Achanalt

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Achanalt
Wester Ross, Loch Achanalt.jpg
Loch Achanalt
Ross and Cromarty UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Achanalt
Location within the Ross and Cromarty area
OS grid reference NH261615
Council area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Postcode district IV23 2
Police Scotland
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
57°36′38″N4°54′58″W / 57.6105°N 4.9160°W / 57.6105; -4.9160 Coordinates: 57°36′38″N4°54′58″W / 57.6105°N 4.9160°W / 57.6105; -4.9160

Achanalt (Gaelic: Achadh nan Allt) is a railway halt in Strath Bran, Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish council area of Highland. It is served by a railway station on the Kyle of Lochalsh Line from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh.

Contents

History

Achanalt in 1970 Achanalt railway station, Scotland in 1970.jpg
Achanalt in 1970

The Achanalt railway station was opened by the Dingwall and Skye Railway, but operated from the outset by the Highland Railway. Taken into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923, the line then passed on to the Scottish Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. When Sectorisation was introduced, the station became part of ScotRail until the Privatisation of British Rail.

The Achanalt Power Station, commissioned in 1957 by James Shearer, lies less than 1 mile (1.5 kilometres) southwest of the Grudie Bridge Power Station. [1]

Culture

Sir Arthur Bignold, Member of Parliament (MP) for Wick Burghs in the early 20th century, was the proprietor of the Achanalt Inn (now Achanalt House), [2] built in 1878. [3] Bignold acquired the estates of Lochrosque and Strathbran, including the villages of Achanalt and Achnasheen, a castle at Lochrosque and lodges at Cabuie and Strathbran in 1885. [4] Cabuie Lodge was lost below the waters of Loch Fannich in the 1950s and Lochrosque Castle has also been demolished. [5] The estate at Strathbran including Achanalt passed to Bignold's grandson the Marquis de Torrehermosa and his family continue to live at Strathbran Lodge in Achanalt. [6] [7]

The steeply sloping Cnoc na Bhain burial ground, one of Scotland's most beautiful graveyards, contains a memorial and grave of the pioneer aviator, Captain Bertram Dickson. [8]

Geography

Grudie Bridge Power Station Grudie Bridge Power Station - geograph.org.uk - 35534.jpg
Grudie Bridge Power Station

The village lies on the A832 road and the River Bran, and is near to the western shore of Loch Achanalt. [9] To the north is Loch Fannich. The terrain in the area is rugged and marshy, typical of this part of the Highlands. The dominant local geographical feature is Loch Achanalt, roughly quadrangular, with a maximum diameter of approximately 0.75 mi (1.21 km). [10] Its water is shallow and reedy, and drains over 39 square miles (100 km2), including the River Bran. [11] The area between Achanalt and Achnasheen is characterised by a gentle slope down to the River Bran, and features two peaks, Scuir Vuillin and Scuir a Ghlas Leathaid 2,800 ft (850 m). [12]

Fauna and flora

Looking towards the head of the loch Loch Glascarnoch - geograph.org.uk - 196095.jpg
Looking towards the head of the loch

The Achanalt reservoir [13] and marshes were designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest on 18 May 1989 as the area is an important nesting ground. It is 214.6 hectares (530 acres) in size. [14] The marshes are characterised by mesotrophic grassland on a river valley flood plain. There are two waterlogged Carex Juncus communities that include bottle sedge, marsh pennywort, and bogbean. In a relatively drier area, short grass and sedge occur, mainly in winter. The marshes are sedge dominated, and these include common sedge, carnation sedge, flea sedge, and star sedge. Tawny sedge and dioecious sedge occur in flush line areas. The featured herbs include heath spotted orchid and common valerian. Purple moor grass and tufted hair grass are locally extensive. Four nationally rare species of breeding birds are located here. [14]

The open water and grassland areas of Achanalt marshes support an array of nesting birds. Waders include common sandpiper, curlew, dunlin, lapwing, oystercatcher, redshank, ringed plover, and snipe. Wildfowl include mallard, red-breasted merganser, teal, tufted duck, and wigeon. There is also a black-headed gull colony. [14]

Related Research Articles

Highland (council area) Council area of Scotland

Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It shares borders with the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Moray and Perth and Kinross. Their councils, and those of Angus and Stirling, also have areas of the Scottish Highlands within their administrative boundaries.

Ross and Cromarty

Ross and Cromarty, sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latter of which is 8,019 square kilometres in extent. Historically there has also been a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, a local government county, a district of the Highland local government region and a management area of the Highland Council. The local government county is now divided between two local government areas: the Highland area and Na h-Eileanan Siar. Ross and Cromarty border Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south.

Ross, Scotland

Ross is a region of Scotland, a former earldom and, under the name Ross-shire and, later, Ross and Cromarty, a county. The name Ross allegedly derives from a Gaelic word meaning "headland", perhaps a reference to the Black Isle. Another possible origin is the West Norse word for Orkney – Hrossey – meaning horse island; the area once belonged to the Norwegian earldom of Orkney. Ross is a historical comital region, perhaps predating the Mormaerdom of Ross. It is also a region used by the Church, with the Presbytery of Ross being part of the Synod of Ross, Sutherland and Caithness.

Skye and Lochalsh A government district of the former Highland Region of Scotland

Skye and Lochalsh is one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region of Scotland. The main offices of the Skye and Lochalsh district council were in Portree, on the Isle of Skye.

Kyle of Lochalsh line

The Kyle of Lochalsh Line is a primarily single track railway line in the Scottish Highlands, from Dingwall to Kyle of Lochalsh. Many of the passengers are tourists, but there are also locals visiting Inverness for shopping, and commuters. All services are provided by Abellio ScotRail and run beyond Dingwall to Inverness. In the past there were some through services to/from Glasgow, Edinburgh or Aberdeen. None of the line is electrified, and all trains on the line are diesel-powered, as are all other trains in the Scottish Highlands.

