Lochinver (''Loch an Inbhir'' in

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 ...

) is a village that is located at the head of the sea loch

Loch Inver Loch Inver is a long sea loch in Assynt, Sutherland and is on the northwest coast of Scotland. The loch meets the coastal embayment of Enard Bay at the north end and The Minch, where it meets Soyea Island at its mouth. Geography At the head o ...

, on the coast in the

Assynt Assynt ( gd, Asainn or ) is a sparsely populated area in the south-west of Sutherland, lying north of Ullapool on the west coast of Scotland. Assynt is known for its landscape and its remarkable mountains, which have led to the area, along with ...

district of

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 ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

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 ...

. A few miles northeast is

Loch Assynt Loch Assynt ( gd, Loch Asaint) is a freshwater loch in Sutherland, Scotland, east-north east of Lochinver. Situated in a spectacular setting between the heights of Canisp, Quinag and Beinn Uidhe, it receives the outflow from Lochs Awe, Maol a ...

which is the source of the

River Inver A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...

which flows into Loch Inver at the village. There are 200 or so

loch ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots language, Scots and Irish language, Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is Cognate, cognate with the Manx language, Manx lough, Cornish language, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh language, Welsh w ...

ans in the area which makes the place very popular with anglers. Lochinver is dominated by the "sugar loaf" shape of ''Caisteal Liath'', the summit peak of nearby

Suilven Suilven ( gd, Sùilebheinn) is a mountain in Scotland. Lying in a remote area in the west of Sutherland, it rises from a wilderness landscape of moorland, bogs, and lochans known as Inverpolly National Nature Reserve. Suilven forms a steep-sid ...

Fishing port

Lochinver is an important

fishing port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

in Scotland; frequented by

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an fishermen primarily from Spain and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Lochinver underwent a major renewal project in the 1990s where the harbour area was rebuilt and a new and much improved loading area was created. This new development involved blasting an area of several hectares out of the surrounding rock. At present the area is mostly undeveloped, with the exception of a new Sports Centre. In 2020, Lochinver was the fourth largest whitefish (demersal) port, with over £14 million of fish and shellfish passing through the port (of which £1.6 million was landed by Scottish vessels). The back of Lochinver is a beautiful part of

with local tourism and nature areas being developed in conjunction with small-scale forestry activities. Birdlife in Lochinver includes the

curlew The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been in ...

oystercatcher The oystercatchers are a group of waders forming the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, ''Haematopus''. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia. The e ...

and

hooded crow The hooded crow (''Corvus cornix''), also called the scald-crow or hoodie, is a Eurasian bird species in the genus ''Corvus''. Widely distributed, it is found across Northern, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, as well as parts of the Middle Eas ...

Local villages

Other local villages include

Inverkirkaig Inverkirkaig ( gd, Inbhir Chirceig) is extremely remote scattered crofting township, situated on the north eastern bay, of the sea loch Loch Kirkaig, in the Assynt district of Sutherland, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area ...

, accessed by the road leading up the River Culag, and on the coastal road north:

Achmelvich Achmelvich (Gaelic: ''Achadh Mhealbhaich'') is a settlement situated in the Highland region of Scotland. The name comes from the Gaelic "''Achadh''" - a plain or meadow and "''mealbhaich''" - sandy dunes.Ritchie, B. (1996) Making More of Assynt. ...

, Clachtoll,

Clashmore Clashmore () is a village in west County Waterford, Ireland. The village and surrounding district are very low lying, as the name Clais Mór --- ''The great hollow or trench'' --- implies; elsewhere the land is rather hilly. It is also a paris ...

Stoer Stoer ( gd, An Stòr) is a crofting township in the parish of Assynt, Sutherland, in the Highlands of Scotland and in the council area of Highland. It is located about five miles north of the village of Lochinver. Norman McLeod, a presbyteri ...

, Clashnessie, Drumbeg and Culkein Drumbeg.

Proposed railway link

In the 1890s, it was suggested that a railway be constructed from Invershin to Lochinver, to 'open up' the Highlands and provide a direct rail connection with ferries to the

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

. This scheme was as an alternative to a proposed route to Ullapool from Garve. In the event, neither were able to obtain funding.

Other places named Lochinver

The Lochinver name was adopted in the 1950s by a large () sheep station in New Zealand's North Island.

Lochinver in film

* 1973 ''The Highlands and Islands - A Royal Tour'', a documentary about Prince Charles' visit to the Highlands and Islands, directed by

Oscar Marzaroli Oscar Marzaroli (1933 – August 26, 1988) was an Italian-born Scottish photographer of post-World War II urban Scotland. He was born in Castiglione Vara in northwest Italy and came to Scotland with his family at the age of two. Marzaroli ha ...

. * 2017 Edie, a film about a widowed pensioner that climbs

, directed by Simon Hunter."EDIE Screens first in the village of Lochinver"
Simon Hunter Official website. Retrieved 28 April 2020.

Gallery

Image:Lochinver.jpg Image:Lochinver Primary school with Loch Culag behind - geograph.org.uk - 1448465.jpg Image:2011 Schotland Lochinver met haven en Culag Hotel 30-05-2011 11-45-26.png File:Lochinver panorama - geograph.org.uk - 826486.jpg

References

External links

{{Commons category, Lochinver
History of LochinverLochinver Station NZ
Populated places in Sutherland Ports and harbours of Scotland Fishing communities in Scotland Fishing communities