Rannoch (Scottish Gaelic : Raineach or Raithneach, meaning 'bracken') is an area of the Scottish Highlands between the A9 road, to the east, and the A82, to the west. The area is crossed from south to north by the West Highland railway line.
Features of the area include Loch Rannoch and Rannoch Moor. The loch is in the northwest of the council area of Perth and Kinross. The moor extends further west, into the south of the Highland council area.
The moor is partly within the catchment basin of the loch. The loch itself drains to the east, via the River Tummel into the River Tay.
The railway links Rannoch station and Corrour station with Fort William in the north and Glasgow in the south. Via the north bank of Loch Rannoch the B846 road links Rannoch station with the A9 between Pitlochry and Blair Atholl. Corrour station is remote from any public road.
The village of Kinloch Rannoch is on the B846 at the eastern (River Tummel) end of the loch.
Place | Ordnance Survey grid reference |
Kinloch Rannoch | NN661586 |
Rannoch station | NN422578 |
Corrour station | NN356663 |
The A82 is a major road in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Inverness via Fort William. It is one of the principal north-south routes in Scotland and is mostly a trunk road managed by Transport Scotland, who view it as an important link from the Central Belt to the Scottish Highlands and beyond. The road passes close to numerous landmarks, including Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor, Glen Coe, the Ballachulish Bridge, Ben Nevis, the Commando Memorial, Loch Ness, and Urquhart Castle. Along with the A9 and the A90 it is one of the three major north–south trunk roads connecting the Central Belt to the North.
Loch Rannoch is a freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is over 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) long in a west–east direction with an average width of about 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi), and is deepest at its eastern end, reaching a depth of 130 metres (440 ft). The River Tummel begins at its eastern end, where the small village of Kinloch Rannoch can be found, whilst the wild expanse of Rannoch Moor extends to the west of the loch. The area surrounding Loch Rannoch, along with Rannoch Moor itself, was formerly part of the native Caledonian Forest that stretched across much of Northern Scotland. Native forest is now largely absent from much of the area, due partly to logging, and partly to the climate becoming wetter, and Loch Rannoch is now largely surrounded by commercial forestry and open hillsides, although a small area remains at the Black Wood of Rannoch on the southern shore of the loch.
The West Highland Line is a railway line linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban in the Scottish Highlands to Glasgow in Central Scotland. The line was voted the top rail journey in the world by readers of independent travel magazine Wanderlust in 2009, ahead of the notable Trans-Siberian line in Russia and the Cuzco to Machu Picchu line in Peru. The ScotRail website has since reported that the line has been voted the most scenic railway line in the world for the second year running.
Corrour railway station is on the West Highland Line, near Loch Ossian on the Corrour Estate, in the Highland Region of Scotland. It is the highest mainline railway station in the United Kingdom. It is located between Rannoch and Tulloch, and is sited 71 miles 54 chains (115.3 km) from Craigendoran Junction, near Helensburgh. ScotRail manage the station and provide most services, along with Caledonian Sleeper.
The A830, also known as the Road to the Isles is a major road in Lochaber, Scottish Highlands. It connects the town of Fort William to the port of Mallaig.
The Pass of Drumochter meaning simply 'high ridge' is the main mountain pass between the northern and southern central Scottish Highlands. The A9 road passes through here, as does the Highland Main Line, the railway between Inverness and the south of Scotland. The Sustrans National Cycle Route 7 between Glasgow and Inverness also runs through the pass.
Loch Tummel is a long, narrow loch, seven kilometres northwest of Pitlochry in the council area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is fed and drained by the River Tummel, which flows into the River Tay about 13 km (8 mi) south-east of the Clunie Dam at the loch's eastern end.
Rannoch railway station, on the West Highland Line, serves the area of Rannoch in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. In 2017, Simon Jenkins reported it to be one of the best 10 stations in Britain. It is situated between Corrour and Bridge of Orchy, 64 miles 36 chains (103.7 km) from Craigendoran Junction, near Helensburgh. ScotRail manage the station and operate most services, along with Caledonian Sleeper.
The West Highland Railway was a railway company that constructed a railway line from Craigendoran to Fort William and Mallaig. The line was built through remote and difficult terrain in two stages: the section from Craigendoran to Fort William opened in 1894, with a short extension to Banavie on the Caledonian Canal opening in 1895.
