Lochinver
| Lochinver Gaelic: Loch an Inbhir | |
| Sutherland | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
| Location: | 58°8’60"N, 5°15’0"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 600 |
| Post town: | Lairg |
| Postcode: | IV27 |
| Dialling code: | 01571 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Highland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross |
- Not to be confused with Lochinvar
Lochinver is a village on the coast in the Assynt district of Sutherland. A few miles north-east is Loch Assynt which is the source of the River Inver which flows into Loch Inver at the village. There are 200 or so lochans in the area which makes the place very popular with anglers. Lochinver is dominated by the "sugar loaf" shape of Caisteal Liath, the summit peak of nearby Suilven.
Lochinver is the second-largest fishing port in Scotland; frequented by European fishermen primarily from Spain and France. Lochinver underwent a major renewal project in the 1990s where the harbour area was rebuilt and a new and much improved loading area was created. This new development involved blasting an area of several acres out of the surrounding rock. At present the area is mostly undeveloped, with the exception a new Sports Centre.
The back of Lochinver is a beautiful part of Assynt with local tourism and nature areas being developed in conjunction with small-scale forestry activities. Birdlife in Lochinver includes the curlew, oystercatcher and hooded crow.
Other local villages worth mentioning include Inverkirkaig – accessed by the road leading up the River Culag – and on the coastal road north: Achmelvich, Clashmore, Stoer, Clashnessie, Drumbeg and Culkein Drumbeg.
In the 1890s, it was suggested that a railway be constructed from Invershin to Lochinver, to 'open up' the Highlands and provide a direct rail connection with ferries to the Western Isles. This scheme was as an alternative to a proposed route to Ullapool from Garve. In the event, neither were able to obtain funding.[1]
The Lochinver name was adopted in the 1950s by a large (35,000 acres) sheep station in New Zealand's North Island.
Lochinver in film
- 1973 The Highlands and Islands - A Royal Tour, a documentary about Prince Charles' visit to the Highlands and Islands, directed by Oscar Marzaroli.[2]
Gallery
References
- ↑ Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, 31 May 1892
- ↑ "Full record for 'HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS - A ROYAL TOUR'" Scottish Screen Archive. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Lochinver) |