Image Details
I was standing next to the ruins of Strome Castle for this view, looking over Loch Carron on its route out to The Minch. The exit to The Minch is not visible here, instead we see the peninsula on which Plockton village is just visible, and beyond that are the Cuillins of the Isle of Skye.
Photographed in mid afternoon in August, a time that's not normally a good time for landscape views. The factors that help are that I'm shooting partly into the light, the intriguing sea mist glimpsed behind the dark peninsula, and of course the magnificent Cuillin mountains of Skye.
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.
Cuillin; This is the anglicised spelling of the Scottish Gaelic An Cuilthionn or An Cuiltheann. From my researches into the meaning of the Gaelic names An Cuilthionn and An Cuiltheann it appears that etymologists are unable to provide a definitive answer. Some suggest the range owes its name to the legendary heroic figure, Cú Chulainn while others propose cuilionn, the Gaelic for holly. However, given the island's Viking heritage and the aspect that the Cuillin ridge presents from afar, the contention that the name comes from the Norse kjollen or keel-shaped, appears to be the most likely explanation.
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
Plockton; The Gaelic name is Ploc Loch Aillse meaning ‘the lump of Lochalsh’ this due to the humpy promontory which ends in Rudha-mór.
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.
Stromemore; The village name derives from the Norse straumr, stream, and the Gaelic Mòr meaning ‘great’.
The Minch; In Gaelic it is An Cuan Sgith which translates as ‘the weary sea’. In old Norse it was known as Skotlandsfjörð, ‘Scotland’s Fjiord’.
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