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Running North-east along the southern side of Little Loch Broom is a single track road which goes through the villages of Badcaul, Durnamuck, ending at Badluarach. It is well worth leaving the main road to Dundonnell at Badcaul to explore this area and enjoy the wonderful views to found of Little Loch Broom and the surrounding mountains.
For this view I had in fact descended the hill from the main road above to find a viewpoint that included both the village of Durnamuck and Beinn Ghobhlach. Isabel and I had been invited to Sunday lunch at Pat Hansen's, a neighbour of ours, and I was under strict instructions from Isabel that I was not to be late. "Of course not" said I....
I found a good viewpoint and then settled down to wait on good light, nice cloud formations, and for a pattern of cloud shadows on the land. I waited and waited, getting concerned that I was on a deadline, and I waited a bit longer than I should have done. However it paid off and I got an attractive image of the scene.
On the opposite shore is the dominating hulk Beinn Ghobhlach ('the forked hill') along the sides of which runs (right to left) the track leading to the village of Scoraig, this being the only way to reach this village on foot.
North-west Highland Place Names
The landscape of the North-west Highlands and the Gaelic language are intimately connected. Other languages have contributed to the richness of our place names, notably Norse, but the North-west Highlands have for centuries been a Gaelic landscape. In listing the meanings of place names I have relied on authoritative sources wherever possible. For further information about sources please refer to North-west Highland Place Names in the main menu.
Badcaul; Gaelic is am Bad-call meaning ‘the hazel clump’.
Badluarach; Written as Badluachrach by Watson. The clump of rushes, from luachair, rushes.
Beinn Ghobhlach; Gaelic A’ Bheinn Ghobhlach; the forked hill.
Durnamuck; Gaelic Doire nam muc meaning ‘swine copse’.
Little Loch Broom; Gaelic an Loch Beag according to Watson, i.e. ‘the little loch’. He does not explain the origin of its anglicised name and I assume it is derived after its nearby neighbour, Loch Broom, being small in comparison to it. The name Loch Broom is an anglicised version of its true Gaelic name which is Loch Bhraoin. Bhraoin means a 'drop of water or rain' and is named after the river that flows from Loch a' Bhraoin high in the Braemore (Am Braigh Mor).
Scoraig; Written as Sgoraig by Watson, from the Norse sgor-vík, ‘rift bay’, from a narrow gully at the place.
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