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Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to the west of the main watershed of Ross (the eastern part of Ross being Easter Ross), thus forming the western half of the county of Ross and Cromarty. The southwesternmost part of Ross and Cromarty, Lochalsh, is not considered part of Wester Ross by the local tourist organisation, Visit Wester Ross, but is included within the definition used for the Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve.Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 2.
Wester Ross has one of the lowest population densities in Europe, with just 1.6 people per km2, who live mostly in small crofting townships along the coastline of the region. The area is renowned for the scenic splendour of its mountains and coastline, and the range of wildlife that can be seen. It is a popular tourist destination, receiving around 70,000 visitors each year.Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 7. Tourism forms a major part of the economic activity of the area, accounting for 35% of all employment. Other major economic activities in the area include commercial fishing, renewable energy, agriculture and .Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 8.Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 43.
Much of Wester Ross is designated as a national scenic area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure their protection from inappropriate development. Scenic spots including Loch Maree, Inverewe Garden, Corrieshalloch Gorge, Glen Docherty and the Bealach na Bà. Wester Ross was designated as a Biosphere Reserve under UNESCO’s "Man and the Biosphere" (MAB) Programme in April 2016. The Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve now covers 5,200 square kilometres of Wester Ross and Lochalsh. This new-style biosphere, which covers an area over 100 times larger than the original designation, is a place where people live and actively learn about their surroundings to inspire a legacy rich in both natural and cultural heritage.
Torridonian hills exhibit some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the British Isles, surpassed in grandeur probably only by the Cuillin of Skye. The hills sit apart from each other, and are often likened to castles. They have steep terraced sides, and broken summit crests, riven into many . There are many steep gullies running down the terraced sides. The summit provide excellent scrambling, and are popular with hill walkers and mountaineers. However, like many ridge routes, there are few escape points, so once committed, the scrambler or hillwalker must complete the entire ridge before descent. Under winter conditions, many walking routes in Wester Ross become serious expeditions.
In contrast to the isolated Torridonian peaks that characterise much of Wester Ross, the mountains of Kintail in the south of the area take the form of peaks linked by ridges that rise steeply from narrow glens and the sea.
Most of the major roads in the area radiate out from the more populated areas of Easter Ross, and link the settlements on the western coast to Inverness. Lesser roads link these east–west routes to form a north–south route along the coast between Kyle of Lochalsh and Ullapool. This route has been marketed to tourists as the Wester Ross Coastal Trail, and also forms part of the North Coast 500 tourist route. The only railway line in Wester Ross is the Kyle of Lochalsh line, which is operated by ScotRail and provides a link between the southern part of the region and Inverness. Four services a day operate on the line, calling at stations at Achnasheen, Achnashellach, Strathcarron, Attadale, Stromeferry, Duncraig, Plockton and Duirinish, terminating at Kyle of Lochalsh.
The area was inhabited by Picts in late antiquity, and was largely Christian by the 7th century. From the 8th century Wester Ross, along with much of the western seaboard of Scotland, came under Norse domination, and placename evidence suggests that the Pictish language seems to have been entirely replaced wherever the Norsemen encountered it, with most names considered likely to be of Medieval rather than pre-Norse origin.Woolf, Alex (ed.) (2009) Scandinavian Scotland – Twenty Years After. St Andrews. St Andrews University Press. pp. 87, 90, 95. Following the decline of Norse power in western Scotland after their defeat at the Battle of Largs the semi-independent Lords of the Isles came to dominate the western coast until the 15th century, when Scottish Crown was able to cement its control over the region.
The 16th century marked the height of the Scottish clan in the Highlands, and Wester Ross was occupied by different clans, chiefly the Clan Mackenzie and the Clan Donald. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493, and two of those chiefs also held the title of Earl of Ross until 1476. During this period the area was farmed under the communal run-rig system, with people living in small townships, growing , bere (barley), and later . Cattle-rearing was the chief economic activity, with cattle being raised in the glens and then Droving to market. This trade expanded during the early 19th century, due to the demands of the new industrial cities and the British armed forces for cattle for beef.Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 39.
