Aberchalder (

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

: ''Obar Chaladair'') is a small settlement and estate at the northern end of

Loch Oich Loch Oich (; ) is a freshwater loch in the Highlands of Scotland which forms part of the Caledonian Canal, of which it is the highest point. This narrow loch lies between Loch Ness (to the north-east) and Loch Lochy (to the south-west) in the G ...

in the

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 ...

and is in the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

council area of Scotland. It lies 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 ...

and is situated in two parishes, Boleskine and

Kilmonivaig Kilmonivaig () is a small village, situated close to the southeast end of Loch Lochy in Spean Bridge, Inverness-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. Fort William lies approximately 15 miles southwest of K ...

Fort Augustus Fort Augustus is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands. The village has a population of around 646 (2001). Its economy is heavily reliant on tourism. History Early histo ...

is within .

Etymology

The town is named for its location. The prefix ''Aber'' refers to "the mouth" or "

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

", while the suffix ''Chalder'' translates to "of the calder". ''Calder'' itself is a corruption of ''Coille Dur'' with ''Coille'' meaning "of the wood" and ''Dur'' used as an obsolete Gaelic term for "water".

History

Aberchalder was owned at one time by Randolph, Earl of Moray, then passing to Dunbar, Earl of Moray, and later to the

Clan Fraser of Lovat Clan Fraser of Lovat ( ) is a Highland Scottish clan and the principal branch of Clan Fraser. The Frasers of Lovat are strongly associated with Inverness and the surrounding area since the Clan's founder gained lands there in the 13th century. ...

, and still later to

Glengarry The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military ...

. On 27 August 1745 the MacDonald of Glencoe's and Glengarry's Regiment joined the Jacobite Army at Aberchalder. In 1812, residents of Aberchalder produced a petition which led to the building of a road connecting the eastern part of the Loch Oich to

Loch Hourn Loch Hourn () is a sea loch which separates the peninsulas of Glenelg, Highland, Glenelg to the north and Knoydart to the south, on the west coast of Scotland. Geography Loch Hourn runs inland from the Sound of Sleat, opposite the island of Skye ...

A swing bridge is located in the area, 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 can ...

and locks ( Cullochy Lock), built upon rocks. The locks were afforded to allow a depth of over 20 feet over its upper-gate sills. The canal flooded during the great floods of November 1834, rising some 27 feet and 3 inches above the upper-gate sills. Immediately before entering the loch, the Aberchalder Burn, a rapid mountain torrent, empties itself into the canal. Despite extensive work on the canal with cement in the summer of 1839, in 1849, further floods washed away the old bridge at Aberchalder, which subsequently led to a dredging of the canal. A new bridge, named the Victoria Bridge, was built about five years later. The new bridge was designed by James Dredge, a brewer turned civil engineer from

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. In 1932, another bridge was built to accommodate traffic. The area was once served by the Aberchalder railway station. It was opened by the

Highland Railway The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the two smallest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping, operating north of Perth railway station, Scotland, Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north o ...

(

Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway The Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway (I&FAR) was a branch-line railway built in Scotland, connecting the named places with the main line at Spean Bridge. It opened in 1903. Serving exceptionally sparsely inhabited areas, it was never commer ...

) and became part of the

North British Railway The North British Railway was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, ...

, joining the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

during the

Grouping Grouping generally refers to the creation of one or more groups, or to the groups themselves. More specifically, grouping may refer to: * Shot grouping in shooting sports and other uses of firearms * the use of symbols of grouping in mathemati ...

of 1923. The line closed in 1935. Aberchalder gives its name to the 16,000 acre (65 km²) Aberchalder Estate which has been owned by the Ellice family since the 1860s.

Aberchalder Lodge

Aberchalder Lodge is a country house in the

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a Counties of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and s ...

region of Scotland's

Highland Council area Highland (, ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the United Kingdo ...

. The original part of the Lodge dating from the 17th Century was destroyed in a fire in the 1980s. The remaining part of the building dates from 1934. It lies at the centre of the 16,000 acre (65 km²) Aberchalder Estate close to

Geography

There are several mountains and hills in the Aberchalder area. These include, Ben Van (''Bewinn Bhan''), Beinn Laragan, Carn Dearg, Carn na Larach, Goat's Crag (''Craegan nan Gobhar''), Eldrig, Leacann doire bannear (2091 feet), Letterfearn (''Leitir Fearn''), and Mullach a'Ghlinne (1734 ft). The three smaller rivers include Allt na Criche, Coachan a'Bhrudhaiste, and Fairies' Burn (''Allt nan Sithean''). Calder Burn, namesake of the town, is a river that runs through the district's wood for almost its entire length. Bealach Strep is a steep pass south of Laggan. Field of the Shirts (''Blar na Leine'') was the site of a 1543 feud between the Clan Ranald of Moydert and the Frasers. Maiden's Leap (''Ceum na Nighean'') is a rock, difficult to pass, that lies on the road between Aberchalder and Laggan. Coille Shlugan is a wood and Dalruary (''Dal ruairdh'') is a field. Shian (''Dubh Sithean'') is a knoll, specifically the black fairies' knoll, the fairies having been worshipped by the ancient inhabitants of this area. Feil Droman was a market ridge where an annual fair used to be held.

Notable people

* Donald Macdonell (1778–1861), political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

* Hugh McDonell, political figure in

* John McDonell, political figure in

John Lamont John Robert Lamont (born 15 April 1976) is a Scottish Conservative Party politician and solicitor who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk since 2017, and was Shadow Secretary of State for Scotlan ...

(fl. 1814), priest

References

{{Reflist, 2 Populated places in Lochaber Highland Estates