The River Nairn ( gd, Narann / Abhainn Narann) is a 35 mile long river 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 Sco ...

Etymology

The hydronym ''Nairn'' is

Pictish Pictish is the extinct language, 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 num ...

in origin. The name may involve ''*Naverna'', of which the ultimate genesis is the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

root ''*(s)naf'' meaning "flow, swim" (c.f.

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

''nawf''). The toponym ''

Nevern Nevern ( cy, Nanhyfer) is both a parish and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The community includes the settlements of Felindre Farchog, Monington, Moylgrove and Bayvil. The small village lies in the Nevern valley near the Preseli Hills of t ...

'' in Wales may be identically derived.

Course

The River Nairn rises in the

Monadhliath Mountains The Monadhliath Mountains , or Monadh Liath, are a range of mountains in Scotland. Monadh Liath is Scottish Gaelic, and means "grey mountain range". Running in a northeast to southwest direction, it lies on the western side of Strathspey, to the we ...

and flows northeast through Strathnairn to enter the

Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...

Nairn Nairn (; gd, Inbhir Narann) is a town and royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. It is the tradit ...

. The headwaters of the Nairn, the Allt Mor and Crom-allt Beag drop steeply down the western slopes of Càrn Ghriogair, their combined waters flowing beneath the B851 road and turning northeastwards. The young River Nairn is soon joined by the diminutive River Brin on the right bank and later by a burn draining the sizeable

Loch Duntelchaig Loch Duntelchaig (from the Scottish Gaelic Loch Dun Seilcheig) is a freshwater loch in the traditional county of Inverness-shire in the Scottish Highlands. It extends from the southwest to its outflow in the northeast and measures up to at its ...

on the left. The River Farnack is the next right bank tributary, followed by the Craggie Burn near the

A9 road This is a list of roads designated A9. * A009 road (Argentina), a road in the northeast of Santa Fe Province * ''A9 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A9 (Sydney), a road linking Windsor and Campbelltown ** A9 highway (South Australia), a ...

crossing of the Nairn at Daviot. River Nairn at Nairn - geograph

The river continues to flow past Drummossie Moor which lies to its northwest and indeed past

Culloden Moor Culloden ( ; from Scottish Gaelic ', "back of the small pond"; modern Gaelic ') is the name of a village east of Inverness, Scotland and the surrounding area. east of the village is Drumossie Moor, site of the Battle of Culloden. History ...

, site of the battle in 1746. Passing beneath the

Culloden Viaduct The Culloden Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the Highland Main Line, to the east of the city of Inverness, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It was designed by Murdoch Paterson and opened in 1898 as part of the Inverness and Aviemore ...

carrying the mainline railway between

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and

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. Histori ...

, it then runs between

Culloden Forest Culloden (; gd, Cùil Lodair) may refer to any of the following: Geography Canada * Culloden, Nova Scotia, a small community in Digby County * Culloden, Ontario, a village in the township of South-West Oxford * Culloden, Prince Edward Island, a s ...

and Assich Forest to pass beneath the

B9090 road B9, B IX or B-9 may refer to: Science * Prodelphinidin B9, a plant phenolic compound * Vitamin B9, another name for folic acid * B-Nine WSG, a formulation of the plant growth regulator daminozide * Boron-9 (B-9 or 9B), an isotope of boron * A ...

between Clephanton and

Cawdor Cawdor ( gd, Caladair) is a village and parish in the Highland council area, Scotland. The village is south-southwest of Nairn and east of Inverness. The village is in the Historic County of Nairnshire. History The village is the location of ...

. Its last major tributary, the Allt Dearg joins from the right and the river continues northeastwards passing beneath the B9090 once again before reaching the town of Nairn. The Allt Dearg and its major tributary the Riereach Burn rise on the northern slopes of Carn nan Trì Tighearnan and flow north to meet the Nairn.Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 scale Landranger map sheets 26 ''Inverness'', 27 ''Nairn'' & 35 ''Kingussie''

References

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