Glen Shiel
Encyclopedia
Glen Shiel (also known as Glenshiel) is a glen
in the Northwest Highlands
of Scotland
.
The glen runs approximately 9 miles from north-west to south-east, from sea level at the village of Shiel Bridge and Loch Duich
to the Cluanie Inn (216 metres) at the western end of Loch Cluanie
and the start of Glenmoriston
.W. H. Murray, The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, 7th ed., Glasgow: William Collins, 1977, p. 251 The northern side of the glen lies within the Kintail and Morvich estate owned by the National Trust for Scotland
.National Trust for Scotland information on Kintail Accessed 28 January 2009
Road to the Isles runs the full length of the glen, reaching a high point of 271 metres two miles west of the Cluanie Inn.OS
Landranger, 33, Loch Alsh, Glen Shiel & Loch Hourn The remnants of the military road connecting Fort Augustus
to the Bernera barracks in Glenelg built between 1750 and 1784 by William Caulfeild, the successor to General Wade
, can be seen a quarter of a mile west of the Cluanie Inn.The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 252
The North Glen Shiel ridge that forms the northern side of the glen consists of the Five Sisters of Kintail (Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe, Sgurr na Càrnach
, Sgurr Fhuaran
, Sgurr nan Spàinnteach and Sgurr nan Saighead) in the lower part of the glen, and Sàileag
, Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg
and Aonach Meadhoin
in the upper part.
To the south of the glen, the South Glen Shiel (or South Cluanie) ridge (Creag a' Mhàim, Druim Shionnach, Aonach air Chrith, Maol Chinn-dearg, Sgurr an Doire Leathain, Sgurr an Lochain and Creag nan Damh) occupies the upper part, and in the lower part are The Saddle
, according to W. H. Murray "the best mountain of the region both in distant shape and close acquaintance,"The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 276 and Sgurr na Sgine
.The Munros, ed. D. Bennet, SMC, 1985, pp. 158–61, 172–7 From Glen Shiel these last two mountains are only accessible by the side valleys – Allt Mhalagain is the most popular – than run off Glen Shiel, unlike the North and South Glen Shiel ridges whose slopes can be reached directly as they run along the glen.
John Macleod writes of the glen that:
The river running down the glen is the river Shiel, which flows into Loch Duich.The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 252
. Parts of the northern flanks of the upper glen have been afforested
with a mix of Scots pine
, Sitka spruce
and Norway spruce
. Glen Shiel is within the Forestry Commission
's Fort Augustus Forest Division, and in a 2008 report the Commission wrote "Consideration is being given to restoration of ancient woodland sites in dramatic landscapes like the Great Glen and Glen Shiel."Forestry Commission Scotland, All Forests Visitor Monitoring: Survey of visitors to FCS forests See p. 7. Accessed 29 January 2009
Notable plant species growing on the grassy flanks of the mountains include fragrant orchid
, butterfly orchid
, pale butterwort
and mountain azalea
(Loiseleuria procumbens).Douglas Botting, Wild Britain: A Traveller's and Naturalist's Handbook, London: Ebury Press, p. 182
Herds of red deer
and wild goats roam the glen.Wild Britain: A Traveller's and Naturalist's Handbook, p. 182
The Battle of Glen Shiel took place on 10 June 1719 midway up the glen. It was fought between the British
government and an alliance of Jacobites
and Spaniards, and resulted in a victory for the British forces. It was the last close engagement of British and foreign troops on mainland British soil. The battle is sometimes considered an extension of the 1715 rising, but is more correctly a separate rebellion and was the only rising to be extinguished by a single military action. It is "Scotland's only battle site with contemporary remains still visible – including the stone dyke enclosure where the Jacobite munitions were stored".National Trust for Scotland information on the battle Accessed 28 January 2009
The natural strength of the Jacobite position, which was positioned on easily defendable crags in the glen, had been increased by hasty fortifications. A barricade had been constructed across the road, and along the face of the hill on the north side of the river entrenchments had been thrown up. Here the main body was posted, consisting of a Spanish regiment, Clan Cameron
of Lochiel
with about 150 men, about 150 of Lidcoat’s and others, Rob Roy MacGregor with 40 men, 50 men of Clan Mackinnon
and 200 from the Clan MacKenzie
. British forces included 150 grenadiers under Major Milburn, Montagu’s Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence, a detachment of 50 men under Colonel Harrison, Huffel's Dutch Regiment, four companies of Arnerongen's from the Clan Fraser
, Clan Ross
and the Clan Sutherland
, 80 men of Clan MacKay
, Clayton’s Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Reading and about 100 men of the Clan Munro
under George Munro of Culcairn
.
