Kintail
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Kintail ( gd, Cinn Tàile) is an area of
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
s 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, ...
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 the ...
, located in the
Highland Council area 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 ...
. It consists of the mountains to the north 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 ...
and 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 ...
between the heads of
Loch Duich Loch Duich ( Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Dubhthaich") is a sea loch situated on the western coast of Scotland, in the Highlands. History In 1719, British forces burned many homesteads along the loch's shores in the month preceding the Battle of Glen ...
and
Loch Cluanie Loch Cluanie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Cluanaidh'') is a loch in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland at the south-east end of Glen Shiel. It is a reservoir, contained behind the Cluanie Dam, constructed by Mitchell Construction and completed in 19 ...
; its boundaries, other than
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 ...
, are generally taken to be the valleys of Strath Croe and Gleann Gaorsaic to the north and An Caorann Mòr to the east. Although close to the west coast the mountains lie on the main east–west watershed of Scotland, as the northern side of Kintail drains via
Glen Affric Glen Affric ( gd, Gleann Afraig) is a glen south-west of the village of Cannich in the Highland region of Scotland, some west of Loch Ness. The River Affric runs along its length, passing through Loch Affric and Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin. A mi ...
Ordnance Survey. Landranger 1:50000 Map Sheet 33 (Loch Alsh, Glen Shiel & Loch Hourn) to the east coast. Kintail gives its name to the Kintail National Scenic Area, one of the forty
national scenic areas National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development. The designated area includes the mountains of Kintail proper, as well as the southern side of Glen Shiel from the site of the
Battle of Glen Shiel The Battle of Glen Shiel ( gd, Blàr Ghleann Seile) took place on 10 June 1719 in the West Scottish Highlands, during the 1719 Jacobite Rising. A Jacobite army composed of Highland levies and Spanish marines, was defeated by British troops, rei ...
west to the shores of
Loch Duich Loch Duich ( Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Dubhthaich") is a sea loch situated on the western coast of Scotland, in the Highlands. History In 1719, British forces burned many homesteads along the loch's shores in the month preceding the Battle of Glen ...
, and extends west to as far as
Dornie Dornie ( gd, An Dòrnaidh) is a small former fishing village in the Lochalsh district in western Ross-shire Highlands of Scotland (2006 census). It is near the meeting point of Loch Duich, Loch Alsh and Loch Long. The A87, the main road to ...
on the north shore of Loch Duich. The designated area covers 17,149  ha in total, of which 16,070 ha is on land, with a further 1079 ha being marine (i.e. below low tide level), consisting of the
sea loch ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spel ...
of Loch Duich. The area is considered to encapsulate the scenery of the west highlands, being composed of ridges and peaks that rise steeply from narrow glens and the sea. The main settlement within Kintail is
Morvich Morvich (April 23, 1919 – January 26, 1946) was an American Thoroughbred who was the first California-bred racehorse to win the Kentucky Derby. Bred by sugar magnate Adolph B. Spreckels at his Napa Stock Farm, Morvich was sired by James R. ...
, located to the northwest of the mountains, just off 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 ...
. Morvich serves as the location of the base for Kintail Mountain Rescue Team, as well a campsite operated by
The Caravan Club The Caravan and Motorhome Club is an organisation representing caravan and motorhome users in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and now represents nearly one million members (caravanners, motorhomers and campervanners). Hi ...
.


