhu narrows...

 is the name of a bay

Bay

A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...

 near the village of Garelochhead

Garelochhead

Garelochhead is a small village on the Gare Loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is the nearest village to the HMNB Clyde naval base.Garelochhead lies at the head of the Gare Loch, 7 miles northwest of Helensburgh. Loch Lomond is a few miles to the east, and Loch Long to the west...

, and is now the main part of HM Naval Base Clyde

HMNB Clyde

Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy...

 in Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, as well as being a Defence Logistics Organisation

Defence Logistics Organisation

The Defence Logistics Organisation was a key element of the UK Ministry of Defence, responsible for supporting the armed forces throughout the various stages of an operation or exercise; from training, deployment, in-theatre training and conduct of operations, through to recovery and recuperation...

 port, operated in dual site organisation with Great Harbour, Greenock

Greenock

Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...

, by Serco Denholm

Serco Denholm

Serco Denholm is a joint venture between Serco Group and Denholm Group providing marine services support to the Royal Navy at the United Kingdom's three main naval bases, HMNB Portsmouth, HMNB Devonport and HMNB Clyde....

.

Faslane is currently home to United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's Trident

Trident missile

The Trident missile is a submarine-launched ballistic missile equipped with multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicles . The Fleet Ballistic Missile is armed with nuclear warheads and is launched from nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines . Trident missiles are carried by fourteen...

 SSBN submarines

There is also Faslane Peace Camp

Faslane Peace Camp

Faslane Peace Camp is a permanent peace camp sited alongside Faslane Naval base in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It has been occupied continuously, in a few different locations, since 12 June 1982...

 outside the base, protesting since 1982 against the nuclear missiles and submarines there.

History

The immediate area was sparsely populated until a naval base was constructed during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, though Garelochhead was already a thriving village served by Clyde steamer

Clyde steamer

The era of the Clyde steamer in Scotland began in August 1812 with the very first successful commercial steamboat service in Europe, when Henry Bell's began a passenger service on the River Clyde between Glasgow and Greenock...

s and a railway station. A shipbreakers operated at Faslane until the mid 1980s, when its site was taken over by expansion on the naval base.

See also

• Faslane Castle, Shandon Castle, and St Michael's Chapel
  Faslane Castle, Shandon Castle, and St Michael's Chapel
  Faslane Castle and Shandon Castle were two mediaeval Scottish castles which once stood between the towns Garelochhead and Helensburgh, near the shores of the Gare Loch, in Argyll and Bute. In the 19th century, the castles were thought to have dated back to the Middle Ages...
  
  , ruinous sites of two former castles and a chapel, in the area of Faslane