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Taken from a bare hillside near Attadale this view over Loch Carron to Lochcarron village reveals some of the dramatic landscape surounding Lochcarron. The village is popular with tourists and has plenty of accomodation on offer. It was in fact one of the places my wife and I would stop off at to relax and refuel with food and petrol prior to heading further north.
Rising behind the village is the sugar loaf shaped Sgurr a' Chaorachain (peak of the place of rowan berries) rising to 792 metres and to it's left is Meall Gorm (the green hill) rising to 710 metres.
Between these two hills runs the Bealach na Ba (The Pass of the Cattle) which is a twisting single track road with alpine like hairpin bends as it clings to the sides of the steep corrie through which it passes, ultimately reaching a height of 626 metres. This is a drive that everyone visiting the Scottish Highlands should take, not just for the driving experience, but for the dramatic landscapes on view throughout the journey.
There are stopping places near the top of the pass with walks to the surrounding peaks, and having already driven to a height in excess of 600 metres climbing mountains does not get much easier than this. However, you must still be prepared with proper outdoor clothing and boots and not treat it as an easy jaunt.
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.
Attadale; At Loch Carron. Possibly Norse from at-dalr, fight dale. Professor Watson says that the Norsemen were fond of horse fights, hesta at and this level strath would be good for that purpose.
Bealach na Ba; The pass of the cattle, from Gaelic Bealach, ‘pass’ and Ba, ‘cow’.
Lochcarron; The village is named after Loch Carron, which see below.
Loch Carron; Named after the River Carron which enters this sea loch after a course through Glen-carron and Strath-carron. In Gaelic it is Loch Carrann, Carrann meaning ‘rough’. The root is kars-, rough, as seen in
Meall Gorm; The Green Hill.
Sgurr a’ Ghaorachain; Professor Watson lists this as Sgùrr a’ Chaorachain so I assume the OS map spelling is incorrect. Sgùrr is a rocky peak and the Professor goes on to explain that the remainder of the name is based on caoir, a blaze of fire, with the secondary meaning of torrent.
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