Mountains

The hills to the north-east of Glen Shiel are known as the Five Sisters Of Kintail (Gaelic: ''Còig Peathraichean Chinn Tàile'', although the name is not derived from the
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
), and form a high
ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
some long rising steeply from Glen Shiel to a maximum height of 1,067 metres (3,501 feet). According to legend, the five sisters are the oldest of seven sisters, as the youngest two sisters fell in love with two Irish princes who washed ashore during a storm. Their father would only allow them to marry once the older sisters has also been married, and so the princes agreed to send their other five brothers once they had returned to
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
with their new wives. Although the princes failed to appear, the five sisters continued to wait, eventually turning into mountains to extend their vigil into eternity. The five distinctly pointed summits (
Sgùrr na Ciste Duibhe Sgùrr na Ciste Duibhe or Sgùrr nan Cisteachan Dubha is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, one of the 'Five Sisters of Kintail'. It is on the northern side of Glen Shiel, 27 kilometers southeast of Kyle of Lochalsh. Its he ...
,
Sgùrr na Càrnach Sgùrr na Càrnach is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, one of the 'Five Sisters of Kintail'. It is on the northern side of Glen Shiel, 24 kilometres southeast of Kyle of Lochalsh. It reaches a height of and is classed as a Munr ...
,
Sgùrr Fhuaran Sgùrr Fhuaran is a Scottish mountain that is situated on the northern side of Glen Shiel, east south east of Kyle of Lochalsh. Overview The mountain reaches a height of and qualifies as a Munro and a Marilyn, it is the highest point f ...
, Sgùrr nan Saighead and Sgurr na Moraich) are a well-known landmark and a popular
hillwalking Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much unculti ...
expedition. Three of the Five Sisters, which are all over 3,000 feet, are classified as full
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, with the other two being subsidiary Munro tops.D. Bennet & R. Anderson. ''The Munros: Scottish Mountaineering Club Hillwalkers Guide'', pp. 193-195. Published 2016. The ridge containing the Five Sisters continues unbroken to the east where it takes in a further three Munros (
Sgùrr a' Bhealaich Dheirg Sgùrr a' Bhealaich Dheirg () is a mountain in Kintail on the northern side of Glen Shiel in the Scottish Highlands. With a height of , it is classed as a Munro. It is the highest of three Munros (the others being Aonach Meadhoin and Sàileag) ...
,
Sàileag Sàileag is Scottish mountain located on the northern side of Glen Shiel, 27 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh. Overview It lies just to the east of the famous Five Sisters of Kintail group of hills to which it is connected by the Beala ...
and
Aonach Meadhoin Aonach Meadhoin is a Munro mountain situated in the Kintail region of Scotland. It stands on the northern side of Glen Shiel some 31 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh. Overview Aonach Meadhoin reaches a height of 1001 metres (328 ...
) which are often known as the Brothers of Kintail. Beinn Fhada (Ben Attow) is the other main mountain in the area.


Ownership

Most of Kintail is owned by the
National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organ ...
(NTS). The Trust's Kintail and Morvich estate covers and includes the
Falls of Glomach The Falls of Glomach, in Ross-shire, Scotland, is one of the tallest waterfalls in Britain, with a drop of 113 m (370 ft). The falls border Kintail, donated to the National Trust for Scotland in 1944 and subsequently incorporating West ...
, one of the highest
waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...
s in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. The estate was purchased for the NTS in 1944 by Percy Unna, the
Scottish Mountaineering Club Established in 1889, the Scottish Mountaineering Club is the leading club for climbing and mountaineering in Scotland. History The Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) was formed in 1889 as Scotland’s national club and the initial membership of ...
president who also acquired
Glen Coe Glen Coe ( gd, Gleann Comhann ) is a glen of volcanic origins, in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the north of the county of Argyll, close to the border with the historic province of Lochaber, within the modern council area of Highland ...
for the Trust. NTS operate an outdoor education centre in Morvich, which provides accommodation for groups such as school parties undertaking field studies and
outdoor pursuits Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...
.


Wildlife and nature

Bird species found within Kintail include
golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
s, merlins and
black-throated diver The black-throated loon (''Gavia arctica''), also known as the Arctic loon and the black-throated diver, is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere, primarily breeding in freshwater lakes in northern Europe and Asia. It winter ...
s.
Otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...
are relatively common, and
pine marten The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...
s also inhabit the wooded parts of the area, whilst
red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...
can be seen on the lower slopes of the mountains. Kintail is also home to herd of
feral goat The feral goat is the domestic goat (''Capra aegagrus hircus'') when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in many parts of the world. Species Feral goats consist of many breeds of goats, all of which stem from the wild goat ...
s, thought to be descendants of goats first brought to Britain in around 3000
BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
by
neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
farmers. Due to this origin they are considered non-native, and as there are currently no top predators for goats NTS are considering a cull to reduce the herd, which currently numbers around 100, in order to reduce pressures on vegetation and allow the area of land covered by native woodland to increase.


Historical landmarks

A 1.75 m high, 2,000-year-old
standing stone A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright rock (geology), stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. T ...
known as Cill Fhearchair stands within a burial ground near Shiel Bridge. A large boulder lying on the steep southwest slopes of Sgùrr na Ciste Duibhe is known as "Prince Charlie's Stone", as it is the place where
Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...
spent a day in the summer of 1746 hiding from government troops. At the time he had a £30,000 bounty on his head due to fleeing after the
Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...
.John Macleod, ''Highlanders: A History of the Gaels'', London: Sceptre, 1997, p. 173


References


External links


National Trust for Scotland – Kintail & Morvich

Kintail guide (with walking routes)
{{NSAs in Scotland Mountains and hills of the Northwest Highlands National Trust for Scotland properties National scenic areas of Scotland Tourist attractions in Highland (council area) Environment of Highland (council area) Clan Mackenzie Parishes in Ross and Cromarty