Glen Shiel (Scottish Gaelic: Ghleann Sheile) (also known as Glenshiel) is a glen
in the Northwest Highlands
of Scotland
.
The glen runs approximately 9 miles from north-west to south-east, from sea level at the village of Shiel Bridge and Loch Duich
to the Cluanie Inn (216 metres) at the western end of Loch Cluanie
and the start of Glenmoriston
.W. H. Murray, The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, 7th ed., Glasgow: William Collins, 1977, p. 251 The northern side of the glen lies within the Kintail and Morvich estate owned by the National Trust for Scotland
.National Trust for Scotland information on Kintail Accessed 28 January 2009
Road to the Isles runs the full length of the glen, reaching a high point of 271 metres two miles west of the Cluanie Inn.OS
Landranger, 33, Loch Alsh, Glen Shiel & Loch Hourn The remnants of the military road connecting Fort Augustus
to the Bernera barracks in Glenelg built between 1750 and 1784 by William Caulfeild, the successor to General Wade
, can be seen a quarter of a mile west of the Cluanie Inn.The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 252
The North Glen Shiel ridge that forms the northern side of the glen consists of the Five Sisters of Kintail (Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe, Sgurr na Càrnach
, Sgurr Fhuaran
, Sgurr nan Spàinnteach and Sgurr nan Saighead) in the lower part of the glen, and Sàileag
, Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg
and Aonach Meadhoin
in the upper part.
To the south of the glen, the South Glen Shiel (or South Cluanie) ridge (Creag a' Mhàim, Druim Shionnach, Aonach air Chrith, Maol Chinn-dearg, Sgurr an Doire Leathain, Sgurr an Lochain and Creag nan Damh) occupies the upper part, and in the lower part are The Saddle
, according to W. H. Murray "the best mountain of the region both in distant shape and close acquaintance,"The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 276 and Sgurr na Sgine
.The Munros, ed. D. Bennet, SMC, 1985, pp. 158–61, 172–7 From Glen Shiel these last two mountains are only accessible by the side valleys – Allt Mhalagain is the most popular – than run off Glen Shiel, unlike the North and South Glen Shiel ridges whose slopes can be reached directly as they run along the glen.
John Macleod writes of the glen that:
The river running down the glen is the river Shiel, which flows into Loch Duich.The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 252
. Parts of the northern flanks of the upper glen have been afforested
with a mix of Scots pine
, Sitka spruce
and Norway spruce
. Glen Shiel is within the Forestry Commission
's Fort Augustus Forest Division, and in a 2008 report the Commission wrote "Consideration is being given to restoration of ancient woodland sites in dramatic landscapes like the Great Glen and Glen Shiel."Forestry Commission Scotland, All Forests Visitor Monitoring: Survey of visitors to FCS forests See p. 7. Accessed 29 January 2009
Notable plant species growing on the grassy flanks of the mountains include fragrant orchid
, butterfly orchid
, pale butterwort
and mountain azalea
(Loiseleuria procumbens).Douglas Botting, Wild Britain: A Traveller's and Naturalist's Handbook, London: Ebury Press, p. 182
Herds of red deer
and wild goats roam the glen.Wild Britain: A Traveller's and Naturalist's Handbook, p. 182
The Battle of Glen Shiel took place on 10 June 1719 midway up the glen. It was fought between the British
government and an alliance of Jacobites
and Spaniards, and resulted in a victory for the British forces. It was the last close engagement of British and foreign troops on mainland British soil. The battle is sometimes considered an extension of the 1715 rising, but is more correctly a separate rebellion and was the only rising to be extinguished by a single military action. It is "Scotland's only battle site with contemporary remains still visible – including the stone dyke enclosure where the Jacobite munitions were stored".National Trust for Scotland information on the battle Accessed 28 January 2009
The natural strength of the Jacobite position, which was positioned on easily defendable crags in the glen, had been increased by hasty fortifications. A barricade had been constructed across the road, and along the face of the hill on the north side of the river entrenchments had been thrown up. Here the main body was posted, consisting of a Spanish regiment, Clan Cameron
of Lochiel
with about 150 men, about 150 of Lidcoat’s and others, Rob Roy MacGregor with 40 men, 50 men of Clan Mackinnon
and 200 from the Clan MacKenzie
. British forces included 150 grenadiers under Major Milburn, Montagu’s Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence, a detachment of 50 men under Colonel Harrison, Huffel's Dutch Regiment, four companies of Arnerongen's from the Clan Fraser
, Clan Ross
and the Clan Sutherland
, 80 men of Clan MacKay
, Clayton’s Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Reading and about 100 men of the Clan Munro
under George Munro of Culcairn
.