Beinn Achaladair is a Scottish mountain situated six kilometres north east of the hamlet of Bridge of Orchy. The mountain stands on the border of the Perth and Kinross and Argyll and Bute council areas.
Stob a' Choire Odhair is a Scottish mountain situated eight kilometres north west of Bridge of Orchy on the border of the Argyll and Bute and Highland council areas.
The Tummel hydro-electric power scheme is an interconnected network of dams, power stations, aqueducts and electric power transmission in the Grampian Mountains of Scotland. Roughly bounded by Dalwhinnie in the north, Rannoch Moor in the west and Pitlochry in the east it comprises a water catchment area of around 1,800 square kilometres and primary water storage at Loch Ericht, Loch Errochty, Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel, in Perth and Kinross. Water, depending on where it originates and the path it takes, may pass through as many as five of the schemes nine power stations as it progresses from north-west to south-east. The scheme was constructed in the 1940s and 50s incorporating some earlier sites. It is managed by SSE plc.
Dunalastair Water is an entirely man made reservoir in Scotland which lies between Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel in Strath Tummel in Perth and Kinross council area. The loch provides water power for the Tummel hydroelectricity power station and has the reputation as one of the best wild trout fishing locations in the United Kingdom.
Breadalbane, from Scottish Gaelic Bràghaid Albann, is a region of the southern/central Scottish Highlands. It is a mountainous region comprising the watershed of Loch Tay; its boundaries are roughly the West Highland Way in the west, Rannoch Moor in the northwest, Loch Rannoch in the north, the River Tummel in the east, the Highland boundary in the southeast, and Loch Earn and Loch Voil-Loch Doine in the south. The former Breadalbane district was surrounded by the districts of Atholl, Strathearn, Menteith, The Lennox, Argyll and Lochaber. The Breadalbane Hydro-Electric Scheme lies within the region.
Beinn a' Chuallaich is a Scottish hill, four kilometres northeast of the village of Kinloch Rannoch in the Perth and Kinross council area. It is part of the high ground between Strath Tummel and Glen Errochty.
The River Garry is a major tributary of the River Tummel, itself a tributary of the River Tay, in the traditional county of Perthshire in the Scottish Highlands. It emerges from the northeastern end of Loch Garry (56.8193°N 4.2311°W), just to the southeast of the Pass of Drumochter, and flows southeastwards and eastwards down Glen Garry to the narrow Pass of Killiecrankie beyond which it joins the Tummel (56.7182°N 3.7790°W).
Corrour Lodge is situated at the eastern end of Loch Ossian on the Corrour Estate on Rannoch Moor, Scotland. It is a large modernist residence which opened in 2004 in place of Old Corrour Lodge, which had been destroyed by fire in 1942. The previous lodge had been built in 1896 for John Stirling-Maxwell when he purchased the estate. Earlier still a building now referred to as Corrour Old Lodge had been the estate house and was some three miles to the south. The location is very remote – the entrance drive from the nearest public road is eleven miles long. However, Corrour railway station is only about four miles away.
Gorton railway station or Gortan railway station, named for the nearby Meall a Ghortain area of high ground, was a remote rural private railway station on Rannoch Moor, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Opened in 1894 by the North British Railway, it was located at the present day Gorton Crossing engineer's siding where the ancient Rannoch Drove Road crossed the railway line.
Ben Nevis and Glen Coe is a national scenic area (NSA) covering part of the Highlands of Scotland surrounding Ben Nevis and Glen Coe, in which certain forms of development are restricted. It is one of 40 such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development. The Ben Nevis and Glen Coe NSA covers 903 km2 (349 sq mi) of land, lying within the Highland, Argyll and Bute and Perth and Kinross council areas. A further 19 km2 (7.3 sq mi) of the NSA are marine, covering the sea loch of Loch Leven.
The Heart Stone or Clach Cridhe in Perth and Kinross, Scotland is an ancient landmark on Rannoch Moor situated on the old 'Road to the Isles'. During the construction of the B846 road from Kinloch Rannoch to Rannoch railway station it was seen as an obstacle and was drilled and split and later it was moved to its present location in the 1950s to prevent it being submerged in the artificially enlarged Loch Eigheach Gaur Reservoir. The stone now stands beside the B846 road from the station to Kinloch Rannoch.