Connel

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Connel (Gaelic: Chonghail) is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is situated on the southern shore of Loch Etive.

The Lusragan Burn flows through the village and into Loch Etive.

A ferry formerly transported people and vehicles across the loch to North Connel. The Callander and Oban Railway came to Connel in 1880. The station in the village was named Connel Ferry.

The most noticeable feature in the village is the large cantilever bridge that spans the loch at the Falls of Lora. It was built to carry the Callander and Oban Railway's branch line to Ballachulish that opened in 1903. Originally, the bridge carried just the railway, but road vehicles were taken across by rail between Connel and Benderloch. In 1914, a roadway was added to the bridge, alongside the railway line. A toll was payable by road users.

After the branch line closed in 1966, the bridge was converted for sole use by road vehicles and pedestrians, and the toll was removed. Despite the railway track having been removed, the roadway is still not wide enough for vehicles to pass, therefore traffic lights had to be installed at each end of the bridge.

Connel lies on the A85 trunk road that runs between Oban and Perth. The A828 Connel to Ballachulish trunk road joins the A85 at a junction towards the west end of the village. Vehicles turning onto the A828 head south then follow the road on a long left-hand curve as it climbs to Connel Bridge, which crosses over the A85. Connel is just 5 miles to Oban by main road. There is also a minor 'back road' to Oban that runs by way of Ardchonnel and Barranrioch.

The village still has a railway station situated on the West Highland Line to Oban. Now unstaffed, the station is still named "Connel Ferry", somewhat anachronistically.

There is a primary school in the village, called Achaleven Primary School. Other buildings of note include the Falls of Lora Hotel and St. Oran's Church (Church of Scotland).