Glen Shiel (Scottish Gaelic: Ghleann Sheile) (also known as Glenshiel) is a glen
in the Northwest Highlands
of Scotland
.
The glen runs approximately 9 miles from north-west to south-east, from sea level at the village of Shiel Bridge and Loch Duich
to the Cluanie Inn (216 metres) at the western end of Loch Cluanie
and the start of Glenmoriston
.W. H. Murray, The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, 7th ed., Glasgow: William Collins, 1977, p. 251 The northern side of the glen lies within the Kintail and Morvich estate owned by the National Trust for Scotland
.National Trust for Scotland information on Kintail Accessed 28 January 2009
Road to the Isles runs the full length of the glen, reaching a high point of 271 metres two miles west of the Cluanie Inn.OS
Landranger, 33, Loch Alsh, Glen Shiel & Loch Hourn The remnants of the military road connecting Fort Augustus
to the Bernera barracks in Glenelg built between 1750 and 1784 by William Caulfeild, the successor to General Wade
, can be seen a quarter of a mile west of the Cluanie Inn.The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 252
The North Glen Shiel ridge that forms the northern side of the glen consists of the Five Sisters of Kintail (Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe, Sgurr na Càrnach
, Sgurr Fhuaran
, Sgurr nan Spàinnteach and Sgurr nan Saighead) in the lower part of the glen, and Sàileag
, Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg
and Aonach Meadhoin
in the upper part.
To the south of the glen, the South Glen Shiel (or South Cluanie) ridge (Creag a' Mhàim, Druim Shionnach, Aonach air Chrith, Maol Chinn-dearg, Sgurr an Doire Leathain, Sgurr an Lochain and Creag nan Damh) occupies the upper part, and in the lower part are The Saddle
, according to W. H. Murray "the best mountain of the region both in distant shape and close acquaintance,"The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 276 and Sgurr na Sgine
.The Munros, ed. D. Bennet, SMC, 1985, pp. 158–61, 172–7 From Glen Shiel these last two mountains are only accessible by the side valleys – Allt Mhalagain is the most popular – than run off Glen Shiel, unlike the North and South Glen Shiel ridges whose slopes can be reached directly as they run along the glen.
John Macleod writes of the glen that:
The river running down the glen is the river Shiel, which flows into Loch Duich.The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 252
. Parts of the northern flanks of the upper glen have been afforested
with a mix of Scots pine
, Sitka spruce
and Norway spruce
. Glen Shiel is within the Forestry Commission
's Fort Augustus Forest Division, and in a 2008 report the Commission wrote "Consideration is being given to restoration of ancient woodland sites in dramatic landscapes like the Great Glen and Glen Shiel."Forestry Commission Scotland, All Forests Visitor Monitoring: Survey of visitors to FCS forests See p. 7. Accessed 29 January 2009
Notable plant species growing on the grassy flanks of the mountains include fragrant orchid
, butterfly orchid
, pale butterwort
and mountain azalea
(Loiseleuria procumbens).Douglas Botting, Wild Britain: A Traveller's and Naturalist's Handbook, London: Ebury Press, p. 182
Herds of red deer
and wild goats roam the glen.Wild Britain: A Traveller's and Naturalist's Handbook, p. 182
The Battle of Glen Shiel took place on 10 June 1719 midway up the glen. It was fought between the British
government and an alliance of Jacobites
and Spaniards, and resulted in a victory for the British forces. It was the last close engagement of British and foreign troops on mainland British soil. The battle is sometimes considered an extension of the 1715 rising, but is more correctly a separate rebellion and was the only rising to be extinguished by a single military action. It is "Scotland's only battle site with contemporary remains still visible – including the stone dyke enclosure where the Jacobite munitions were stored".National Trust for Scotland information on the battle Accessed 28 January 2009
The natural strength of the Jacobite position, which was positioned on easily defendable crags in the glen, had been increased by hasty fortifications. A barricade had been constructed across the road, and along the face of the hill on the north side of the river entrenchments had been thrown up. Here the main body was posted, consisting of a Spanish regiment, Clan Cameron
of Lochiel
with about 150 men, about 150 of Lidcoat’s and others, Rob Roy MacGregor with 40 men, 50 men of Clan Mackinnon
and 200 from the Clan MacKenzie
. British forces included 150 grenadiers under Major Milburn, Montagu’s Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence, a detachment of 50 men under Colonel Harrison, Huffel's Dutch Regiment, four companies of Arnerongen's from the Clan Fraser
, Clan Ross
and the Clan Sutherland
, 80 men of Clan MacKay
, Clayton’s Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Reading and about 100 men of the Clan Munro
under George Munro of Culcairn
.The Battle of Glenshiel, 10 June 1719. Note upon an Unpublished Document in the Possession of His Grace the Duke of Marlborough, by A. H. Millar, F.S.A. Scot. For Spanish retreat, see p. 68. Accessed 28 January 2009
One of the peaks on the northern side of the valley, Sgurr nan Spainteach (Peak of the Spaniards), derives its name from the 200 Spanish troopsThe Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 278. Other sources give the figure as 300. who fought a rearguard action on the side of the defeated Jacobite rebels and who retreated over the peak. This peak's parent mountain is Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe, which means peak of the black chest. Irvine Butterfield writes that "although some of the coins they [the Spanish soldiers] dropped were later found there is no mention that they fell from a black chest [...] the black chest is in reality the deep hollow of the Allt Dearg on the south-west slope [of Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe]."Irvine Butterfield, The Magic of the Munros, Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1999, p. 134
The painting The Battle of Glenshiel 1719 by the Flemish
painter Peter Tillemans
(c. 1684–1734)Peter Tillemans on Artnet Accessed 30 January 2009 shows the opposing forces in the glen; the figures in the foreground probably include Lord George Murray
and Rob Roy MacGregor on the Jacobite side and General Joseph Wightman on the British side.National Galleries of Scotland online collection Accessed 30 January 2009 This "highly accurate"Provenance of The Battle of Glenshiel 1719 Accessed 1 February 2009 painting, which hangs in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
, was originally catalogued as The Battle of Killiecrankie, 1689
.
