The River Nevis flows from the mountains east of
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis ( ; gd, Beinn Nibheis ) is the highest mountain in 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 ...
to its mouth near the town of
Fort William in
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 ...
.
Overview
The river rises in the
Mamores
The Mamores are a group of mountains in the Lochaber area of the Grampian Mountains in the Scottish Highlands. They form an east–west ridge approximately fifteen kilometres in length lying between Glen Nevis to the north and Loch Leven to the s ...
mountain range approximately halfway between Ben Nevis and
Loch Treig
Loch Treig is a 9 km freshwater loch situated in a steep-sided glen 20 km east of Fort William, Scotland, Fort William, in Lochaber, Highland (council area), Highland, Scotland. While there are no roads alongside the loch, the West Hig ...
, 370m above sea level. In its upper reaches it is known as ''Water of Nevis'', becoming River Nevis at the bridge near
Achriabhach. It is partly fed by the
Steall Waterfall, one of the highest waterfalls in Scotland.
The river flows through
Glen Nevis
Glen Nevis ( gd, Gleann Nibheis) is a glen in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, with Fort William at its foot. It is bordered to the south by the Mamore range, and to the north by the highest mountains in the British Isles: Ben Nevis, Càrn Mor ...
and on to the town of Fort William where it is crossed by the Nevis Bridge on the
A82 road
The A82 is a major road in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Inverness via Fort William, Highland, Fort William. It is one of the principal north-south routes in Scotland and is mostly a trunk road managed by Transport Scotland, who view it a ...
. Its mouth is at the sea loch of
Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe () is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. The part upstream of Corran is known in Gaelic as (the black pool, originally known as Loch Abar), and downstream as (the salty pool). The name ''Linnhe'' is derived from the Gaelic w ...
where it meets the sea within the
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
of the River Lochy.
The river shares its name with an amateur football team playing in the Glasgow Colleges Football Association.
History
During the
Battle of Inverlochy (1645)
The Battle of Inverlochy occurred on 2 February 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms when a Royalist force of Highlanders and Confederate Irish troops under the overall command of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, routed and ...
many of
Argyll's men were drowned as they tried to cross the river while fleeing from the Royalist forces.
The river and Loch Linnhe were important natural defences considered in the construction of Fort William in the late 17th century.
Leisure
The river has a
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
population which was threatened in the 1990s but has improved since. The river and its
glen are tourist destinations for fishing, walking, cycling, canoeing and climbing,
and are regarded as among the most scenic destinations in the country.
Several guidebooks document walking
trails
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...
along the river, including the northern end of the
West Highland Way
The West Highland Way ( gd, Slighe na Gàidhealtachd an Iar) is a linear long-distance route in Scotland. It is long, running from Milngavie north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, with an element of hill walking in the r ...
. Upstream the river's depth varies widely dependent upon seasonal rainfall and snowmelt, and at Steall Meadows the river can be waded on foot at certain times; a three-wire
simple suspension bridge
A simple suspension bridge (also rope bridge, swing bridge (in New Zealand), suspended bridge, hanging bridge and catenary bridge) is a primitive type of bridge in which the deck of the bridge lies on two parallel load-bearing cables that ar ...
is provided for when the flow does not permit this.
For canoeists the upper reaches of the river at Scimitar Gorge, when swollen by heavy rainfall, are designated a
Grade 5 stretch, demanding a very high level of concentration and skill and described by the Scottish Canoe Association as a "maelstrom of water".
See also
*
List of rivers of Scotland
This list of rivers in Scotland is organised geography, geographically, taken anti-clockwise, from Berwick-upon-Tweed. Tributary, Tributaries are listed down the page in an upstream direction. (L) indicates a left-bank tributary and (R) indicat ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nevis
Nevis
Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Ne ...
Lochaber