Swordale is a very small village which lies below the hill of the same name and above the

River Sgitheach River Sgitheach also known as Skiach or Skiack, (Scottish Gaelic ''Abhainn Sgitheach'', "Crataegus, Hawthorn River") () is a river in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. It rises on the southern slopes of Ben Wyvis, passes through Strath Sgitheach, pass ...

, in the parish of

Kiltearn Kiltearn (Gaelic: ''Cill Tighearna'') is a parish in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. It is in the Presbytery of Ross. The local landowners since the 11th century reign of Malcolm II have been the Clan Munro. The principal settlement is the villag ...

in eastern

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. Swordale is connected by road to the village of

Evanton Evanton ( or ) is a small village in Easter Ross, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It lies between the River Sgitheach and the Allt Graad, is north of Inverness, some south-west of Alness, and northeast of Dingwall. The village h ...

, east, beyond which is the

Cromarty Firth The Cromarty Firth (; ; literally "kyles

traits Trait may refer to: * Phenotypic trait in biology, which involve genes and characteristics of organisms * Genotypic trait, sometimes but not always presenting as a phenotypic trait * Personality, traits that predict an individual's behavior. ** ...

of Cromarty") is an arm of the Moray Firth in Scotland. Geography The entrance to the Cromarty Firth is guarded by two precipitous headlands; the one on the north high and the one on the ...

. To the west lies

Ben Wyvis Ben Wyvis () is a mountain in Easter Ross, in the northern Highlands of Scotland. It lies north-west of Dingwall, in the council area of Highland, and the county of Ross and Cromarty. Ben Wyvis is a large winding and undulating ridge r ...

. The

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

Anne Constance Jackson was born at Swordale in 1889. She married fellow ornithologist and intelligence officer

Richard Meinertzhagen Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, CBE, DSO (3 March 1878 – 17 June 1967) was a British soldier, intelligence officer, and ornithologist. He had a decorated military career spanning Africa and the Middle East. He was credited with creating an ...

, and was killed at Swordale in 1928, under circumstances which remain controversial (see Annie Meinertzhagen#Death).

References

Populated places in Ross and Cromarty {{RossCromarty-geo-stub