.jpg)
, known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie", spent a day in the summer of 1746 hiding from English troops once he had left the Isle of Skye
. At the time he had a £30,000 bounty on his head, having fled after the Battle of Culloden
.Highlanders: A History of the Gaels, p. 173 After he reached Glen Shiel, Charles was sheltered by the "Seven Men of Glenmoriston", who "lived in a cave called Corriedhoga, high in Glenmoriston where the valley closes toward Loch Cluanie",John Prebble, Culloden, London: Penguin, 1967, p. 303 some 10 miles to the east of Glen Shiel. They sheltered the prince for a week during July 1746, vowing
MSP
was born in Glen Shiel on 26 August 1934.Biography at Scottish Liberal Democrats site Accessed 29 January 2009
Glen
A glen is a valley, typically one that is long, deep, and often glacially U-shaped; or one with a watercourse running through such a valley. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower than a strath."...
in the Northwest Highlands
Northwest Highlands
The Northwest Highlands are the northern third of Scotland that is separated from the Grampian Mountains by the Great Glen . The region comprises , Assynt, Caithness and Sutherland. The Caledonian Canal, which extends from Loch Linnhe in the west, via Loch Ness to the Moray Firth in the north...
of 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...
.
The glen runs approximately 9 miles from north-west to south-east, from sea level at the village of Shiel Bridge and Loch Duich
Loch Duich
Loch Duich is a sea loch situated on the western coast of Scotland, in the Highlands.-History:In 1719, British forces burned many homesteads along the loch’s shores in the month preceding the Battle of Glen Shiel....
to the Cluanie Inn (216 metres) at the western end of Loch Cluanie
Loch Cluanie
Loch Cluanie is a loch in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland at the south-east end of Glen Shiel. It is a reservoir, contained behind the Cluanie Dam, constructed by Mitchell Construction and completed in 1957 as part of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board's Glenmoriston project to...
and the start of Glenmoriston
Glenmoriston
Glenmoriston or Glen Moriston is a river glen in the Scottish Highlands, that runs from Loch Ness, at the village of Invermoriston, westwards to Loch Cluanie, where it meets with Glen Shiel. The A887 and A87 roads pass through Glenmoriston....
.W. H. Murray, The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, 7th ed., Glasgow: William Collins, 1977, p. 251 The northern side of the glen lies within the Kintail and Morvich estate owned by the National Trust for Scotland
National Trust for Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...
.National Trust for Scotland information on Kintail Accessed 28 January 2009
Roads
The A87A87 road
The A87 is a major road in the Highland region of Scotland.It runs west from its junction with the A82 road at Invergarry , along the north shores of Loch Garry and Loch Cluanie, then down through Glen Shiel and along Loch Duich to Kyle of Lochalsh before crossing the Skye Bridge to Kyleakin,...
Road to the Isles runs the full length of the glen, reaching a high point of 271 metres two miles west of the Cluanie Inn.OS
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
Landranger, 33, Loch Alsh, Glen Shiel & Loch Hourn The remnants of the military road connecting Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus is a settlement in the Scottish Highlands, at the south west end of Loch Ness. The village has a population of around 646 ; its economy is heavily reliant on tourism....
to the Bernera barracks in Glenelg built between 1750 and 1784 by William Caulfeild, the successor to General Wade
George Wade
Field Marshal George Wade served as a British military commander and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.-Early career:Wade, born in Kilavally, Westmeath in Ireland, was commissioned into the Earl of Bath's Regiment in 1690 and served in Flanders in 1692, during the Nine Years War, earning a...
