Glenelg

Geography

Glenelg is located south of Loch Alsh, by the tidal Kyle Rhea narrows, where the Isle of Skye is closest to the mainland. Between November and February, the only access to Glenelg is by road over the Mam Ratagan – known loosely as "the Bealach" (pass) – from Shiel Bridge on the main road from Inverness to Skye. From the summit of Mam Ratagan the road runs gently into Glenelg down Glen More (Gleann Mhòr, "big valley"), which is otherwise isolated from Loch Duich by Beinn a Chuirn, and from Loch Alsh by Glas Beinn. There is a second valley, approximately parallel to Glen More and to the south known as Glen Beag (Gleann Beag, "small valley"), separated from Glen More by Beinn a' Chaonich. On reaching the coast, the road continues southwards, following the shore of Loch Hourn, where it terminates at Corran; Loch Hourn is separated from Glen Beag by Beinn a' Chapuill and Beinn Sgritheall. Its proximity to Skye meant that Glenelg was formerly of more strategic importance and had a significantly larger population. It appears on the relevant map of the first atlas of Scotland, published by Joan Blaeu in Amsterdam in 1662, for instance. Cattle from the outer islands were taken to Uig in the north of Skye to join with those reared on Skye and other nearby islands, driven south to the village of Kylerhea, and, tied together in dozens, nose ring to tail and guided by a rowing boat, swum the 534 metres to the mainland before being herded to market along the drovers' road through Glen Beag, on to Kinlochhourn and then to the markets at Stirling and Falkirk and elsewhere in the Scottish Lowlands. Between March and October, there is the option to cross the Kyle Rhea strait by ferry (see below). Following the Jacobite rising of 1715, Glenelg was chosen along with Fort George,…

Most-observed species

• Herring Gull

  Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763 · Aves
  647
• Eurasian Oystercatcher

  Haematopus ostralegus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  591
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  511
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  510
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  493
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  483
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  383
• White Wagtail

  Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  361

Most recent

• M 3.5 — 2026-04-16
  42 km WNW of Comrie, United Kingdom
• M 3.8 — 2017-08-04
  31 km NE of Tobermory, United Kingdom
• M 2.9 — 2013-05-18
  27 km NE of Tobermory, United Kingdom
• M 3.5 — 2011-01-23
  28 km NE of Tobermory, United Kingdom
• M 3.5 — 2008-10-10
  27 km W of Fort William, United Kingdom
• M 2.9 — 2006-06-08
  35 km ENE of Portree, United Kingdom