Loch Cluanie (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

: ''Loch Cluanaidh'') is a loch in the

Northwest Highlands The Northwest Highlands are located in the northern third of Scotland that is separated from the Grampian Mountains by the Great Glen (Glen More). The region comprises Wester Ross, Assynt, Sutherland and part of Caithness. The Caledonian Canal, ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

at the south-east end of

Glen Shiel Glen Shiel ( gd, Gleann Seile; also known as Glenshiel) is a glen in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The glen runs approximately 9 miles from south-east to north-west, from the Cluanie Inn (216 metres, 708 feet) at the western end of Loc ...

. It is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

, contained behind the Cluanie

Dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

, constructed by

Mitchell Construction Mitchell Construction was once a leading British civil engineering business based in Peterborough. History The business was founded by F.G. (Tiny) Mitchell in London in 1933 as an offshoot of Mitchell Engineering, his engineering business. In 1 ...

and completed in 1957 as part of the

North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board (1943–1990) was founded to design, construct and manage hydroelectricity projects in the Highlands of Scotland. It is regarded as one of the major achievements of Scottish politician Thomas Johnston, w ...

Glenmoriston Glenmoriston or Glen Moriston ( gd, Gleann Moireasdan) is a river glen in the Scottish Highlands, that runs from Loch Ness, at the village of Invermoriston, westwards to Loch Cluanie, where it meets with Glen Shiel. The A887 and A87 roads pass th ...

project to generate

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

. Water feeds the dam from the west via two flows, from a tunnel from the dammed Loch Loyne and via the River Moriston. The

A87 road A87 or A-87 may refer to: * A87 autoroute, a motorway in western France * A87 road, a road in Highland, Scotland * Dutch Defence, in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, first cited in 1789 * Stuart Highway, a South Australian highway signed as A87 ...

runs along the north edge of the loch. The hamlet of Cluanie is on the west side of the loch. It has a car park, the Cluanie Inn and two houses which are used as "holiday homes" by their owners. The Cluanie Inn is the site of a weather station. It is also at or near the start/end points of several walks into the neighbouring hills, which include several

Munro A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nev ...

s.Cameron McNeish, ''The Munros'', Lomond Books, Edinburgh, , chapter entitled ''The Glen Sheil Hills'' Cluanie Lodge () is a private dwelling owned by the estate and land owner, which is the primary residence of the owner, on the south-west corner of the loch. The dwelling has been extensively renovated over the last 5 years prior to it becoming the owners main residence. The richly vegetated areas at the side of the loch are home to small birds such as the

willow warbler The willow warbler (''Phylloscopus trochilus'') is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strong ...

and the wren. On 31 August 2021, the Scotland Charity Air Ambulance landed at Loch Cluanie to the west of Cluanie Dam, to assist with a male who had fallen on rocks and sustained head and back injuries.

References

External links

A panorama of the area
from *
Cluanie Inn
Reservoirs in Highland (council area) Lochs of Highland (council area) Freshwater lochs of Scotland LCluanie {{Highland-geo-stub

See also

References

External links