Achany
| Achany | |
| Sutherland | |
|---|---|
 Near Achany | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NC572013 |
| Location: | 57°58’48"N, 4°25’12"W |
| Data | |
| Postcode: | IV27 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Highland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross |
Achany is a hamlet in Sutherland. It is to be found off the B864 road on the west bank of the River Shin, south of Lairg.
The hamlet, which includes the Achany Glen (or Achany Forest), is also home to one Category B Listed building, Achany House, and a wind farm development that garners a community benefit fund.
The Falls of Shin in the Glen form a beautiful cascade which has become a visitor attraction.
Achany Glen
Achany Glen is a mixed conifer forest of mixed broadleaf native woodland that lies to the west of the Shin Falls Visitor Centre. It contains many small glades, characterised by alders and birch coppice, as well as wood sorrel and moss.[1]
A trail spur, the salmon leap viewpoint, is located on the glen's Riverside Walk.[2]
About the hamlet
Achany House
The hamlet contains Achany House, a Category B listed building dating from the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. At least three renovations were subsequently made, the first in the mid-nineteenth century, another in the mid-later nineteenth century, and yet another in the late nineteenth century.[3]
In 1840, the house was purchased by Sir James Matheson who added two bayed wings containing the lavish living room and dining room. Matheson's nephew added an upper floor in 1878 and an extension at the rear in 1885. In 1948, it was purchased by the Ministry of Agriculture and served as an agricultural college under the North of Scotland College of Agriculture from November 1953[4] until it became a hotel.
Today, the house is once again is a private dwelling.[5]
Energy
Construction of an onshore wind farm began in April 2009[6] and was completed in 2010, generating 38 Megawatts through 19 turbines.[7] The Achany Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund was launched in early 2010, provided by SSE, the wind farm's developer, and managed by the Scottish Community Foundation, a registered grant-making charity.[8]
Tourist information
A tourist information office had been located between Achany Forest and the Falls of Shin. It was bought by Mohamed Fayed in 2002 and converted into the most northerly outpost of Harrods.[9] This visitor centre was destroyed by a fire in May 2013.[10] It has subsequently been replaced by a more appropriate centre.
References
- ↑ Achany Glen – Forestry Commission
- ↑ "Achany". Woodland Trust. https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/wood/?woodId=15038&woodName=achany. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- ↑ Achany House, Lairg - British Listed Buildings
- ↑ Scottish agriculture, Volume 46. Scottish Board of Agriculture, Dept. of Agriculture, H.M. Stationery Off.. 1967.
- ↑ "Achany House". Scottish Places Info. http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst10407.html. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ↑ Achany: Scottish and Southern Energy
- ↑ Community Profile: Achany: Scottish Community Foundation
- ↑ 'Spend wind farm cash carefully, communities told': The Northern Times, 11 February 2010
- ↑ 'Al Fayed brings Harrods to Highlands 10,000 turn out for opening of Christmas world': David Ross in Herald Scotland, 11 Nov 2002
- ↑ 'Fire destroys Al Fayed’s Highland visitor centre': Alistair Munro in The Scotsman, 21 May 2013