Loch Carron

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Loch Carron MPA
LochCarron(JohnDal)Jul2004.jpg
Looking across Loch Carron to the Applecross peninsula.
Ross and Cromarty UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
The location of Loch Carron, in Ross and Cromarty
Location Ross and Cromarty, Scotland
Coordinates 57°22′N5°31′W / 57.367°N 5.517°W / 57.367; -5.517
Area2,284.47 ha (8.8204 sq mi) [1]
Designation Scottish Government
Established2019
Operator Marine Scotland
Strome Castle on the shore of Loch Carron. Scotland Strome Castle.jpg
Strome Castle on the shore of Loch Carron.
Loch Carron (Scottish Highlands) Edimburgo 12 299-Loch Carron-Escocia.jpg
Loch Carron (Scottish Highlands)
Loch Carron (Scottish Highlands) Edimburgo 12 306-Loch Carron-Escocia.jpg
Loch Carron (Scottish Highlands)

Loch Carron (Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Carrann") is a sea loch on the west coast of Ross and Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands, which separates the Lochalsh peninsula from the Applecross peninsula, and from the Stromeferry headland east of Loch Kishorn. It is the point at which the River Carron enters the North Atlantic Ocean. [2]

Contents

According to the marine charts, the tidal currents reach 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) in the narrows, although not much water disturbance is visible in the flow. At the narrows, the depth of water is less than 20 metres, but in the basins on either side, it extends to a depth of more than 100 metres. [3] Beneath the cliffs at Strome Castle is a colony of flame shells; [3] with a population of over 250 million the loch is the world's largest flame shell bed, and was designated as a Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area (NCMPA) in 2017, with the protection being made permanent in 2018. [4] The new MPA of 23 km2 took effect on 19 May 2019. [5] Within the MPA the use of fishing gear that may damage the seabed is prohibited, although rod and line fishing and creeling are permitted. [6]

Tourism

Tourism is a significant industry in the Highlands of Scotland and one that generates important local economic activity. It provides employment for local people and attracts many visitors to Wester Ross in general and Lochcarron in particular because of its traditional seaside location.[ citation needed ]

The Kyle of Lochalsh Line runs along the south side of the loch, with railway stations at Attadale, Stromeferry, Duncraig, and Plockton. [2]

Archaeology

Between 1999 and 2004. a large scale archaeological project was undertaken, to locate and examine sites relating to the Mesolithic period, in the Inner Sound. In 2002, an offshoot project, the Sea Loch Survey was run by the same archaeologists to survey the sea lochs of Carron and Torridon. Between both projects they found 129 new archaeological sites in the strait. At Loch Carron, nine new sites were found, five caves/rock shelters and four stone tool scatters. [7]

See also

Loch Carron from the viewing point above Stromeferry Loch Carron from above Stromeferry.jpg
Loch Carron from the viewing point above Stromeferry

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stromeferry</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Stromeferry is a village, located on the south shore of the west coast sea loch, Loch Carron, in western Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. Its name reflects its former role as the location of one of the many coastal ferry services which existed prior to the expansion of the road network in the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duncraig railway station</span> Railway station in Highland, Scotland

Duncraig railway station is a remote railway station by the shore of Loch Carron on the Kyle of Lochalsh Line, originally (privately) serving Duncraig Castle, a mansion near Plockton, in the Highland council area of northern Scotland. The station is 57 miles 9 chains (91.9 km) from Dingwall, between Stromeferry and Plockton. ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services at the station.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port an Eòrna</span> Settlement in Scotland

Port an Eòrna is the Scottish Gaelic name for the small settlement of Barleyport, situated almost midway between Plockton and the Kyle of Lochalsh, in Ross-shire, Scotland, in the Western Highlands. Port an Eòrna was once a fishing community near Duirinish, an area of common grazing for sheep and Highland cattle. Now it is a cluster of a few houses on National Trust for Scotland land. Port an Eòrna is a natural sandy beach. Eòrna means "barley" in Scottish Gaelic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strome Castle</span>

Strome Castle is a ruined castle on the shore of Loch Carron in Stromemore, 3.5 miles south-west of the village of Lochcarron, on the headland between Loch Carron and Loch Kishorn, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands.

The Dingwall and Skye Railway was authorised on 5 July 1865 with the aim of providing a route to Skye and the Hebrides. However, due to local objections, another Act of Parliament was required before work could commence. This was passed on 29 May 1868.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Achmore, Highland</span> 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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Alsh</span> Sea inlet of Scotland, UK

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duncraig Castle</span> Castle in Lochalsh, Scotland

Duncraig Castle is a mansion in Lochalsh, in the west of the Scottish Highlands. A category-C listed building, it is situated in the Highland council area, east of the village of Plockton on the south shore of Loch Carron. It was built in 1866 in the Scottish baronial style, to designs by Alexander Ross, for Scottish Member of Parliament and businessman Alexander Matheson. The castle remained in the Matheson family until the 1920s, when it was sold to Sir Daniel Hamilton and his wife Margaret, who owned the neighbouring estate. The Hamiltons intended to use the castle for educational purposes in the local community, but this never came to fruition and following the outbreak of World War II, the castle was used as a naval hospital. By the end of the war, Daniel Hamilton had died, and Margaret bequeathed the castle to the local council, which converted it for use as a home economics college for girls, operating in this capacity until its closure in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lochalsh</span> Scottish parish in Highland, Scotland, UK

Lochalsh is a district of mainland Scotland that is currently part of the Highland council area. The Lochalsh district covers all of the mainland either side of Loch Alsh - and of Loch Duich - between Loch Carron and Loch Hourn, ie. from Stromeferry in the north on Loch Carron down to Corran on Loch Hourn and as (south-)west as Kintail. It was sometimes more narrowly defined as just being the hilly peninsula that lies between Loch Carron and Loch Alsh. The main settlement is Kyle of Lochalsh, located at the entrance to Loch Alsh, opposite the village of Kyleakin on the adjacent island of Skye. A ferry used to connect the two settlements but was replaced by the Skye Bridge in 1995.

References

  1. "SiteLink: Loch Carron MPA(NC)". Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 Ordnance Survey, 1:25000 map
  3. 1 2 "Dolphin escort". Divernet. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  4. "Plan to give Loch Carron permanent protection". BBC. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  5. "Dredger damaged Loch Carron reef secures protected status". BBC. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  6. "Scottish Statutory Instrument 2019 No. 101: The Loch Carron Marine Conservation Order 2019". Queen’s Printer for Scotland. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  7. "Vol 31 (2009): Mesolithic and later sites around the Inner Sound, Scotland the work of the Scotland's First Settlers project 1998-2004 | Scottish Archaeological Internet Reports". journals.socantscot.org. Retrieved 15 August 2021.

Bibliography

57°22′N5°31′W / 57.367°N 5.517°W / 57.367; -5.517