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Strathcarron situated at the head of the loch is a quiet village
nowadays but for almost a hundred years after the coming of the
railway; passengers, goods, mail and livestock from a wide area
moved through the station. Passenger trains ran east and west daily
except Sunday. The road which leads west and south was built in
the 1960s to replace Strome ferry, a crossing place for centuries
but quite unable to cope with present day requirements. The fertile
felds of nearby New Kelso remind us of an attempt to introduce flax
growing here over two centuries ago. Men were sent from Kelso in
the Borders to instruct the locals but the scheme failed financially.
Lochcarron with its mile long south facing village street facing
the loch did not exist before 1800. It was built in imitation of
Gout sponsored fishing villages but was too far inland to succeed.
Today fish farmed salmon is the main source of employment. By following
the loch side road you reach the ruins of Strome Castle destroyed
in a clan feud in 1603. Nearby you can see the pier, which served
the ferry to South Strome. The lovely little villages have names
of Norse origin. The road from Lochcarron to Inverness was built
in 1810-20. A coach from Dunvegan in Skye ran regularly until the
railway made it obsolete.
Kishorn is a group of little villages along the loch side facing
the Applecross hills where you can see the remains of the oilrig
building yard of the 1970s and 80s. Courthill house, now a ruin
was the home of the landlord. Nearby is a branch of Inverness College
teaching rural skills and fish farming techniques. At Tornapress
where the road branches to Applecross the Rassal Ash wood begins.
It is now a proposed S.A.C. Having traversed the highest motoring
road in Britain with its spectacular views of Raasay and Skye you
arrive in Applecross Bay. Turn left along the village street to
arrive at Toscaig Pier where the ferry to Kyle of Lochalsh left
before the coast road to Shieldaig was built in the 1960s. Back
in the bay you pass Applecross House, then the church and burial
ground with its association with St Maelrubha. The splendid road
leads us past long deserted villages before emerging near Shieldaig.
We have an
online brochure of the Lochcarron area which you can download to
your own computer and also print out if you wish. This is a PDF file
and may take a few moments to download, during which time your
computer screen may go blank. This is perfectly normal.
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