, can be seen a quarter of a mile west of the Cluanie Inn.The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 252
Geography
Sgurr na Càrnach
Sgùrr na Càrnach is a Scottish mountain situated on the northern side of Glen Shiel, 24 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh. The mountain is part of one of the best views in the Western Highlands as it is one of three mountains which make up the Five Sisters of Kintail...
, Sgurr Fhuaran
Sgurr Fhuaran
Sgùrr Fhuaran is a Scottish mountain that is situated on the northern side of Glen Shiel, east south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.- Overview :...
, Sgurr nan Spàinnteach and Sgurr nan Saighead) in the lower part of the glen, and Sàileag
Sàileag
Sàileag is Scottish mountain located on the northern side of Glen Shiel, 27 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.-Overview:It lies just to the east of the famous Five Sisters of Kintail group of hills to which it is connected by the Bealach an Lapain...
, Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg
Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg
Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg is a Scottish mountain situated in Kintail on the northern side of Glen Shiel, 30 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.-Overview:...
and Aonach Meadhoin
Aonach Meadhoin
Aonach Meadhoin is a Munro mountain situated in the Kintail region of Scotland. It stands on the northern side of Glen Shiel some 31 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.- Overview :...
in the upper part.
To the south of the glen, the South Glen Shiel (or South Cluanie) ridge (Creag a' Mhàim, Druim Shionnach, Aonach air Chrith, Maol Chinn-dearg, Sgurr an Doire Leathain, Sgurr an Lochain and Creag nan Damh) occupies the upper part, and in the lower part are The Saddle
The Saddle
The Saddle is one of the great Scottish mountains; seen from thesite of the Battle of Glen Shiel it forms one of the best-known views in the Highlands. It is in the Highland local government area, on the boundary between the counties of Inverness-shire and Ross and Cromarty.The mountain provides...
, according to W. H. Murray "the best mountain of the region both in distant shape and close acquaintance,"The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 276 and Sgurr na Sgine
Sgurr na Sgine
Sgurr na Sgine is a Scottish mountain situated eight kilometres south of Shiel Bridge in the Glenshiel Forest at the lower end of Glen Shiel in the Highland District.- Overview :...
.The Munros, ed. D. Bennet, SMC, 1985, pp. 158–61, 172–7 From Glen Shiel these last two mountains are only accessible by the side valleys – Allt Mhalagain is the most popular – than run off Glen Shiel, unlike the North and South Glen Shiel ridges whose slopes can be reached directly as they run along the glen.
John Macleod writes of the glen that:
The river running down the glen is the river Shiel, which flows into Loch Duich.The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 252
Flora and fauna
The glen contains native tree species such as common alder, downy birch, sessile oak and rowanSorbus aucuparia
Sorbus aucuparia , is a species of the genus Sorbus, native to most of Europe except for the far south, and northern Asia...
. Parts of the northern flanks of the upper glen have been afforested
Afforestation
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no forest. Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover, either naturally or artificially...
with a mix of Scots pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
, Sitka spruce
Sitka Spruce
Picea sitchensis, the Sitka Spruce, is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50–70 m tall, exceptionally to 95 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m, exceptionally to 6–7 m diameter...
and Norway spruce
Norway Spruce
Norway Spruce is a species of spruce native to Europe. It is also commonly referred to as the European Spruce.- Description :...
. Glen Shiel is within 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....
's Fort Augustus Forest Division, and in a 2008 report the Commission wrote "Consideration is being given to restoration of ancient woodland sites in dramatic landscapes like the Great Glen and Glen Shiel."Forestry Commission Scotland, All Forests Visitor Monitoring: Survey of visitors to FCS forests See p. 7. Accessed 29 January 2009
Notable plant species growing on the grassy flanks of the mountains include fragrant orchid
Fragrant orchid
Fragrant Orchid is an herbaceous plant belonging to the family Orchidaceae.-Etymology:The name of the genus Gymnodenia is formed from Greek words "gymnos" meaning "nude" and "adèn" meaning "gland" and refers to the characteristics of the organs for secreting nectar...
, butterfly orchid
Butterfly Orchid
Butterfly orchid may refer to:* Psychopsis, any species* Sarcochilus, several species* Anacamptis papilionacea * Encyclia tampensis* Epidendrum venosum* Habenaria psycodes* Oncidium papilio...
