Loch Nan Clar is a

loch ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

in the

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 ...

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

ern

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is located near the B871 main road, and there is no settlement directly on the lake although the hamlets of Gearnsary and Garvault are very nearby. The loch is used as both a reservoir and as one of few salmon fishery areas in

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 ...

Geography

The loch is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) across although it is directly adjacent to

Loch Badanloch Loch Badanloch is a loch in Sutherland in the Highland Council Area of northern Scotland. The settlement on the lake is Bandanloch Lodge. The hamlet of Gearnsary is nearby. The loch is used as both a reservoir and as a Highland salmon fishery. ...

with the Rhuba Mor island being the only thing to really separate them. It's also adjacent to Loch Rimsdale and they're separated by a small channel. The only outflow of the Loch is Loch Badanloch but as for inflow there's many small streams in addition to Loch Rimsdale. There's Allt Caol, Feith Ghur and Allt Innse-Chomhraig all of which bring water from Ben Graim Mor, the largest mountain near to the lake. Allt na Cailbe Mor flows into the lake bringing water from Garbh Allt which brings water from Threestone Hill and Beinne a' Mhadiadh as well as from the array of streams around Allt a' Chreimh which even reaches Lochan Sgeireach far north. There's also Allt na Cailbe Beag. As for hills and mountains, there's Ben Graim Mor the largest in the area, and there's Sron an Eareannach, Cnoc na h-Uidhe and Cnoc Uidh a' Chlarain to the north and south right by the loch. There's also the Naver Forest nature reserve directly north of Loch Nan Clar.

Access

The B871 as well as a small collection of rural tracks run through the south of the Loch. One runs down to Loch Choire through Gearnsary. Smaller paths link the main one to the banks of Lochan an Alltan Fhearna The other runs further south to Loch na Gaineime. In addition there's a pathway running south from the B871 further west that is the only direct access to the loch. There is also relatively nearby rail access considering the isolated location of Loch Badanloch in the form of

Kinbrace railway station Kinbrace railway station is a railway station serving the village of Kinbrace in the Highland (council area), Highland Council areas of Scotland, council area in the north of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line, from Inverness railway ...

however not only is it 7 miles away but it's also only served by 8 trains per day.

Tourism

This loch as well as the neighbouring lochs of Loch Rimsdale and

are all decent tourist destinations considering the area around them. Loch Nan Clar has two lodges in its vicinity, the Sheppard's Cottage and the Garvault. Fishing and hiking are all the reasons for tourism, much like almost all other lochs in the area, trout is by far the most common catch however, salmon can be found both here and in the

River Helmsdale The River Helmsdale (sometimes known as the River Ullie) () is one of the major east-flowing rivers of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It flows broadly southeastwards from Loch Badanloch down the Strath of Kildonan (otherwise known as ...

. Many hiking trains are in the area, many of which follow aforementioned paths and others run in very empty areas across the hills near the loch.

Archaeology

Flint implements were found on a "neck of sand" in one area of the loch's shore which has since been reclaimed by the water, it was located between the current shore of the loch and Rubha Mor meaning they were onces linked.

Mining

There are several small mineshafts around Loch Nan Clar.

References

External links

Geoview Map of area and nearby landmarks

Seen.de More info on Loch Nan Clar
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Kinbrace railway station timetables

Railscot more info on Kinbrace railway station
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nan Clar, Loch Nan Clar Freshwater lochs of Scotland