Kyle Rhea is a

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

of water in the

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 ...

area of Scotland. It runs from the

Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland The Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland is a marine area designated by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). It consists of a number of waterbodies between the Scottish mainland, the Outer Hebrides islands, and the coast of I ...

in the southwest to

Loch Alsh Loch Alsh (from the Scottish Gaelic ''Loch Aillse'', "foaming lake") is a sea inlet between the isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides and the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The name is also used to describe the surrounding country and the feuda ...

in the northeast, separating the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

from

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 ...

on the Scottish mainland. It gave its name to

Kylerhea Kylerhea (Scottish Gaelic: ''Caol Reatha'') is a village on the east coast of the Isle of Skye, in the Scottish Highlands, overlooking Kyle Rhea, a strait splitting Skye from the Scottish mainland. The village is named after Rhea, a Celtic my ...

, a village on its western shore.

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 ...

branches off to the east at about its midpoint. Just north of Kylerhea, a ferry service has linked the village with Glenelg on the mainland for centuries. The first car ferry was introduced in 1935, with a turntable located on the boat. Despite the existence of the now toll-free

Skye Bridge The Skye Bridge ( gd, Drochaid an Eilein Sgitheanaich) is a road bridge over Loch Alsh, Scotland, connecting the Isle of Skye to the island of Eilean Bàn. The name is also used for the whole Skye Crossing, which further connects Eilean Bàn ...

, this ferry service, undertaken by the MV ''Glenachulish'', still runs during the summer months, due to its popularity as the more scenic and traditional route between Skye and the mainland. This service is now community-owned but used to be run by Murdo Mackenzie for almost twenty years. Kyle Rhea is mentioned in Sir

Thomas Dick Lauder Sir Thomas Dick Lauder of Fountainhall, 7th Baronet, FRSE FSA(Scot) LLD (13 August 178429 May 1848) was a Scottish author. He served as Secretary to the Board of Manufactures (1839–), on the Herring Fisheries Board, at the Royal Instituti ...

's novel ''Highland Legends''.''Highland Legends''
Sir Thomas Dick Lauder (1880), p. 179

Gallery

File:The path to Kylerhea - geograph.org.uk - 920535.jpg, Looking north along the strait towards Kylerhea and Loch Alsh

References

External links

– Scottish-Places.info
19th-century map of Kyle Rhea
–

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in the ...

Rivers of Highland (council area) {{Scotland-river-stub