Arnisdale ( gd, Àrnasdal) is a hamlet in the historic county of
Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in populatio ...
in the local authority area of
Highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau.
Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to:
Places Albania
* Dukagjin Highlands
Armenia
* Armenian Highlands
Australia
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of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of
Loch Hourn
Loch Hourn ( gd, Loch Shubhairne) is a sea loch which separates the peninsulas of Glenelg to the north and Knoydart to the south, on the west coast of Scotland.
Geography
Loch Hourn runs inland from the Sound of Sleat, opposite the island of Sky ...
, around down a single-track road from
Glenelg. It has a permanent population of around 30 and several holiday cottages. At the end of the village is a large white-painted hunting lodge called Arnisdale House, built by architects Robert John Macbeth & Alexander Ross in 1898-1916. The house was built for
Valentine Fleming
Major Valentine Fleming (17 February 1882 – 20 May 1917) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament who was killed in World War I. He was the father of authors Peter Fleming and Ian Fleming, the latter of whom created the James Bond c ...
of the banking family (father of the writer and explorer
Peter Fleming and of
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...
, creator of
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
), who was killed in action in World War I, a year after the house was completed.
Arnisdale is in the
Highland Council area
Highland ( gd, A' Ghàidhealtachd, ; sco, Hieland) is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It share ...
.
Attractions
The village is most famous as the closest settlement to
Camusfeàrna, the house in which
Gavin Maxwell
Gavin Maxwell FRSL FZS FRGS (15 July 19147 September 1969) was a British naturalist and author, best known for his non-fiction writing and his work with otters. He wrote the book ''Ring of Bright Water'' (1960) about how he brought an otter ba ...
wrote the auto-biographical story of his secluded life with his pet otters, ''
Ring of Bright Water
''Ring of Bright Water'' is a book by Gavin Maxwell about his life in a remote house in coastal Scotland where he kept several wild otters as pets. First published in 1960, it became a best seller and is considered a literary masterpiece, event ...
''.
Terry Nutkins
Terence Paul Nutkins (12 August 1946 – 6 September 2012) was an English naturalist, television presenter and author. He appeared in the UK children's programmes '' Animal Magic'', ''The Really Wild Show'', ''Brilliant Creatures'' and '' ...
(1946 – 2012) the
naturalist, television presenter and author, who had in his boyhood been one of Maxwell's otter keepers, lived at the end of his life near the village.
It was also the departure point during the summer months for the ferry to the
Barrisdale on
Knoydart
Knoydart (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cnòideart'') is a peninsula in Lochaber, Highland, on the west coast of Scotland. Knoydart is sandwiched between Lochs Nevis and Hourn — often translated as "Loch Heaven" (from the Gaelic ''Loch Néimh'') an ...
, across Loch Hourn, until the ferry stopped operating in 2011. Walkers often come to Arnisdale to climb
Beinn Sgritheall
Beinn Sgritheall or Beinn an Sgrithill (), also anglicized Ben Sgriol, is the highest mountain on the Glenelg peninsula in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It is a Munro with a height of . The main approach is via Arnisdale on the shores of ...
.
2012 Badger Incident
On the 31 October 2012, it was reported that group of badgers living under
Arnisdale Free Church were responsible for digging up the ground around the graves in the 130-year-old burial ground in the centre of the village. No human remains were thought to have been disturbed.
See also
*
Arnisdale Free Church
References
External links
Arnisdale Ceilidh House WebsiteThe Glenelg and Arnisdale Development Trust
{{Authority control
Populated places in Lochalsh