LOCHGILPHEAD will be centre stage this Saturday (September 20), as the Royal Regiment of Scotland marches through the town to receive the Freedom of Argyll and Bute.
More than 100 soldiers will parade through the town centre with bayonets fixed, colours flying and the pipes and drums leading the way, before gathering on the front green for a formal ceremony. There, Major-General Robin Lindsay CBE, Regimental Colonel, will be presented with the freedom scroll in front of the community.
Residents and visitors are invited to line the streets and join the crowd on the front green for what promises to be a spectacular and historic event. The Regiment’s much- loved mascot, Corporal Cruachan IV the Shetland
pony, will also be on parade. The procession begins at 1pm from MACPool on Oban Road, moving along Bishopton Road and down Argyll Street before crossing the A83 around 1.15pm to reach the front green.
After the presentation, the Regiment will march up Argyll Street, turning into Union Street and Manse Brae, before finishing at Lochgilphead Joint Campus via Whitegates Road around 1.45pm.
Some brief traffic delays are expected as the parade moves through, but disruption will be kept to a minimum.
This will be the first time the Royal Regiment of Scotland has received the Freedom of Argyll and Bute — an honour marking the deep ties between the regiment and the area.
