A beloved Argyllshire landmark has reopened to the public after being brought into community ownership.
After ten years of being closed to the public, the historic Inveraray Pier was finally re-opened to the public on Saturday, April 20.
The official ribbon-cutting ceremony drew a large crowd to the B-listed pier, with Mid Argyll Pipe Band performing.
Originally built in 1762, the pier was an important hub for the loch community’s fishing and boating needs but had fallen into disrepair, making it unsafe and therefore being closed to the public since 2014.
The local community wanted the former asset to be restored and reopened once again, with the ambition to improve access to and from the loch, reconnect neighbouring communities, and re-establish fishing, diving, promenading, boat trips and other water sports facilities on the loch.
READ MORE: Historic double arch bridge near Inveraray to undergo urgent repair work
Inspire Inveraray, together with Inveraray Community Council and the local community, pooled resources to develop a fundraising plan and apply for funding to purchase the Pier so it could go back into community ownership, and with time, be restored to safety and open to the public.
With the support of renewable energy developer Ridge Clean Energy, Inspire Inveraray and its supporters worked together to raise over £244,000, enabling the community to purchase the pier and begin essential restoration works in July 2023.
Linda Divers, Director of Inspire Inveraray and Chair of Inveraray Community Council, said: “We are thrilled to announce that the historic Inveraray Pier is now once again open to the public. We know how much joy it will bring to our town, our residents and our visitors.
"The purchase and restoration of the Pier was a joint effort and today’s celebration is a testament to how much we can achieve if communities, councils and local businesses come together, listen to each other and work together for the common good.”
“Inspire Inveraray and The Inveraray Community Council would like to thank Geaspar and Kelly Byrne, previous owners of the Pier, who provided the opportunity to bring the Pier back into community ownership, and Robin Campbell Music for their contributions. We also want to thank Ridge Clean Energy for all the help in obtaining grants, giving us the confidence to apply for them and believing in us, knowing we can make the dream of an open and accessible Pier a reality.”
Daniela Jenkins BEM, Community Partnership Manager for Ridge Clean Energy Ltd, said: “We are proud to have been part of the momentous occasion of the reopening of the pier and especially thrilled to be able to come together and celebrate with the local community.
"The Ridge Clean Energy team is so proud to have been able to support Inspire Inveraray and the community to make this project a reality, to purchase and restore the pier to be enjoyed once again by local people and visitors to the town.”
Inveraray Pier is home to the historic Clyde puffer The Vital Spark, whose namesake appeared in the popular Para Handy books and a classic television series.
Built by Brown’s Shipyard, Hull, in 1944, the puffer was originally named Eilean Eisdeal before her celebrity status was borrowed from author Neil Munro's creation.
One of the most important characteristics of the puffer was its ability to beach, which allowed it to supply a mix of supplies to remote settlements otherwise near impossible to reach.
In 2022, it was taken over last year by Ricky Christie of the North of Scotland Distillery Company, whose original plan – before he encountered the scale of work needed to reignite her own vital spark – had been to turn the puffer into a floating distillery.
The vessel was one of a number of puffers used in the filming of the Para Handy stories for television. One other remaining puffer, Vic 32, built in 1943 and whose skipper at the time was said to be a “drunken maniac” who crashed her into a pier and with an ungentlemanly crew once jailed for stealing, has been restored and offers West Coast holiday cruises.
Another, The Spartan, is at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine.
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