Ford is a small Scottish

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...

 village at the southern end of Loch Awe

Loch Awe

Loch Awe is a large body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe, or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such as Innis Chonnell and Inishail.- The loch :It is the third largest freshwater loch in Scotland with...

, Argyll

Argyll

Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...

. The village grew from just a stopping point on the drove route to Inveraray

Inveraray

Inveraray is a royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is the traditional county town of Argyll and ancestral home to the Duke of Argyll.-Coat of arms:...

, until it eventually gained a church, school, blacksmiths and a village shop. The Ford Hotel dates back to 1864 and was probably erected on the site of the old change house. Today it is a guest house with the name Ford House and is a listed building. Over time the school and the blacksmiths closed. The village shop closed in 2003. Another notable business in the village is the smokery owned by Murray Smoked Products. The building burnt down on Christmas Eve 2008 and is currently being rebuilt.

Another new business opening soon will be the new Hostel at An Lodan Bay (little pool or little loch) now more commonly referred to as Torran Bay. Also to be built within the next year will be a new village shop, farm shop, bar restaurant and function room next to the Hostel.

There are historic paddocks along the burn side of the ford

Ford (crossing)

A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...

 to Dalavich

Dalavich

Dalavich is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies on the western bank of Loch Awe and has a population of around 70....

road. The hill known as Dun Dubh overlooks the village.

Prehistoric remains

Many prehistoric structures survive within the village boundary and are all easily accessible or can be seen from the public road. Opposite the guest house, in the village centre, stands a prehistoric burial mound known in Gaelic as Cnoc an Ath (hillock of the ford). Several standing stones are scattered around the area, the three most notable ones being the one in the field next to the guest house, the one opposite Glennan Farm, and the largest at Torran Farm. A crannog is also present in Loch Ederline, clearly visible from the road.

External links

• Ford Community Project.
• The website of the Ford House guest house has photos of the area and a nice picture of the old Ford Hotel.