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Douglas Pier lies on the western shore of Loch
Goil, toward the northern end of the loch. The origin of the pier may
date as far back as the late 1850s, when it was probably built to
facilitate local development and the occasional excursion.
Described as having been closed in 1942, it was then taken
over for use as a naval station, or base, for submarine testing.
The station was said to be involved in SONAR work, manned by a
Captain Percy together with a number of scientists, one named as
Max Cape, assisted by several WRENS. The station is said to have
been visited by a number of submarines during World War II,
including miniature types, which would still have been
classified at the time.
The pier forms part of the Loch
Goil Noise Range.
Loch Goil is also home to a Z-Berth,
consisting of two mooring buoys. Described as one of the most
frequently used of such berths in Scotland by nuclear
submarines, which routinely visit the area to have their mine
signature assessed.
The date on which Douglas Pier, on Lochgoil, opened is obscure but must
be sometime in the mid to late 1850s when the owner of the
Glenfinart Estate,
Major-General John Douglas, decided
to open feuing on the Lochgoil shore a few miles from Lochgoilhead on
the south side of the loch.
A landing pier, we understand, is to
be erected at a convenient place as soon as about six acres of the
Lettermay ground are feued.”—Greenock Advertiser, August 8, 1856.
The pier became a regular call for the Lochgoilhead Company’s
steamers over the years.
The pier was well maintained through its
lifetime but was closed to passenger traffic in 1942 and taken over by
the Navy. Loch Goil was used for testing submarines.
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