The clan structure began to break down in the 18th century, as clan chiefs came to see themselves as landlords, and the small tenant farmers had no legal answer to a landlord who wished to have them removed. During the late 18th and 19th centuries, the Highland Clearances saw tenants being forcibly moved to become crofting, a system under which their labour would be available when required by their landlords: they would be workers first and farmers second. Crofters were employed in enterprises such as fishing (Ullapool in the north of Wester Ross was built by the British Fishing Society in the 1780-90s) and kelping (the collection and processing of kelp to create products such as soda ash).Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 40. In the later stages of the clearances the driver ceased to be industrial enterprises, but simply to clear the land for sheep farming, and later . At this point emigration was often the only option to those removed from their homes.
Under pressure from the Highland Land League and public opinion a series of inquiries were held into the situation, leading to the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 which put an end to the clearances by granting security of tenure to crofters.Derick S. Thomson (1983). 9780631125020, Basil Blackwater Publisher Lim., Àth nan Damh. ISBN 9780631125020 However the act did not break up large estates, and Wester Ross continues to consist chiefly of large single-owner estates.
The coastline is mostly formed of cliffs and rocky shores covered with and seaweed. These cliffs are home to large numbers of seabirds such as , , , , , , and European shag, whilst the rocky islets and skerry are important for .Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 55. There are also and : the dunes at Achnahaird in particular support three plant species (petalworts, Bryum calophylum and Bryum warneum) that occur nowhere else in Scotland.Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 56. There is relatively little machair in Wester Ross compared to other parts of western Scotland.
, , and Pinniped area frequently seen in the outer lochs and open waters, whilst the more sheltered contain rocky reefs, maerl beds and deep mud banks.Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 57. Loch Carron is home to the world's largest flame shell beds.
The rivers and lochs of Wester Ross support important populations of Atlantic salmon and sea trout, although numbers of adult fish have declined in recent years.Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 58. Freshwater pearl mussels live in the gravel beds of clean, fast flowing rivers: the population had declined across Europe as a result of pollution, habitat changes and pearl fishing, and the Wester Ross population is now of international importance. European otter and water voles are both present in strong numbers in the rivers of Wester Ross: water voles populations have been in decline across Great Britain due to predation by non-native American mink, which have only recently been recorded in Wester Ross.Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 59. The lochs also support internationally important concentrations of breeding black-throated divers, which is at the southern edge of its range in Wester Ross. Besides salmon and trout, Arctic charr can be found in many of the lochs.
There are areas of Caledonian pinewood at Shieldaig, Coulin Forest, Torridon, Beinn Eighe, Rhidorroch, Achnashellach and the islands on Loch Maree. Though small in terms of area, these pinewoods (which are composed chiefly of Scots pine, alongside deciduous species such as birch and rowan) are an internationally important habitat. These woods are genetically distinct from the pinewoods of central and eastern Scotland, and support a highly specialised flora and fauna including rare mosses and lichens, and insects such as the Scottish wood ant. The pinewoods are also habitats for red squirrel and black grouse.Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 61.
Moorland habitats, which are rare globally, are quite common in Wester Ross. The moors are characterised by composed of , and host breeding birds such as golden plover, greenshank and dunlin, along with a resident population of red grouse.Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 63. The summits of Wester Ross host alpine plant and sub-alpine comprising , and , and such as alpine bearberry, juniper, crowberry, and cowberry. Beinn Eighe is the only known site for the Northern prongwort in the UK, and represents 75% of the known world population.Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 62. Bird species in the montane areas of Wester Ross include ptarmigan, dotterel and snow bunting, along with raptor species such as golden eagle and merlin.
White-tailed eagles were reintroduced into Wester Ross during the 1990s, with 58 birds being released between 1993 and 1998. This was the second phase of the reintroduction of white-tailed eagles into Scotland, following on from the release of 82 birds on Rùm between 1975 and 1985. As of 2014, it was estimated that there were 98 breeding pairs living along the west coast of Scotland.
