| The Tinkers Heart It is situated at the junction of the A815 and the B839 to Lochgoilhead. Local knowledge is that it was often the site of weddings, which in the older days were seldom in church. Because of its location with a grand view down the loch and at the cross roads it has always been a popular spot for local people. An Inveraray couple came here to experience the arrival of the new millennium, Hogmanay 1999 – 2001 It is recorded that John Luke from Cuil Cottage and Isabella Brodie from Laglingartan met the minister who had walked from Lochgoilhead for them to be married at the Tinkers Heart in 1872. In 1928 when the road was first upgraded Lady George Campbell of Strachur House protested against the disappearance of the heart. The Cowal District North Meeting agreed to restore the patch. 1969 the road was realigned and the plot in the old road that had contained the Tinkers’ Heart was now in a field, to the lochside of the A815. In 2008 the Dunoon Observer reported Argyll and Bute Council undergoing preliminary investigations regarding a visitor centre and pedestrian crossing at the Tinkers Heart which would cost £34,500. |
Christina Noble and Here We Are were concerned that cattle wintered there and the tractor taking in fodder to them, was endangering the heart. In 2013 Here We Are installed the protective fence. The cost incurred by Here We Are with a contribution from the Clachan Wind Farm Trust.
In 2014 Jess Smith lodged a petition at Holyrood calling on the site to be taken into public hands and protected by Historic Environment Scotland.
The result was that the Heart was awarded monument status by Historic Environment Scotland in 2015
A folder of information on the Tinkers Heart is kept at Here We Are available for all to see. All updates welcome.