, pale butterwort
Pinguicula lusitanica
Pinguicula lusitanica, commonly known as the Pale Butterwort, is a small butterwort that grows wild in acidic peat bog areas along coastal western Europe from western Scotland and Ireland south through western England and western France to Iberia, and Morocco in northwestern Africa.It usually...
and mountain azalea
Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
(Loiseleuria procumbens).Douglas Botting, Wild Britain: A Traveller's and Naturalist's Handbook, London: Ebury Press, p. 182
Herds of red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
and wild goats roam the glen.Wild Britain: A Traveller's and Naturalist's Handbook, p. 182
The Battle of Glen Shiel
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
government and an alliance of Jacobites
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
and Spaniards, and resulted in a victory for the British forces. It was the last close engagement of British and foreign troops on mainland British soil. The battle is sometimes considered an extension of the 1715 rising, but is more correctly a separate rebellion and was the only rising to be extinguished by a single military action. It is "Scotland's only battle site with contemporary remains still visible – including the stone dyke enclosure where the Jacobite munitions were stored".National Trust for Scotland information on the battle Accessed 28 January 2009
The natural strength of the Jacobite position, which was positioned on easily defendable crags in the glen, had been increased by hasty fortifications. A barricade had been constructed across the road, and along the face of the hill on the north side of the river entrenchments had been thrown up. Here the main body was posted, consisting of a Spanish regiment, Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands is the mountain Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The chief of the clan is customarily referred to as...
of Lochiel
Lochiel
Lochiel may refer to:*Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, the Scottish chieftain*Lochiel, New South Wales, Australia*Lochiel, South Australia*Lochiel, Mpumalanga, South Africa...
with about 150 men, about 150 of Lidcoat’s and others, Rob Roy MacGregor with 40 men, 50 men of Clan Mackinnon
Clan MacKinnon
Clan Mackinnon or Clan Fingon is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the islands of Mull and Skye, in the Inner Hebrides.Popular tradition gives the clan a Dalriadic Gaelic origin. The 19th century historian W. F. Skene named the clan as one of the seven clans of Siol Alpin - who according to...
and 200 from the Clan MacKenzie
Clan MacKenzie
Clan Mackenzie is a Highland Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire.-Origins:The Mackenzies, a powerful clan of Celtic stock, were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestry. Descendants of the long defunct royal Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, they...
. British forces included 150 grenadiers under Major Milburn, Montagu’s Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence, a detachment of 50 men under Colonel Harrison, Huffel's Dutch Regiment, four companies of Arnerongen's from the Clan Fraser
Clan Fraser
Clan Fraser is a Scottish clan of French origin. The Clan has been strongly associated with Inverness and the surrounding area since the Clan's founder gained lands there in the 13th century. Since its founding, the Clan has dominated local politics and been active in every major military conflict...
, Clan Ross
Clan Ross
Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross.-Origins:Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan first named as such by King Malcolm IV of Scotland in 1160...
and the Clan Sutherland
Clan Sutherland
Clan Sutherland is a Highland Scottish clan whose traditional territory is located in the region of Sutherland in northern highlands of Scotland and was one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The clan seat is at Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland...
, 80 men of Clan MacKay
Clan MacKay
Clan Mackay is an ancient and once powerful Scottish clan from the far north of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old kingdom of Moray. They were a powerful force in politics beginning in the 14th century, supporting Robert the Bruce. In the centuries that followed they were...
, Clayton’s Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Reading and about 100 men of the Clan Munro
Clan Munro
-Origins:The main traditional origin of the clan is that the Munros came from Ireland and settled in Scotland in the 11th century and that they fought as mercenary soldiers under the Earl of Ross who defeated Viking invaders in Rosshire...
under George Munro of Culcairn
George Munro of Culcairn
Sir George Munro of Culcairn was a Scottish soldier of the 18th century from Ross-shire, Scotland.-Lineage:George Munro of Culcairn was the second son of Sir Robert Munro, 5th Baronet of Foulis, chief of the Clan Munro, who was also known as the Blind Baron...
.
Glen Shiel (Scottish Gaelic: Ghleann Sheile) (also known as Glenshiel) is a glen
Glen
A glen is a valley, typically one that is long, deep, and often glacially U-shaped; or one with a watercourse running through such a valley. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower than a strath."...
in the Northwest Highlands
Northwest Highlands
The Northwest Highlands are the northern third of Scotland that is separated from the Grampian Mountains by the Great Glen . The region comprises , Assynt, Caithness and Sutherland. The Caledonian Canal, which extends from Loch Linnhe in the west, via Loch Ness to the Moray Firth in the north...
of 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...
.
