Elphin ( gd, Ailbhinn, which possibly derives from a combination of Norse and Gaelic ''fjell'', "cliff" or "rock", and ''fionn'', "bright") is a
crofting township
A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural are ...
in
Assynt
Assynt ( gd, Asainn or ) is a sparsely populated area in the south-west of Sutherland, lying north of Ullapool on the west coast of Scotland. Assynt is known for its landscape and its remarkable mountains, which have led to the area, along with ...
, in the
Sutherland
Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...
area of
Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
It lies about north of
Ullapool
Ullapool (; gd, Ulapul ) is a village and port located in Northern Scotland. Ullapool has a population of around 1,500 inhabitants. It is located around northwest of Inverness in Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands. Despite its modest size, ...
. The village contains a telephone box, a post box, a
tearoom
A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...
, a Scottish Mountaineering Club Hut, Grampian Speleological Group Hut, a small caravan site and many self-catering options. Assynt Primary School closed in 2001, and the building is now a community hall operated by Elphin Ledmore and Knockan Community Association Limited. The township now has its own website, see external links.
Knockan Crag
Knockan Crag ( gd, Creag a' Chnocain, "crag of the small hill")The Story of Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve. p. ii. lies within the North West Highlands Geopark in the Assynt region of Scotland north of Ullapool. During the nineteenth cent ...
is about south of Elphin and
Loch Veyatie is about northwest.
Notable people
*Rev Prof
G. N. M. Collins
George Norman MacLeod Collins (1901-1989) was a Scottish minister styled an "elder statesman of the Free Church of Scotland. He twice served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland (1949 and 1971). He was also Principal ...
DD, twice Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland was raised in Elphin
References
{{reflist
External links
Elphin community websiteElphin Tearooms
Populated places in Sutherland