Lochcarron () is a village,

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the Wester Ross area of

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 ...

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 has a population of 923.

Locality

The name Lochcarron is also applied to the collection of small settlements strung out along

Loch Carron Loch Carron (Scottish Gaelic: "Loch Carrann") is a sea loch on the west coast of Ross and Cromarty in the Scottish Highlands, which separates the Lochalsh peninsula from the Applecross peninsula, and from the Stromeferry headland east of Loch ...

, a

sea 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 ...

on the west coast of

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty (), is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a Shires of Scotland, county. Historical ...

. The village stretches for almost , meandering along the shore of the loch. It means "Loch of rough water". In the 19th Century the village was named Janetown, then Jeantown. The local newspaper, ''An Carrannach'', is published on a monthly basis. Lochcarron is a central location for hillwalking and touring the West Coast Highlands, including 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 ...

Plockton Plockton () is a village in the Lochalsh, Wester Ross area of the Scottish Highlands with a 2020 population of 468. Plockton settlement is on the shores of Loch Carron. It faces east, away from the prevailing winds; this, together with the North ...

and

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

regions. Close to the village lies the

Bealach na Bà Bealach na Bà () is a winding pass through the mountains of the Applecross peninsula, in Wester Ross in the Scottish Highlands. It is traversed by a single track road, which passes through several corries. The road links the village of Applec ...

road (Gaelic: ''Pass of the cattle''), which links

Applecross Applecross ( , 'The Sanctuary', historically anglicized as 'Combrich') is a peninsula in Wester Ross, in the Scottish Highlands. It is bounded by Loch Kishorn to the south, Loch Torridon to the north, and Glen Shieldaig to the east. On its wes ...

to the rest of the mainland. It is a road popular with tourists, drivers, and motorcyclists alike for its scenery and hairpin bends.

Amenities

Lochcarron contains a variety of local services. These include two

petrol station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

s, a Spar shop (which has a

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

counter), a library, a nursing home (attached to which is the local library), medical centre and tartan weaving heritage shop. There are also two hotels (offering entertainment and meals), a restaurant and two cafés. The community hall hosts a number of public events including ceilidhs and sales; and sports such as indoor bowls and short tennis. There are a number of self catering and bed and breakfast establishments, many of which are members of the local business association.

Education

The local primary school stands at the entrance to the village, with 43 pupils (as of December 2019). The primary school offers both English and Gaelic Medium education.

Plockton High School Plockton High School is an 11–18 high school in the village of Plockton, Scotland. The catchment area for the school stretches from Applecross in the north to Corran in the south. Since the opening of the Skye Bridge, increasing numbers of pu ...

is the nearest secondary school to Lochcarron.

Employment

The area's biggest employment sectors include tourism,

crofting Crofting (Scottish Gaelic: ') is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production peculiar to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th-century townships, individual crofts were est ...

, and

fish farming Fish farming or pisciculture involves commercial breeding of fish, most often for food, in fish tanks or artificial enclosures such as fish ponds. It is a particular type of aquaculture, which is the controlled cultivation and harvesting of ...

. Other employers include transportation via sea and road, and quarry work. Service industries include engineering, motor garages, health services and education. The Howard Doris Centre employs people in the care sector.

Sport and recreation

Sailing is a popular activity amongst the local and visiting population, and as such, a local

RYA The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is a United Kingdom Sports governing body, national governing body for sailing (sport), sailing, dinghy sailing, yacht and motor cruising, sail racing, Rigid inflatable boat, RIBs and sportsboats, windsurf ...

accredited, and Volvo Championship Club hosts free sailing sessions every Wednesday evening (between April and October), and racing sessions every Sunday afternoon. It currently enlists over 100 members. Lochcarron is home to the local

shinty Shinty () is a team sport played with sticks and a ball. It is played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and among Highland migrants to the major cities of Scotland. The sport was formerly more widespread in Scotland and even played in Northern ...

team Lochcarron Camanachd. The team currently play their home games at Battery Park in the west end of the village. The playing field is used during the week for training, and knockabout sessions. There is a 9-hole course in the area which is over 150 years old. The golf club's clubhouse offers catering facilities and golf clubs available to hire. The nearby Attadale hosts an annual Highland Games every third Saturday of July.

Gallery

Image:SmokeCeilingInLochcarron.jpg, Smoke rising in Lochcarron is stopped by an overlying layer of warmer air. File:Tartan Weaving in Lochcarron.jpg,

Tartan Tartan or plaid ( ) is a patterned cloth consisting of crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming repeating symmetrical patterns known as ''setts''. Originating in woven wool, tartan is most strongly associated wi ...

weaving in Lochcarron

References

{{reflist Populated places in Ross and Cromarty Parishes in Ross and Cromarty