The glen runs approximately 9 miles from north-west to south-east, from sea level at the village of Shiel Bridge and Loch Duich
Loch Duich
Loch Duich is a sea loch situated on the western coast of Scotland, in the Highlands.-History:In 1719, British forces burned many homesteads along the loch’s shores in the month preceding the Battle of Glen Shiel....
to the Cluanie Inn (216 metres) at the western end of Loch Cluanie
Loch Cluanie
Loch Cluanie is a loch in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland at the south-east end of Glen Shiel. It is a reservoir, contained behind the Cluanie Dam, constructed by Mitchell Construction and completed in 1957 as part of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board's Glenmoriston project to...
and the start of Glenmoriston
Glenmoriston
Glenmoriston or Glen Moriston is a river glen in the Scottish Highlands, that runs from Loch Ness, at the village of Invermoriston, westwards to Loch Cluanie, where it meets with Glen Shiel. The A887 and A87 roads pass through Glenmoriston....
.W. H. Murray, The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, 7th ed., Glasgow: William Collins, 1977, p. 251 The northern side of the glen lies within the Kintail and Morvich estate owned by the National Trust for Scotland
National Trust for Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...
.National Trust for Scotland information on Kintail Accessed 28 January 2009
Roads
The A87A87 road
The A87 is a major road in the Highland region of Scotland.It runs west from its junction with the A82 road at Invergarry , along the north shores of Loch Garry and Loch Cluanie, then down through Glen Shiel and along Loch Duich to Kyle of Lochalsh before crossing the Skye Bridge to Kyleakin,...
Road to the Isles runs the full length of the glen, reaching a high point of 271 metres two miles west of the Cluanie Inn.OS
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
Landranger, 33, Loch Alsh, Glen Shiel & Loch Hourn The remnants of the military road connecting Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus is a settlement in the Scottish Highlands, at the south west end of Loch Ness. The village has a population of around 646 ; its economy is heavily reliant on tourism....
to the Bernera barracks in Glenelg built between 1750 and 1784 by William Caulfeild, the successor to General Wade
George Wade
Field Marshal George Wade served as a British military commander and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.-Early career:Wade, born in Kilavally, Westmeath in Ireland, was commissioned into the Earl of Bath's Regiment in 1690 and served in Flanders in 1692, during the Nine Years War, earning a...
, can be seen a quarter of a mile west of the Cluanie Inn.The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 252
Geography
Sgurr na Càrnach
Sgùrr na Càrnach is a Scottish mountain situated on the northern side of Glen Shiel, 24 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh. The mountain is part of one of the best views in the Western Highlands as it is one of three mountains which make up the Five Sisters of Kintail...
, Sgurr Fhuaran
Sgurr Fhuaran
Sgùrr Fhuaran is a Scottish mountain that is situated on the northern side of Glen Shiel, east south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.- Overview :...
, Sgurr nan Spàinnteach and Sgurr nan Saighead) in the lower part of the glen, and Sàileag
Sàileag
Sàileag is Scottish mountain located on the northern side of Glen Shiel, 27 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.-Overview:It lies just to the east of the famous Five Sisters of Kintail group of hills to which it is connected by the Bealach an Lapain...
, Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg
Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg
Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg is a Scottish mountain situated in Kintail on the northern side of Glen Shiel, 30 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.-Overview:...
and Aonach Meadhoin
Aonach Meadhoin
Aonach Meadhoin is a Munro mountain situated in the Kintail region of Scotland. It stands on the northern side of Glen Shiel some 31 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.- Overview :...
in the upper part.
To the south of the glen, the South Glen Shiel (or South Cluanie) ridge (Creag a' Mhàim, Druim Shionnach, Aonach air Chrith, Maol Chinn-dearg, Sgurr an Doire Leathain, Sgurr an Lochain and Creag nan Damh) occupies the upper part, and in the lower part are The Saddle
The Saddle
The Saddle is one of the great Scottish mountains; seen from thesite of the Battle of Glen Shiel it forms one of the best-known views in the Highlands. It is in the Highland local government area, on the boundary between the counties of Inverness-shire and Ross and Cromarty.The mountain provides...
, according to W. H. Murray "the best mountain of the region both in distant shape and close acquaintance,"The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 276 and Sgurr na Sgine
Sgurr na Sgine
Sgurr na Sgine is a Scottish mountain situated eight kilometres south of Shiel Bridge in the Glenshiel Forest at the lower end of Glen Shiel in the Highland District.- Overview :...
.The Munros, ed. D. Bennet, SMC, 1985, pp. 158–61, 172–7 From Glen Shiel these last two mountains are only accessible by the side valleys – Allt Mhalagain is the most popular – than run off Glen Shiel, unlike the North and South Glen Shiel ridges whose slopes can be reached directly as they run along the glen.
