Plockton
|
Plockton Scottish Gaelic Am Ploc |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
| Coordinates | 57 ° 20 ′ N , 5 ° 39 ′ W | ||
|
|||
| Residents | 464 2011 census | ||
| administration | |||
| Post town | PLOCKTON | ||
| ZIP code section | IV52 | ||
| prefix | 01599 | ||
| Part of the country | Scotland | ||
| Council area | Highland | ||
| British Parliament | Ross, Skye and Lochaber | ||
| Scottish Parliament | Ross, Skye and Inverness West | ||
Plockton ( Gaelic : Am Ploc ) is a town in the Scottish Highlands on the west coast with around 460 inhabitants. The place is located in the Council Area Highland on the south bank of Loch Carron , a sea loch south of the Applecross Peninsula and north of Kyle of Lochalsh .
location
Plockton is located on a small peninsula on a small bay of Loch Carron that opens to the east and is thus shielded from the open sea to the west. Due to the protected location and the mild climate, subtropical plants such as the palm-like club lilies of the Cordyline australis species thrive in Plockton . Most of the houses are lined up along the waterfront. Due to its location, the place has no through traffic.
history
Plockton grew out of a small crofter settlement on the coast towards the end of the 18th century . With the Highland Clearances , as in many parts of the Highlands, land tenants around today's Plockton were driven out by the local landowners and forced to emigrate in order to make the vast areas usable for sheep breeding. Plockton initially served as a port for emigration until Sir Hugh Innes, 1st Baronet , the then landowner and MP for Ross-shire , to whom Plockton had belonged since 1798, decided not to drive his crofters overseas but to the coast in to move to a new fishing village. The Earl of Seaforth, as the previous owner , had already pursued such plans since 1787, but did not ultimately realize them. Due to its favorable location to the spawning grounds of the Atlantic herring , "Plocktown", as Innes called its foundation, initially participated in the growth of the fishing industry in the first half of the 19th century. The place grew quickly to over 500 inhabitants, in 1841 537 inhabitants were registered. The original plans of Innes were never fully implemented, however, not all of the streets planned in a first plan from 1801 were ultimately built. However, changed spawning grounds soon put an end to the boom, the consequences of the potato blight , which, similar to Ireland , spread to neighboring Scotland at the end of the 1840s , led to impoverishment and a decline in the population.
Growth only started again after Plockton was connected to the Kyle of Lochalsh Line in 1890 . The fishery, now oriented towards lobster and shrimp , was able to open up new sales areas and recover somewhat. Nevertheless, the emigration process continued during this time, no longer due to pressure from the landowners, but due to the economic situation. Plockton's economic situation remained poor until after the First World War , so that shortly after the war the population was just half as large as in 1841. The railway connection gradually promoted the development of tourism, which is now the main source of income for the place. Because of its picturesque townscape, Plockton is also known as the Jewel of the Highlands . This was also used by the BBC , which shot the crime series Hamish Macbeth in Plockton in the 1990s , based on a series of books by the Scottish writer Marion Chesney . In 1973 the location was used in the British feature film The Wicker Man starring Christopher Lee .
Infrastructure and tourism
In recent years, Plockton has seen steady population growth and now has more than 450 inhabitants, but this has not yet reached the highs of the first half of the 19th century. Plockton has supra-local importance through Plockton High School , a secondary school whose catchment area extends north to Applecross and Torridon and south to Glenelg . Students from the eastern part of Skye also come to Plockton. Some of the students live in a boarding school attached to the school due to the distance . The school is also home to the Sgoil Chiùil na Gàidhealtachd ( National Center of Excellence in Traditional Music ) founded in 2000 , a music school that particularly cultivates the traditions of Gaelic music. A Primary School is also located in Plockton.
Plockton is the seat of the local community council and has a village hall and library where events take place regularly. The local infrastructure includes three hotels and various bed and breakfasts , including Duncraig Castle . Several shops, pubs, restaurants and a post office are also available. The local church is owned by the Church of Scotland .
Plockton is accessible via the Kyle of Lochalsh Line , the station is on the southern edge of the town. The four pairs of trains on the route connect Plockton with Kyle of Lochalsh and Inverness . There are also several bus routes to Plockton, especially for school transport. The harbor of Plockton serves as a focal point for yacht owners and sailors in addition to the local fishermen. For tourists, excursions to the small islands off Plockton, inhabited by seals, are offered in the harbor . West of Plockton is Plockton Airfield , a small airfield built in 1966 with an almost 600 m long asphalt runway.
Web links
- Plockton on isle-of-scotland.de
- Community Council Plockton (English)
- Plockton on undiscoveredscotland.co.uk (English)
- Walks around Plockton (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c The Plockton Historical Society: History of Plockton , accessed July 4, 2017
- ^ The Plockton Historical Society: Village of Plockton , accessed July 4, 2017
- ↑ a b undiscoveredscotland.co.uk: Plockton , accessed July 3, 2017
- ↑ British Film locations: The Wicker Man , accessed July 3, 2017
- ↑ www.carlberry.co.uk: Listing of Bus services from Plockton , accessed July 3, 2017
- ^ Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust: Plockton Airfield , accessed July 3, 2017