The River Oykel ( gd, Òiceall or , ) is a major river in northern

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 ...

that is famous for its salmon fishing. It rises on

Ben More Assynt Ben More Assynt ( gd, Beinn Mhòr Asaint) is a mountain in Assynt in the far north-west of Scotland, north-northeast of Ullapool. The name translates as "big mountain of Assynt", and with a height of it is the highest point in Sutherland. The ...

, a few miles from

Ullapool Ullapool (; gd, Ulapul ) is a village and port located in Northern Scotland. Ullapool has a population of around 1,500 inhabitants. It is located around northwest of Inverness in Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands. Despite its modest size, ...

on the west coast of Scotland, and drains into the North Sea via the

Kyle of Sutherland The Kyle of Sutherland ( gd, An Caol Catach) is a river estuary that separates Sutherland from Ross-shire. It flows into the Dornoch Firth at Bonar Bridge, and is fed by the rivers Oykel, Shin, River Cassley and Carron. The downstream extent o ...

. Traditionally it has marked the boundary between

Ross Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sou ...

to the south and

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

to the north.

Etymology

The name ''Oykel'' is of uncertain derivation, but may be of

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 ...

origin. Firstly, this an other similar hydronyms may involve the element ''og'', meaning "lively" (c.f

River Ogwen ˈ The Afon Ogwen (; ; Welsh, meaning River Ogwen in English) is a river in north-west Wales draining from some of the greatest peaks in Snowdonia before discharging to the sea on the eastern side of Bangor, Gwynedd. Etymology Although the sp ...

, Wales), suffixed by the diminutive ''-ell''. Secondly, ''Oykel'' may represent Pictish ''*ogel'' meaning "ridge", although long rivers are rarely named after minor local features. The hypothesis of a derivation from an equivalent of

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 ...

''uchel'' has been suggested, but judged unlikely.

Geography

The river rises at a height of on the southern side of

, and flows just over . The upper valley is known as Glen Oykel (''Gleann Oiceall'') and is mostly desolate moorland; the lower valley is known as Strath Oykel (''Srath Oiceall''). The

A837 road List of A roads in zone 8 in Great Britain starting north of the A8 and west of the A9 (roads beginning with 8). Single- and double-digit roads Triple-digit roads Four-digit roads See also * B roads in Zone 8 of the Great Britain numbe ...

runs along the river for most of its length, crossing it just above the junction with the Einig, about west of Rosehall at Oykel Bridge. The eponymous hotel is famous among anglers, who are obliged to stay there when fishing the river. The River Cassley feeds into the Oykel by Invercassley (Inbhir Charsla), forming the

which is later joined by the

River Shin The River Shin ( gd, Abhainn Sin, ) is a river in the Scottish North West Highlands. The river flows from the southern end of Loch Shin, next to the village of Lairg. It flows in a generally southward direction, passing by Shin Forest and over th ...

and the River Carron. The Kyle discharges into the North Sea via the

Dornoch Firth The Dornoch Firth ( gd, Caolas Dhòrnaich, ) is a firth on the east coast of Highland, in northern Scotland. It forms part of the boundary between Ross and Cromarty, to the south, and Sutherland, to the north. The firth is designated as a nationa ...

History

The Oykel was known to the Vikings as the ''Ekkjal''. It served as the boundary between the ancient Pictish province of Cat (Sutherland and Caithness), and the province of Ross, a role it continued until the two were merged into the

Highland Region Highland ( gd, A' Ghàidhealtachd, ; sco, Hieland) is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It share ...

in 1975. In 1406, the

Mackays M&Co Trading Limited, previously Mackays Stores Limited until its 2020 administration, (previously trading as Mackays, now trading as M&Co.) is a Scottish chain store selling women's, men's, and children's clothes, as well as small homeware p ...

defeated the

Clan MacLeod of Lewis Clan MacLeod of The Lewes, commonly known as Clan MacLeod of Lewis ( gd, Clann Mhic Leòid Leòdhais), is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, which at its height held extensive lands in the Western Isles and west coast of Scotland. From ...

at the

Battle of Tuiteam Tarbhach The Battle of Tuiteam Tarbhach ( gd, "plentiful slaughter"; also known as Tuttim–Tarwach, Tuttim–Turwigh, Tuttim–Tarwigh or Tutim Tarvach) was a Scottish clan battle in which the Mackays wiped out raiders from the Clan MacLeo ...

on the north bank near the mouth of the Tutim Burn.

Flora and fauna

It is designated as a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

. It has abundant stocks of

Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...

and over 1000 were caught by anglers in 2007.

External links

River Oykel
at the ''Gazetteer for Scotland'' site
Special Area of Conservation data
at the

Joint Nature Conservation Committee The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the public body that advises the UK Government and devolved administrations on UK-wide and international nature conservation. Originally established under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, JN ...

site

Notes and references

{{authority control Oykel Orkneyinga saga places