Gruinard Bay is a large remote coastal

embayment A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

, located 12 miles north of

Poolewe Poolewe ( gd, Poll Iù) is a small village in Wester Ross in the North West Highlands of Scotland, about northwest of Inverness, by Loch Ewe. The River Ewe, one of the shortest in Scotland, joins the sea less than from Inverewe Garden, renown ...

, in northwestern

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latt ...

, and is in the former parish of Lochbroom, in the west coast of

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 ...

Settlements

Gruinard Bay has a number of settlements, mainly located on the eastern shore of the bay. On the southeast corner, the small hamlet of Little Gruinard is located, where the similar named river leaves land. On the south coast, the small townships of Sand,

First Coast Florida's First Coast, or simply the First Coast, is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida. The First Coast refers to the same general area as the directional region of Northeast Florida. It roughly ...

and Second Coast are situated along the

A832 road The A832 is a road in the Scottish Highlands, linking Cromarty, on the east coast, to Gairloch on the west coast, and beyond Gairloch to Braemore Junction. It is long and runs entirely in the former county of Ross and Cromarty. The road forms ...

. On the western coast, the former fishing village of

Laide Laide ( gd, An Leathad) is a small village in the northwest of the Highlands of Scotland. It is situated on the southern shore of Gruinard Bay, about 30 km west of Ullapool. Laide Wood Situated just outside Laide on the A832 heading West ...

, in the nook where the coast turns north, overlooks

Gruinard Island Gruinard Island ( ; gd, Eilean Ghruinneard) is a small, oval-shaped Scottish island approximately long by wide, located in Gruinard Bay, about halfway between Gairloch and Ullapool. At its closest point to the mainland, it is about offshore ...

to the northeast. Further up the west coast, the villages of

Achgarve Achgarve (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Achadh Garbh - the rough field) is a small coastal crofting and fishing hamlet, situated between Gruinard Bay and Loch Ewe on the Rubha Mòr peninsula, in the north west coast of Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands ...

, the main village of Mellon Udrigle and the smaller crofting township of

Opinan Opinan ( gd, Na h-Òbaidhnean) is a fishing village on the west coast of Scotland in Gairloch, Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. The village of Port Henderson Port Henderson ( gd, Portaigil) i ...

have a commanding view of the bay and Gruinard island.

Geography

Gruinard Bay is formed from the boundary of

Loch Broom Loch Broom ( gd, Lochbraon, "loch of rain showers") is a sea loch located in northwestern Ross and Cromarty, in the former parish of Lochbroom, on the west coast of Scotland. The small town of Ullapool lies on the eastern shore of the loch. L ...

to the northeast, encompasses the opening of

Little Loch Broom Loch Broom ( gd, Lochbraon, "loch of rain showers") is a sea loch located in northwestern Ross and Cromarty, in the former parish of Lochbroom, on the west coast of Scotland. The small town of Ullapool lies on the eastern shore of the loch. Li ...

to the east with Static Point further south, and on the west side by the Rubha Mòr peninsula, and

Loch Ewe Loch Ewe ( gd, Loch Iùbh) is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig-speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notab ...

on the southwestern boundary. The bay measures 5.5 miles along its western shore, and 4.5 miles on its eastern shore, forming a L shape. The bay overlooks the infamous

, which is offshore, at the eastern side of the bay. The

Summer Isles The Summer Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Samhraidh, ) are an archipelago lying in the mouth of Loch Broom, in the Highland region of Scotland. Geography Tanera Mòr is the largest island and was the last one to remain inhabited.Kane, Jenny (20 Nov ...

are visible to the northeast. Three fast flowing rivers flow into the Bay. Little Gruinard river, occasionally called River Little Gruinard, flows 4 miles from the

Fionn Loch Fionn (, ) is a masculine given name in Irish and Scottish Gaelic. In English, it is pronounced "Finn" ( ) or "Fee-on" ( ). It is derived from a byname meaning "white" or "fair-haired". It is the modern variant of Old and Middle Irish: Find and Fin ...

to enter Bay at the settlement of Little Gruinard, and Camas Gaineamhaich beach. River Gruinard river, flows a similar distance from the two lochs, the larger to the east, Loch Sealga and the smaller Loch Ghiubhsachain to the west, into the bay at the western side of Camas Gaineamhaich beach. The smaller stream of Inverianvie river, flows from the small loch, Loch à Mhadaidh Mòr and enters the bay between the two other rivers.

References

Ross and Cromarty Bays of Highland (council area) Bays of Scotland {{Scotland-geo-stub