This is one of several articles written by Louis Stott who generously offered local aspects of his scholarship to the archive of Loch Ard Local History Group–our thanks to Louis and his family for this material.

The Victorian houses in the west end of the village are protected by Craigmore.  Great oaks have been grown here for centuries, originally planted to supply bark for the tanning industry.  Birch trees were also planted to provide charcoal for the iron smelting industry.  Remnants of coppicing can still be seen on some of the oldest trees. 

This picture shows a definite break in the trees, running north to south.  This was the bogey line from the slate quarries.  Bogies or small carts were filled with slate and pushed down this tramway to the railway line.

  The slate quarries were opened in the 1800s and became the third largest in Scotland producing up to 1.4 million tons of slate.  The slate was exported through out the world.  In 1930s the slate from this quarry was used in the building of the billiard tables on the liner The Queen Mary.  It has also been suggested that the slate on the roofs of Stirling Castle may have come from this quarry.