Poolewe ( gd, Poll Iù) is a small village in Wester Ross in the North West Highlands 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 ...

, about northwest of

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histor ...

, by

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 ...

. The River Ewe, one of the shortest in Scotland, joins the sea less than from Inverewe Garden, renowned for its subtropical plants. The village is surrounded by mountains and the sea. The village has an indoor heated swimming pool, a coffee shop, a hotel and a shop. Most of the arts events in the area take place in the village hall, as do the village markets.

Origin of the name

Literally the name means "the pool on the Ewe river". However,

William J. Watson William John Watson FRSE LLD (1865 – 9 March 1948) was a toponymist, one of the greatest Scottish scholars of the 20th century, and was the first scholar to place the study of Scottish place names on a firm linguistic basis. Life Watson ...

, in his 1904 ''Place Names of Ross and Cromarty'', states that the village was called by the natives in his time "Abhainn Iù, Ewe River". Watson also says that he had taken "Ewe" (Gaelic ''iu''), with hesitation, to be from Irish ''eo'', "

yew tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus '' Taxus'': * European yew or common yew ('' Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus ...

", though concedes that it may be a

Pictish Pictish is the extinct Brittonic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geographica ...

name.

Climate

Poolewe has a mild climate for its latitude, due to the warm waters of the North Atlantic Drift. The

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelop ...

operates a weather station at Poolewe for which 30-year averages are available. As with much of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isl ...

and Scotland, Poolewe experiences a

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

with cool summers and mild winters, with snow lying only a few days per year. Its low-lying situation on the west coast tends to afford it some shelter from the harshness that can afflict the adjacent Highlands during the winter months. The Northern Lights are visible on occasion, depending on the weather and time of year; most often in winter when skies are darkest.

Notable residents

In August 2015, the BBC genealogy documentary series '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' revealed that Donald Mackenzie, great-great-great-grandfather of

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...

Paul Hollywood, had been a crofter in Poolewe. For a period of over a decade he had also been the post-runner between Poolewe and

Dingwall Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cas ...

, a distance of , whilst aged over forty. Mackenzie lived into his eighties.

References

External links

Poolewe Tuesday Market
Populated places in Ross and Cromarty {{Highland-geo-stub