Isle of ArranThe Isle of Arran (ˈærən; Isle o Arran; Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire. In the 2011 census it had a resident population of 4,629. Though culturally and physically similar to the Hebrides, it is separated from them by the Kintyre peninsula.
SomerledSomerled (died 1164), known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði ˈsumɑrˌliðe, was a mid-12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, rose in prominence to create the Kingdom of Argyll and the Isles. Little is certain of Somerled's origins, although he may have been born in northern Ireland and appears to have belonged to a Norse–Gaelic family of some prominence.
Kingdom of ScotlandThe Kingdom of Scotland (Rìoghachd na h-Alba; Kinrick o Scotland, Kongungdum Skotland) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a land border to the south with England. It suffered many invasions by the English, but under Robert the Bruce it fought a successful War of Independence and remained an independent state throughout the late Middle Ages.
IslayIslay (ˈaɪlə ; Ìle, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's capital is Bowmore where the distinctive round Kilarrow Parish Church and a distillery are located. Port Ellen is the main port. Islay is the fifth-largest Scottish island and the eighth-largest island of the British Isles, with a total area of almost .
KintyreKintyre (Cinn Tìre, kjhiɲˈtjhiːɾjə) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately north of Kintyre is known as Knapdale. Kintyre is long and narrow, at no point more than from west coast to east coast, and is less than wide where it connects to Knapdale. The east side of the Kintyre Peninsula is bounded by Kilbrannan Sound, with a number of coastal peaks such as Torr Mor.
Chambered cairnA chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic, consisting of a sizeable (usually stone) chamber around and over which a cairn of stones was constructed. Some chambered cairns are also passage-graves. They are found throughout Britain and Ireland, with the largest number in Scotland. Typically, the chamber is larger than a cist, and will contain a larger number of interments, which are either excarnated bones or inhumations (cremations).
ArgyllArgyll (ɑrˈɡaɪl; archaically Argyle, Earra-Ghàidheal in modern Gaelic, ˈaːrɣəɣɛː.əl̪ɣ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and broadly corresponds to the ancient kingdom of Dál Riata less the parts which were in Ireland. Argyll was also a medieval bishopric with its cathedral at Lismore, as well as an early modern earldom, elevated to become a dukedom in 1701 with the creation of the Duke of Argyll.
AyrshireAyrshire (Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ˈʃirɣəxk iɲiˈɾjaːɾj) is a historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety of the historic county as well as the island of Arran, formerly part of the historic county of Buteshire. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire to the north-east, Dumfriesshire to the south-east, and Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire to the south.
Isle of MullThe Isle of Mull (An t-Eilean Muileach əɲ ˈtjhelan ˈmuləx) or just Mull (mʌl; Muile ˈmulə) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-largest island in Scotland and Great Britain. From 2001 to 2020, the population has gradually increased: during 2020 the populace was estimated to be 3,000, in the 2011 census it was approximately 2,800, and in 2001, it was measured at 2,667 people.
Robert the BruceRobert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Raibeart an Bruis), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventually led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully during his reign to regain Scotland's place as an independent kingdom and is now revered in Scotland as a national hero.
