Shieldaig

Shieldaig

Shieldaig looking north along the sea-front
Shieldaig
Shieldaig shown within the Highland council area
OS grid reference NG815539
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Kinlochewe
Postcode district IV54
Dialling code 01520
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Shieldaig (Scottish Gaelic: Sìldeag) is a village in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland.

The village was founded in 1800[1] with a view to training up seamen for war against Napoleon. After his (initial) defeat and exile to Elba, the community found itself a new role as a fishing village. The small island just offshore never had its tall pines harvested to rig warships, and has now become a nature sanctuary.

The name of the village is a Viking word meaning loch of the herring which do indeed still populate the bay in some profusion.

Shieldaig is a community of around 85 people,[2] with its own school, a small pub, a village hall and a church. It now has two restaurants, packed on a Tuesday in October, since becoming a featured town on the NC500. It is much used as a holiday destination, attracting those interested fishing, and explorers of the Torridon Hills, which are a few miles around the coast.

Shieldaig holds a community fete in the second weekend of August.

Shieldaig from above

References

  1. ↑ Shieldaig Undiscovered Scotland
  2. ↑ "Torridon & Shieldaig". Steve Carter. Retrieved 23 January 2011.

Media related to Shieldaig at Wikimedia Commons


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