Loch a' Bhraoin, Loch Broom ( gd, Loch of showers or drizzling rain),
is a freshwater
loch
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots language, Scots and Irish language, Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is Cognate, cognate with the Manx language, Manx lough, Cornish language, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh language, Welsh w ...
, located in
Wester Ross
Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to the ...
, in
Ross-shire
Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of ...
, on 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
Due to the remoteness of the loch, there are very few settlements in the area. The main
A832 road that is part of the
Wester Ross Coastal Trail, leaves the main
A835
The A835 is a road in the Scottish Highlands linking Inverness to Ullapool and the Far North of Scotland.
Route
The A835 starts at Tore on the Black Isle, seven miles north-west of Inverness at a junction with the A9. The A835 crosses the Bla ...
road, at the
Falls of Measach and passes the eastern end of the loch.
Walking
Loch a' Bhraoin is considered an excellent location for walkers.
There are essentially four routes into the mountains surrounding Loch a' Bhraoin. The main route is from the A832 road, taking the path east to west along Destitution Road to Loch a’ Bhraoin from the East. Also travelling from
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, renowned ...
past 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 ...
in the NW, which is the longest route. Travelling from
Incheril over the Heights of Kinlochewe and the Kinlochewe Forest in the SW, and from Corrie Hallie that directly north of the loch.
Geography
![The Boat House on Loch a' Bhraoin - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/The_Boat_House_on_Loch_a%27_Bhraoin_-_geograph.org.uk_-_241367.jpg)
Loch a' Bhraoin lies about 7 miles to the south of the head 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 ...
, and is surrounded by high hills.
At the west end of the loch, about 2 miles from the end of the loch is the plateau of
a' Chailleach that rises to 998.52metres above sea level. The loch is orientated on a northeast to southwest direction and is over 4 km in length. The maximum breadth of the loch is nearly 800metres wide.
On a north by northeast direction from a' Chailleach, the mountains have been folded extensively. Two
corries
The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. The group was a trio from their formation until 1966 when founder Bill Smith left the band but Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne continued ...
overlook Loch a' Bhraoin to the north. The first of these is formed by the mountain
Toman Còinnich
Toman may refer to:
* Toman (name)
* Iranian toman
The Iranian toman ( fa, تومان, tūmân, pronounced ; from Mongolian ''tümen'' "unit of ten thousand", see the unit called tumen) is a superunit of the official currency of Iran, the ria ...
at 935metres, which forms the corrie that contains
Loch Toll an Lochain
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...
, where the direction of the corrie faces the northern end of the loch, similar to a giants seat. Further east again, is
Sgurr Breac, which forms the peak of the second fold, which creates the corrie, that is intersected by a long shallow valley that descends from 600metres down to the north-east end of the loch.
On the northern end of the loch, there is several small hills, that make a shallow cliff which follows the curve of the loch. Overlooking the southwest end of the loch, is
Creag Rainich
Creag Rainich (807 m) is a remote mountain in the Northwest Highlands, Scotland, southwest 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 ...
at 807metres and
Meall Dubh
Meall Dubh (789 m) is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands, Scotland. Lying near the village of Fort Augustus, it is the highest peak between the valleys of Glen Moriston and Glen Garry.
Surrounded by moorland, a wind farm
A wind farm o ...
at 748metres comprising two hills. Further up the loch, both Bristeadh á Mhill Dhubh at 556metres and Meall an t-Sìthe at 601metres make up the main peaks of the show curve that follows the curve of the loch.
Gallery
File:Loch a' Bhraoin - geograph.org.uk - 467232.jpg, Looking west over Loch a' Bhraoin.
File:Loch a' Bhraoin - geograph.org.uk - 467226.jpg, Heading north east along the shore of this loch.
File:Loch a' Bhraoin - geograph.org.uk - 1016157.jpg, Loch a' Bhraoin With Slioch poking out behind Beinn Bheag in the distance.
File:Loch a' Bhraoin - geograph.org.uk - 906572.jpg, With the Fisherfield hills in the distance.
File:Loch a' Bhraoin - geograph.org.uk - 1622241.jpg, Looking up the loch from near its outflow. The furthest mountain is Slioch, the one on the right overtopping the nearer shoulder is the Fisherfield Munro Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair
File:Reflections - Flickr - Graham Grinner Lewis (1).jpg, Groban, reflected in Loch a' Bhraoin
File:Ruin and Boathouse on Loch a' Bhraoin - geograph.org.uk - 241372.jpg, Ruin and Boathouse on Loch a' Bhraoin. This is the second time I have been here when the loch was flat calm.
File:Reflections pt III - Flickr - Graham Grinner Lewis.jpg, Groban and Beinn Bheag, reflected in Loch a' Bhraoin from the boathouse near the road.
File:The east end of Loch a' Bhraoin - geograph.org.uk - 906550.jpg, The east end of Loch a' Bhraoin. Taken from the path which follows the Allt Breabaig. Meall an t-Sithe is the good looking hill in the distance. For a similar view but taken 6 months later in Autumn
File:Ford, Loch a'Braoin - geograph.org.uk - 167868.jpg, One of the many fords across the small burns feeding the N side of Loch a' Bhraoin, on the track to Lochivraon. The most distant peak in view, with some snow, is Slioch.
References
{{reflist
External links
Creag Rainich, via Loch a'Bhraoin
Wild about Scotland, The Fisherfield Five
Bhraoin
Bhraoin