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I had some deliveries to make to some of my outlets and visits to other potential outlets in the hope of gaining some sales. On the day chosen for this trip the weather could be considered poor, it was cold and windy with frequent showers and heavy cloud cover. However these are frequently the conditions that are the precursor to interesting landscape photographs and I took my camera equipment along to capture anything that came my way.
My trip was to take me as far as Lochcarron and to complete the business part of my journey as quickly as possible I took the shortest route to it via Achnasheen. After completing the sales aspects of my trip I decided on the return journey to take the longer route back via Loch Shieldaig and Loch Torridon and use the time for photography in that area.
The weather on days like this offers fleeting opportunities, interesting images can appear and disappear very quickly due to the rapidly moving cloud cover. This can be very frustrating for a landscape photographer but one way to combat the problem of missed opportunities is to pick a spot and wait in hopeful anticipation. The above image was the result of that strategy.
I was at the western end of Upper Loch Torridon looking over the Loch to Beinn Alligin (left) and Liathach (right). The cloud cover was ever changing as were the drifting showers and I took a few shots of this scene to select from later. It was a day that was also giving rise to occasional rainbows but unfortunately the sun was not behind me for this view and so that was one added bonus I was not going to get!
At the right of this shot is a saline lagoon called Ob Mheallaidh. Just beyond the lagoon is a small bay called Camas a' Chlàrsair, that is 'Harper's Bay', an intriguing name; who was the harpist that the bay was named after and how long ago did the harpist live?
The Wester Ross Biodiversity Action Plan has the following to say about the saline lagoon Ob Mheallaidh.
"Saline lagoons in the UK are essentially bodies,natural or artificial, of saline water partially separated from the adjacent sea. They retain a proportion of their sea water at low tide and may develop as brackish, full saline or hyper-saline water bodies. Ob Mheallaidh in Loch Torridon is a fully saline lagoon with rich molluscan fauna and small amounts of seagrass."
For those with an interest in the supernatural you will find a link after the Place Name entries to some accounts of spooky events that have taken place at Ob Mheallaidh. These tales were extracted from the Transactions of The Gaelic Society of Inverness 1904-1907.
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.
Achnasheen; Gaelic Ach-na-sìn meaning ‘field of storm; sìan, stormy weather.
Beinn Alligin; Listed as Beinn Ailiginn by Watson. This mountain is named after the stream Abhainn Alligin The name Alligin is usually connected with àilleag, a jewel, a pretty woman which may possibly be correct but Professor Watson says the single l in àiliginn is a serious difficulty.
Camas a' Chlàrsair; Gaelic for the ‘Harpers Bay’.
Liathach; Gaelic, ‘the hoary place’.
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
Loch Shieldaig; In Gaelic it is Sìldeag derived from the Norse síld-vík meaning ‘herring bay’.
Loch Torridon; Professor Watson gives a detailed account of Torridon 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.
Ob Mheallaidh; Listed as Ob ‘mheallaidh by Professor Watson. It is Gaelic meaning ‘Deceitful Bay’, dangerous due to large boulders. Its south-west angle is Camas dà Phàidein, ‘Bay of two Patons or Patricks’.
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