Caol (

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, an ...

: ''An Caol'') is a village near Fort William, in the

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 ...

council area 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 ...

. It is about north of Fort William town centre, on the shore 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 ...

, and within the parish of Kilmallie. The name "Caol" is from the Gaelic for "narrow", in this case the narrow water between

and

Loch Eil Loch Eil (Scottish Gaelic, ''Loch Iall'') is a sea loch in Lochaber, Scotland that opens into Loch Linnhe near the town of Fort William. ".. the name of the Chief of Clan Cameron is spelt LOCHIEL, while the name of the loch is spelt LOCH EIL,.. ...

. The

Caledonian Canal The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. Route The canal ...

passes by to the north-west of Caol, while the

Great Glen Way The Great Glen Way ( gd, Slighe a' Ghlinne Mhòir) is a long distance path in Scotland. It follows the Great Glen, running from Fort William in the southwest to Inverness in the northeast, covering . It was opened in 2002, and is designated as ...

long distance footpath passes through the village before following the canal towpath. The village is largely residential, and has three primary schools, Caol Primary School, St Columba's R.C Primary School and Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Loch Abar The local shinty team is

Kilmallie Shinty Club Kilmallie Shinty Club is a shinty team from Caol, Fort William, Scotland. The club most recently achieved prominence in the all-Fort William Camanachd Cup Final in 2005. History The club was founded in 1929 and is named after the parish o ...

, who play at Canal Park in the west of Caol.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Lochaber Populated coastal places in Scotland