Kylesku ( gd, An Caolas Cumhang) is a small, remote fishing hamlet in Sutherland in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

. Until 1984, it was the site of a free ferry.

Village

Kylesku is located where Loch Glencoul and Loch Gleann Dubh join to form a sea passage

Loch a' Chàirn Bhàin Loch a' Chàirn Bhàin (Gaelic for "White Cairn Loch"), or Loch Cairnbawn, is a sea inlet off Eddrachillis Bay on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands north of Ullapool Ullapool (; gd, Ulapul ) is a village and port located in Northern S ...

which links to Eddrachillis Bay. It is in the Scottish council 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 ...

. The village stretches back along the road from the slipway that used to be the southern end of the ferry crossing. Now by-passed by the main road carried over the bridge, the Kylesku Hotel overlooks the slipway. Nearby is Eas a' Chual Aluinn, Britain's highest waterfall. This can be visited on a boat trip aboard ''Rachael Clare''. Kylesku sits at the centre of a area which has become Scotland's first ' Global Geopark'. There is abundant wildlife and a wide range of outdoor pursuits in or on the lochs, mountains and white sandy beaches, including bird watching, seal and otter spotting, fishing, climbing and hill walking.

Ferry

There was a passenger ferry (a rowing boat) in the early 19th century. Commercial traffic mainly comprised cattle on their way to central Scotland, and they had to swim across. Over the years, various ferries came and went, and small car-carrying ferries first appeared between the wars. The Kylesku Ferry was unusual in being free for much of its life. The ''Maid of Kylesku'', a two car ferry, was built for the Kylesku crossing in the early 1950s, where it was operated until replaced by the ''Queen of Kylesku'' in 1967. When no longer needed, the ''Maid of Kylesku'' was beached on the opposite side of the bay. In 1976, the , built in

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the ' Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

, became the first vessel capable of carrying fully loaded commercial vehicles. After the opening of the Kylesku Bridge, it was used as the

Corran Ferry The Corran Ferry crosses Loch Linnhe at the Corran Narrows, south of Fort William, Scotland. Description Operated by Highland Council, the Corran Ferry is one of few remaining scheduled mainland vehicle ferries in Scotland. The route crosses Lo ...

Bridge

The ferry service became known as a dreaded bottleneck on the route and was replaced by the Kylesku Bridge in 1984. Opened by the Queen, the bridge is long and crosses a stretch of water. The curving, five-span, continuous, pre-stressed concrete, hollow bridge has been described as one of the most beautiful bridges in the world. The bridge was built by Morrison Construction Group and designed by the architects Arup (intended to complement the natural beauty of the site), and it has won several design and construction awards. A cairn on the north side, erected in 1993, commemorates the 50th anniversary of the formation of the XIIth Submarine Flotilla, a unit of "

X-craft The X class was a World War II midget submarine class built for the Royal Navy during 1943–44. It was substantially larger than the original Chariot manned torpedo. Known individually as X-Craft, the vessels were designed to be towed to thei ...

" and " Chariot" miniature submarines, which trained in Lochs Glendhu and Glencoul from 1943.

Footnotes

{{Reflist Ferry transport in Scotland Populated places in Sutherland Transport in Highland (council area)