Arrochar, Argyll

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Arrochar, Argyll Scottish Gaelic: An t-Àrchar
Arrochar with Ben Lomond behind, taken from the path to The Cobbler.
Arrochar, Argyll Location within Argyll and Bute
OS grid reference	NN 29700 04300
Council area	Argyll and Bute
Lieutenancy area	Dunbartonshire
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Arrochar
Postcode district	G83
Dialling code	01301
UK Parliament	Argyll and Bute
Scottish Parliament	Dumbarton
List of places UK Scotland 56°12′03″N 4°44′48″W / 56.200743°N 4.7467273°W / 56.200743; -4.7467273

Arrochar (/ˈærəxər/ ARR-ə-khər; Scottish Gaelic: An t-Àrchar [ən̪ˠ t̪aːɾəɾ] or An Tairbeart an Iar) is a village located near the head of Loch Long, on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. The Arrochar Alps are named after the village. The village is within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.^[1]

Historically in Dunbartonshire, it is overlooked by a group of mountains called the Arrochar Alps, and in particular by the distinctive rocky summit of the Cobbler. It enjoys good communications as it is at the junction of the A83 and A814 roads and is served by Arrochar and Tarbet railway station. In addition the A82 road runs through Tarbet two miles (three kilometres) east.

For over five centuries this area, the feudal barony of Arrochar, was held by the chiefs of Clan MacFarlane and before them by their ancestors the barons of Arrochar. The family is Celtic in the male line and native to their Highland homeland of tall peaks and deep lochs just above the waist of Scotland. The settlement was a key target for Viking raiders who took their boats two miles (three kilometres) overland to Tarbet to attack the unprotected inland settlements at Loch Lomond ^[2] before their defeat in 1263 at the battle of Largs.

The western end of Arrochar marks the traditional boundary of Argyllshire and Dunbartonshire, and this remained the case under local government reorganisation in 1975. However, in 1996 the boundaries of Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire were substantially redrawn, bringing the whole area into Argyll and Bute.