Loch Ewe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Loch Ewe
Creel boat steaming to the fishing grounds on Loch Ewe at dawn
Location	Northwest Highlands, Scotland
Coordinates	57°50′13″N, 5°36′44″WCoordinates: 57°50′13″N, 5°36′44″W
Primary inflows	River Ewe
Primary outflows	Atlantic Ocean
Basin countries	United Kingdom
Average depth	15 m
Max. depth	40 m
Islands	Isle of Ewe

Loch Ewe (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Iùbh) is a sea loch situated west of Aultbea on the west coast of the Ross and Cromarty district in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The River Ewe enters Loch Ewe from the following thirteen lochs of the surrounding basins (the Ardlair basin, the Slattadale basin and the Ghruididh basin):

Loch Maree
Loch Fada
Loch Garbhaig
Loch Coulin
Loch Clair
Loch Tollie
Loch Kernsary
Loch Ghiuragarstidh
Loch Mhic' Ille Rhiabhaich
Loch a' Bhaid-Luachraich
Loch Sguod
Loch an t-Slagain
Loch Drainc

1 History
2 Culture
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Due to the rugged and inaccessible landscape in which it is located, the area surrounding Loch Ewe has always been an assembly point for maritime trade.

Circa 1610 C.E. the area at the head of Loch Ewe, today known as Poolewe, was urbanised around an iron furnace utilising charcoal produced in the surrounding woodlands for fuel. English ironmasters found it more economic to ship the ore to Poolewe for smelting than to ship the processed charcoal to England to run furnaces there.^[1]

Loch Ewe featured in both World Wars as a naval port of significant strategic importance to the United Kingdom. During World War Two many submarines entered the Atlantic Ocean from here, as did ship convoys headed to West Africa and North America and those on on the colloquially-termed "Arctic Run" to Murmansk and back.^[2]^[3]

[edit] Culture

Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

Loch Ewe is often praised for its scenic beauty, and is the subject of many strathspeys still sung today in local ceilidh. It has several viewpoints giving many photo opportunities for tourists travelling along the adjacent roads.