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There is a small hill called Creag nan Garadh above the railway line near Plockton; this is a favorite with artists seeking views of this village on the Scottish north-west coast. Over the years a narrow path has been made through the waist-high heather, a steep climb in places, especially when carrying a heavy backpack and tripod, but worth it for the view.
On this day there had been a thick sea mist blanketing much of the coast of the North-west Highlands, and drifting into all the sea lochs enabled it to travel many kilometres inland. This view was taken some time after it had started to clear from Plockton leaving a thin wall of mist on Loch Carron. Plockton is a very popular destination with tourists because of it's attractive setting amongst stunning scenery, and its an excellent base for exploring the surrounding area, including the Isle if Skye.
In this photograph on the left, and beyond the mist, is Meall Gorm and Sgurr a Ghaorachain, between which is the road leading to Bealach na Ba, Scotland's nearest equivalent to an Alpine pass, rising to 626m from sea level in just 10 kilometres. This road is visible on enlargements of this image. Also visible are Bheinn Bhan, and in the far distance the tops of the Torridon mountains.
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.
Bealach na Ba; The pass of the cattle, from Gaelic Bealach, ‘pass’ and Ba, ‘cow’.
Bheinn Bhan; Listed by Professor Watson as A’ Bhinn Bhàn, meaning ‘the white hill.
Creag nan Garadh; Also known as Greag nan Garraig, Gaelic for ‘rock of the dens’.
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.
Plockton; The Gaelic name is Ploc Loch Aillse meaning ‘the lump of Lochalsh’ this due to the humpy promontory which ends in Rudha-mór.
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.
Skye; Skye's history includes the influence of Gaelic, Norse and English speaking peoples and the relationships between their names for the island are not straightforward. The Gaelic name for the "Isle of Skye" is An t-Eilean Sgitheanach (or Sgiathanach, a more recent and less common spelling). The meaning of this name is not clear. Various explanations have been proposed, such as the ‘winged isle’ or ‘the notched isle’ but no definitive solution has been found to date.
Torridon; Professor Watson gives a detailed account starting with the recorded history of this name – Torvirtayne 1464; Torrerdone 1584; Gaelic Toir(bh)eartan compare with the Irish tairbheart, to transfer, carry over, the infinitive of tairbrim. This would give the place the meaning of ‘place of transference’ with reference to the portage from the head of Loch Torridon through Glen Torridon to Loch Maree. The name applies specially to the strip of land at the head of the loch.
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