Eilean Ruairidh Mòr is a forested island in Loch Maree

Loch Maree

Loch Maree is a loch in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. At long and with a maximum width of , it is the fourth largest freshwater loch in Scotland; it is the largest north of Loch Ness. Its surface area is ....

, Wester Ross

Wester Ross

is a western area of Ross and Cromarty in Scotland, notably containing the villages on the west coast such as:* Lochcarron* Applecross* Shieldaig* Torridon* Kinlochewe * * * Aultbea* Laide* Ullapool* Achiltibuie...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Its name was formerly anglicised as "Ellan-Rorymore".

Owned by the Forestry Commission

Forestry Commission

The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....

, Eilean Ruairidh Mòr forms part of Slattadale Forest. The islands in Loch Maree are among the least disturbed in Britain and are managed as a National Nature Reserve

National Nature Reserve

For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...

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History

Eilean Ruairidh Mòr was planted with pines in about 1815. There are remains of a subterranean circular structure, similar to a Scandinavian dùn or burgh. The ancestors of the Mackenzies of Gairloch held it as a place of security from the attacks of the Macleods.

Footnotes