Helensburgh

This article is about the Scottish burgh. For the suburb of Wollongong see Helensburgh, New South Wales.

Image:Helensburgh Front.JPG Image:HillHouse.jpg Helensburgh (Baile Eilidh in Gaelic) is a burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It was formerly in Dumbarton District, but was re-allocated under local government reorganisation in 1995. Prior to 1975 it was part of the former Dunbartonshire.

Helensburgh lies on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde and the eastern shore of the entrance to the Gare Loch. It was founded in the eighteenth century in the style of Edinburgh New Town, as a seaside resort. The pier was once a main departure point for Clyde steamers and the paddle steamer Waverley still calls in during summer sailings. A regular passenger ferry service runs from the pier to Kilcreggan and Gourock.

In 1903, Charles Rennie Mackintosh built the Hill House for the publishing tycoon Walter Blackie. The house, on the north edge of town, is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is popular tourist attraction. The town is also notable as the birthplace of John Logie Baird, Deborah Kerr and Jack Buchanan.

Its population at the 2001 census was 14,626.

Helensburgh acts as a commuter town for nearby Glasgow, and is served by two railway stations, Helensburgh Upper on the West Highland Line and Helensburgh Central, the terminus of the North Clyde Line. Helensburgh is also heavily defined by the presence of the Clyde Naval Base at Faslane a few miles to the north, and by yachting facilities including the nearby marina at Rhu.

The present Lady of Helensburgh is Baroness Eilidh Watson. Eilidh is Gaelic for Helen.bg:Хелънсбърг (Шотландия)