Kyle of Lochalsh

Kyle of Lochalsh
Kyle of Lochalsh
Kyle of Lochalsh shown within the Ross and Cromarty area
Population 739 [1]
Language English
Scottish Gaelic
OS grid reference NG765275
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Kyle
Postcode district IV40
Dialling code 01599
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
Website http://www.lochalsh.com

Kyle of Lochalsh (from the Scottish Gaelic Caol Loch Aillse, "strait of the foaming loch") is a village on the northwest coast of Scotland, 63 miles (100 km) west of Inverness. It is located on the Lochalsh peninsula, at the entrance to Loch Alsh, opposite the village of Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye. A ferry used to connect the two villages until it was replaced by the Skye Bridge, about a mile (2 km) to the west, in 1995.

Geography

Kyle of Lochalsh

The village is the transport and shopping centre for the area as well as having a harbour and marina with pontoons for maritime visitors. The surrounding scenery and wildlife are regarded as attractions of the village, as is the slow pace of life. Crofting as well as more recent crofting pursuits like salmon farming are some of the activities taking place in Kyle of Lochalsh.

A land-based control centre of the Royal Naval BUTEC submarine range is based in Kyle of Lochalsh.[2]

Kyle of Lochalsh lies almost precisely 500 miles (800 km) due north of Land's End in Cornwall.

History

A public hall in the centre of the town was completed in 1932.[3]

Transport

Kyle of Lochalsh railway station is connected to Inverness by the Kyle of Lochalsh railway line, built in 1897 to improve public transport to the north-west of Scotland. The line ends on the water's edge, near where the ferry connection used to run.

Main Street, Kyle of Lochalsh
  • In 1980, the BBC did a series of documentaries, entitled "Great Railway Journeys of the World". The Kyle of Lochalsh appeared in an episode entitled "Confessions of a Trainspotter", presented by Michael Palin. In the segment, Palin travelled by various trains from London to Kyle of Lochalsh. His humour was evident throughout the documentary. Upon reaching the Kyle of Lochalsh, he purchased a large piece of railway memorabilia—the Kyle of Lochalsh railway platform sign. The ending credits showed Palin taking the oversized sign with him back to London, which he then hung on his garden wall at home.
  • Along with nearby town Plockton, the town became the backdrop to the BBC drama series "Hamish MacBeth".
  • Kyle of Lochalsh was visited by the characters in Mark Chadbourn's trilogy, Age of Misrule.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Census 2001". Population figures. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2005.
  2. ↑ "British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC)" Archived 28 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
  3. ↑ "New Public Hall for Kyle". The Glasgow Herald. 2 April 1932. p. 7. Retrieved 12 November 2017.

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