Wester Ross

Wester Ross is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to the west of the main watershed of Ross, thus forming the western half of the county of Ross and Cromarty. The southwesternmost part of Ross and Cromarty, Lochalsh, is not considered part of Wester Ross by the local tourist organisation, Visit Wester Ross, but is included within the definition used for the Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve.

Achnasheen Human settlement in Scotland

Achnasheen is a small village in Ross-shire in the Highland council area of Scotland.

Achnasheen railway station Railway station in Highland, Scotland

Achnasheen railway station is a remote railway station on the Kyle of Lochalsh Line, serving the village of Achnasheen in the north of Scotland.

Duirinish railway station Railway station in Highland, Scotland

Duirinish railway station is a remote railway station on the Kyle of Lochalsh Line near the settlement of Duirinish in the Highlands, northern Scotland. Duirinish is 2 miles (3 km) inland of Scotland's west coast, near Loch Lundie.

Ross-shire Historic county in Scotland

Ross-shire is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of numerous enclaves or exclaves scattered throughout Ross-shire's territory. Ross-shire includes most of Ross along with Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Dingwall is the traditional county town. The area of Ross-shire is based on that of the historic province of Ross, but with the exclusion of the many enclaves that form Cromartyshire.

Garve Human settlement in Scotland

Garve is a village on the Black Water river, in Ross-shire, and is in the Highland Council area of Scotland. It is situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Contin, on the A835, the main road to Ullapool on the west coast, close to where the A832 branches off towards Achnasheen.

A832 road

The A832 is a road in the Scottish Highlands, linking Cromarty, on the east coast, to Gairloch on the west coast, and beyond Gairloch to Braemore Junction. It is 126 miles (203 km) long and runs entirely in the former county of Ross and Cromarty. The road forms part of the Wester Ross Coastal Trail.

Achmore, Highland Human settlement in Scotland

Achmore is a hamlet located close to the south shore of Loch Carron, approximately seven miles east of Plockton near Stromeferry in the historic county of Wester Ross and within the Highland council area, Scotland.

Sir Arthur Bignold was a Liberal Unionist Party politician in Scotland who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wick Burghs from 1900 to 1910.

Grudie Human settlement in Scotland

Grudie is a village, situated between Loch a' Chuilinn and Loch Luichart with the River Bran flowing past Grudie east to west, in Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland.

Loch Fannich

Loch Fannich is a remote loch in Ross-shire, in Scotland. The loch is located 19 kilometres (12 mi) west of Strathpeffer.

Loch Achanalt

Loch Achanalt is a small, irregularly shaped, lowland freshwater loch in Ross and Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands, close to Achanalt railway station and the village of Achanalt. It is roughly quadrangular in shape with an approximate diameter of 1.21 km (0.75 mi), and is at an altitude of 112 m (367 ft). The average depth is 1.37 m and its maximum depth is 2.75 m. The River Bran flows into the loch on its western shore, and at its eastern shore there is a short fast stream draining into Loch a' Chuilinn. The loch was surveyed on 9 August 1902 by R.M. Clarke and James Murray as part of Sir John Murray's Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland 1897–1909.

Garve and Ullapool Railway

The Garve and Ullapool Railway was one of several branch railway-lines proposed for the North-West Highlands of Scotland, in the 1880s and 1890s. The project received approval from the Westminster Parliament by means of a Local Act of 14 August 1890. The line did not gain financial backing and was never constructed. Renewed attempts to build it were made in 1896, 1901, 1918 and 1945, again with no success.

Loch Maree and Aultbea Railway

The Loch Maree and Aultbea Railway was one of several branch railway-lines proposed for the North-West Highlands of Scotland in the early 1890s. Although a full survey was conducted in 1892 and a Private Bill was submitted to the Westminster Parliament on 18 November 1892, the necessary Act to permit construction did not receive approval and the plan was dropped.

References

  1. ↑ "Achanalt Power Station". Scottish Places Info. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  2. ↑ Shennan, Hay (1892). Scotland Boundary Commissioners (ed.). Boundaries of counties and parishes in Scotland as settled by the Boundary Commissioners under the Local government (Scotland) act, 1889. W. Green. p.  135. Achanalt Inn.
  3. ↑ "Architectural Plan of Achanalt Inn". scotlandsplaces.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  4. ↑ Addison, Henry Robert; Oakes, Charles Henry; Lawson, William John (1905). Who's who. 57. A. & C. Black. p. 136.
  5. ↑ "NH2064 : Sign for Cabuie Lodge". geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  6. ↑ "Register of Scottish Architects". scottisharchitects.org.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "Achnasheen and Garve Community Website". achnasheenandgarve.com. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  8. ↑ Nicoll, Ruaridh (21 December 2003). "The Wrights' stuff We worry about aircraft polluting our lives when really they are enriching it". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  9. ↑ Google Maps (Map). Google.
  10. ↑ The Geographical journal, Volume 26. Royal Geographical Society. 1905. Achanalt.
  11. ↑ Scottish geographical magazine, Volume 23. Royal Scottish Geographical Society. 1907. p. 199.
  12. ↑ Harvie-Brown, John Alexander; Buckley, Thomas E. (1895). A fauna of the Moray basin. 1. D. Douglas. p. 48.
  13. ↑ Judy Trinnaman, Alan Clarke (2004). Survey of energy resources (20 ed.). World Energy Council, Elsevier. p. 200. ISBN   0-08-044410-5.
  14. 1 2 3 "Achanalt Marshes, Site of Special Scientific Interest: Highland (Easter Ross and Cromarty)". apps.snh.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
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