Loch Clair (Loch of the level place) is a small remote shallow low-altitude

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

loch, located within the Coulin Forest, some three miles to the south-west of

Kinlochewe Kinlochewe ( or ) is a village in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It is in the parish of Gairloch, the community of Torridon and Kinlochewe and the Highland council area. It lies near the head of Loch Maree in its magnifice ...

Wester Ross Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to th ...

. Loch Clair is the lower of two lochs in the same valley and is aligned on a southeast-northwest bearing. The other loch is Loch Coulin which is fed by the River Coulin, the waters of which in turn flow out of Loch Coulin through a short unnamed river into Loch Clair. A small lochan, Loch Bharranch, is located a mile to the west and drains into the western end of Loch Clair through an unnamed burn. Loch Clair is drained by another river, A' Ghairbhe, which flows in a roughly north-east direction to Kinlochewe, where it joins the Abhainn Bruachaig to form the Kinlochewe River. Loch Clair can be reached by the A896 road, which runs from Kinlochewe to Torridon,

Shieldaig Shieldaig (; )W. J. Watson''Place-names of Ross and Cromarty'' 1904, p. 208. is a village in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands, in the Scottish council area of Highland. Geography and history The village was founded in 1800 with a vie ...

and beyond.

Geography

Loch Clair is bounded to the north by a mountain massif in the

Torridon Torridon () is a small village in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The name is also applied to the area surrounding the village, particularly the Torridon Hills, mountains to the north of Glen Torridon. The village lies on the shore of Loch ...

area that contains the highest peak of

Beinn Eighe is a mountain massif in the Torridon area of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. Lying south of Loch Maree, it forms a long ridge with many spurs and summits, two of which are classified as Munros: Ruadh-stac Mòr at ...

, which is within Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve. The imposing peak of

Liathach ; pronounced ) is a mountain in the Torridon Hills, in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It stands between Loch Torridon and the neighbouring mountain Beinn Eighe. The mountain is a ridge running east–west, with several peaks, and its upper ...

at 1024 metres is the most prominent peak that is visible from Loch Clair. To the west, the loch is bounded by a series of low hills, the highest two being Creag Dhubh at 384 metres and Sgùrr Dubh at 782 metres. To the east is open peatland in an area consisting of small hills, burns and peat

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

s. To the south is a continuation of the mountainous Coulin Forest, with Meall and Leathaid Mhòir at an altitude of 512 metres.

Fishing

Loch Clair is an excellent fishing location for trout that weigh 10 to 12 ounces. Ideal trout

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...

for the loch include Soldier Palmer, Greenwell's Glory and Silver Butcher.

Walking

Loch Clair is the location of an almost level hiking route that follows the north coast of the loch, before making a circular walk around Loch Coulin and is about 9.64 km long.

Gallery

File:Loch Clair and Sgurr Dubh - geograph.org.uk - 2929566.jpg, Loch Clair and Sgurr Dubh File:Loch Clair and Sgurr Dubh - geograph.org.uk - 3524082.jpg, Another view of Loch Clair and Sgurr Dubh File:Loch Clair - geograph.org.uk - 2474875.jpg, Loch Clair viewed from the north File:Loch Clair - geograph.org.uk - 1468122.jpg, Loch Clair With

forming the backdrop.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clair, Loch Freshwater lochs of Scotland Lochs of Ross and Cromarty Ewe Basin