Wester Ross was designated as a Biosphere Reserve in April 2016. The designated area is subdivided into three zones:Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 37.
Approximately 20% of Wester Ross is legally protected via the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) designation.Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 88.
In 2014 of coastal waters in the northern part of Wester Ross (from Rubha Rèidh to Coigach) was declared a Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area (NCMPA).
Wester Ross has historically been a Scottish Gaelic-speaking area; however, the language suffered from persecution for many years, and its decline was hastened when English-language schooling became compulsory in the late 19th century. In the 2011 census 10.6% of the population reported being able to speak the language, compared to only 1.1% of the population of Scotland as whole.Wester Ross Biosphere Reserve Application. p. 51. As well as being a spoken language Gaelic culture continues to be important in the area through traditional music and .
In the Scottish Parliament most of Wester Ross lies within the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency, however the Lochalsh area in the south of the region forms part of the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency. Each constituency elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election; a further seven additional members are elected from the Highlands and Islands electoral region (in addition to the eight constituency MSPs), to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
At Westminster Wester Ross is represented as part of the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency, which elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Major outdoor scenes in the films Stardust and The Eagle (based on Rosemary Sutcliff's book The Eagle of the Ninth) were shot in Wester Ross. Plockton was used for shots showing Sergeant Neil Howie's arrival at Summerisle in The Wicker Man. The 2014 film What We Did on Our Holiday starring David Tennant, Rosamund Pike, and Billy Connolly, was filmed in Wester Ross and featured the Salmon Beach and Redpoint.
Wester Ross is the location for the adventures of John Macnab in the book by John Buchan.
American author George R. R. Martin took the name of the fictional continent in his epic fantasy franchise A Song of Ice and Fire, Westeros, from Wester Ross.
Conservation designations
The Wester Ross National Scenic Area covers 1635 km2 of countryside and seascape, and is the largest of the national scenic areas in terms of land area (1439 km2). It extends from Loch Kishorn in the south to Little Loch Broom in the north. There are two further national scenic areas (NSA) that include parts of Wester Ross: the Kintail NSA and the Coigach portion of the Assynt-Coigach NSA.
National Trust for Scotland properties
The National Trust for Scotland, a charity that cares for sites of historic or natural significance, owns seven properties in Wester Ross:
Demographics
The population of Wester RossWester Ross being defined as the civil parishes of Applecross, Gairloch, Glenshiel, Kintail, Lochalsh, Lochbroom and Lochcarron, i.e. all parishes in Ross and Cromarty with coastline on the western side of the county including Lochalsh. was 8701 according to the 2011 census of Scotland,Scotland's Census, Table KS101SC (2011) showing a slight increase compared to 8491 in 1991.Scotland's Census, Table KS101SC (1991) The population is generally older than Scotland as a whole, with 22.1% being aged 65 or older, compared to 16.8% for Scotland as a whole.Scotland's Census, Table LC1117SC (2011) The area is sparsely populated, having one of the lowest population densities in Europe, with just 1.6 people per km2.
Government and politics
Wester Ross is part of the registration county of Ross and Cromarty. The counties of Scotland are now used only for statistical purposes, and for local government purposes the whole of Ross and Cromarty is part of the council area of Highland. Wester Ross is united with Strathpeffer in Easter Ross to form a single ward entitled Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh, which elects 4 councilors to Highland Council under the single transferable vote electoral system. Some local decisions are delegated to the Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh Committee, which consists of all councilors representing this ward.
In popular culture
Wester Ross is featured in the lyrics to the song "Letter from America" by The Proclaimers, and "Kishorn Commandos" by North Sea Gas, which relate the wild lifestyle of construction workers on the Ninian Central Platform in Kishorn. Many other songs refer to or are named after areas, geographical features and villages of Wester Ross, notably Loch Maree Islands, which has been recorded by many artists including Calum Kennedy.
Places in Wester Ross
See also
Notes
Footnotes
Bibliography
Gallery
from the A896. June 2011]]
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