Glenelg

Glenelg ; Scottish Gaelic Gleann Eilg
	Knoydart
Coordinates	57 ° 13 ′ N , 5 ° 37 ′ W Coordinates: 57 ° 13 ′ N , 5 ° 37 ′ W
	Glenelg
	Glenelg
Residents	1507 (status: 2001)
languages	English ; Scots
administration
Post town	KYLE
ZIP code section	IV40
prefix	01599
Part of the country	Scotland
Lieutenancy Area	Ross and Cromarty
Council area	Highland
Civil Parish	Glenelg
British Parliament	Ross, Skye and Lochaber
Scottish Parliament	Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch
Website: glenelg.co.uk

Glenelg ( Scottish Gaelic Gleann Eilg ) is a small town and a large parish ( Civil Parish ) in the Lochalsh area in the Highlands of northwestern Scotland . The municipality includes the areas of Knoydart and North Morar as well as the Mallaig ferry terminal . The 2001 census showed a population of 1507 people. The settlement area around the village of Glenelg had a population of 283. In 2011 the Highland Council estimated that 291 people lived in the community of Glenelg and Arnisdale at that time.

geography

Glenelg is located near the Kylerhea Strait, which is the shortest distance between the Isle of Skye and the mainland . There is a ferry connection here, which can be reached via a side road of the A87 coming from Inverness . Glenelg is surrounded by high mountains about 20 m above sea level directly on the coast.

Knoydart is regarded as Britain's last wilderness and is the only peninsula to which no transport via land. The settlement of Inverie on the south side has 100 inhabitants and the most remote pub in the British Isles .

history

Before the construction of the Skye Bridge , Glenelg was of greater strategic importance due to its proximity to Skye. Cattle raised on Skye were herded across the strait and taken to the mainland to be sold in local markets in Kinloch Hourn or the Scottish Lowlands .

After the first Jacobite Rising in 1689, Glenelg was chosen as one of four barracks locations in the Highlands. This facility was completed in 1725 and an army road was constructed connecting Glenelg to the rest of the General George Wade road network . Ultimately, this did not prevent the uprising of 1745 and it was no longer needed after the Highland Clearances , so that the Bernera Barracks are now in ruins. The people of Glenelg call themselves Eilgeach in Gaelic .

etymology

The place name probably originally only referred to the Glen with the Brochs . The specific element of the name ( Eilg ) can also be found elsewhere, such as in Elgin (Gaelic Eilginn ), and is generally regarded as a kenning or a synonym for Ireland because the Celtic settlement took place over Ireland. Similar derivations can be found in names such as Banff , New York or Lochearn and show that Gaelic settlers with the same migration background reused place names they knew, as can be found in a similar way today in names such as New Caledonia , New Brunswick or Nova Scotia .

Skye ferry

A small car ferry operates between Kylerhea on Skye and Glenelg from March to October. It crosses the often strong currents that occur at the narrow point due to the tides. The ferry holds up to six passenger cars. The Glenachulish , which has been in service since 1982, is the last ferry still in service with a rotating car deck. The ferry was originally built by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company in Troon for a ferry service from Ballachulish and was used from 1969 to the construction of the Ballachulish Bridge in 1975 for the crossing of Loch Levens on the Strait to Loch Linnhe . From 1975 to 1982, the ship operated briefly in Corran, Kylesku and Kessock near Inverness.

The ferry, which is operated by a local interest group, has a rotating car deck. When mooring and unloading, it is turned by hand towards the landside ramp. Before departure, the entire structure is rotated again so that the ferry can be left in the direction of travel on the opposite bank.

Partnership with Mars

Since October 20, 2010, Glenelg has been the name of a soil formation on Mars . The NASA used a palindrome as the name because the Curiosity rover will visit the area twice. During the celebrations for the occasion, a live broadcast was switched between the location and NASA.

Others

The ferry is a tourist attraction because of its unique rotating deck. Seals , dolphins and eagles can be observed on the short crossing . The former lighthouse of Sandaig was rebuilt as a souvenir shop next to the access road. The Sandaig archipelago is three miles southwest of Glenelg in the Sound of Sleat . There is Camusfeàrna , the retirement home of the author Gavin Maxwell . The Glenelg, Dun Telve and Dun Troddan brochures are considered to be the best preserved in Scotland.

Glenelg has a Amateur Football Club , the locals The Duffers (dt. The rivets ) call. Grant MacLeod reformed it in 2011. The Glenelg Inn is a hotel restaurant that offers local specialties and views of the Sound and Isle of Skye.