John Macleod writes of the glen that:
The river running down the glen is the river Shiel, which flows into Loch Duich.The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 252
Flora and fauna
The glen contains native tree species such as common alder, downy birch, sessile oak and rowanSorbus aucuparia
Sorbus aucuparia , is a species of the genus Sorbus, native to most of Europe except for the far south, and northern Asia...
. Parts of the northern flanks of the upper glen have been afforested
Afforestation
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no forest. Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover, either naturally or artificially...
with a mix of Scots pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
, Sitka spruce
Sitka Spruce
Picea sitchensis, the Sitka Spruce, is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50–70 m tall, exceptionally to 95 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m, exceptionally to 6–7 m diameter...
and Norway spruce
Norway Spruce
Norway Spruce is a species of spruce native to Europe. It is also commonly referred to as the European Spruce.- Description :...
. Glen Shiel is within 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....
's Fort Augustus Forest Division, and in a 2008 report the Commission wrote "Consideration is being given to restoration of ancient woodland sites in dramatic landscapes like the Great Glen and Glen Shiel."Forestry Commission Scotland, All Forests Visitor Monitoring: Survey of visitors to FCS forests See p. 7. Accessed 29 January 2009
Notable plant species growing on the grassy flanks of the mountains include fragrant orchid
Fragrant orchid
Fragrant Orchid is an herbaceous plant belonging to the family Orchidaceae.-Etymology:The name of the genus Gymnodenia is formed from Greek words "gymnos" meaning "nude" and "adèn" meaning "gland" and refers to the characteristics of the organs for secreting nectar...
, butterfly orchid
Butterfly Orchid
Butterfly orchid may refer to:* Psychopsis, any species* Sarcochilus, several species* Anacamptis papilionacea * Encyclia tampensis* Epidendrum venosum* Habenaria psycodes* Oncidium papilio...
, pale butterwort
Pinguicula lusitanica
Pinguicula lusitanica, commonly known as the Pale Butterwort, is a small butterwort that grows wild in acidic peat bog areas along coastal western Europe from western Scotland and Ireland south through western England and western France to Iberia, and Morocco in northwestern Africa.It usually...
and mountain azalea
Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
(Loiseleuria procumbens).Douglas Botting, Wild Britain: A Traveller's and Naturalist's Handbook, London: Ebury Press, p. 182
Herds of red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
and wild goats roam the glen.Wild Britain: A Traveller's and Naturalist's Handbook, p. 182
The Battle of Glen Shiel
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
government and an alliance of Jacobites
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
and Spaniards, and resulted in a victory for the British forces. It was the last close engagement of British and foreign troops on mainland British soil. The battle is sometimes considered an extension of the 1715 rising, but is more correctly a separate rebellion and was the only rising to be extinguished by a single military action. It is "Scotland's only battle site with contemporary remains still visible – including the stone dyke enclosure where the Jacobite munitions were stored".National Trust for Scotland information on the battle Accessed 28 January 2009
The natural strength of the Jacobite position, which was positioned on easily defendable crags in the glen, had been increased by hasty fortifications. A barricade had been constructed across the road, and along the face of the hill on the north side of the river entrenchments had been thrown up. Here the main body was posted, consisting of a Spanish regiment, Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands is the mountain Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The chief of the clan is customarily referred to as...
of Lochiel
Lochiel
Lochiel may refer to:*Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, the Scottish chieftain*Lochiel, New South Wales, Australia*Lochiel, South Australia*Lochiel, Mpumalanga, South Africa...
with about 150 men, about 150 of Lidcoat’s and others, Rob Roy MacGregor with 40 men, 50 men of Clan Mackinnon
Clan MacKinnon
Clan Mackinnon or Clan Fingon is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the islands of Mull and Skye, in the Inner Hebrides.Popular tradition gives the clan a Dalriadic Gaelic origin. The 19th century historian W. F. Skene named the clan as one of the seven clans of Siol Alpin - who according to...
and 200 from the Clan MacKenzie
Clan MacKenzie
Clan Mackenzie is a Highland Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire.-Origins:The Mackenzies, a powerful clan of Celtic stock, were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestry. Descendants of the long defunct royal Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, they...
. British forces included 150 grenadiers under Major Milburn, Montagu’s Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence, a detachment of 50 men under Colonel Harrison, Huffel's Dutch Regiment, four companies of Arnerongen's from the Clan Fraser
Clan Fraser
Clan Fraser is a Scottish clan of French origin. The Clan has been strongly associated with Inverness and the surrounding area since the Clan's founder gained lands there in the 13th century. Since its founding, the Clan has dominated local politics and been active in every major military conflict...
, Clan Ross
Clan Ross
Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross.-Origins:Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan first named as such by King Malcolm IV of Scotland in 1160...
and the Clan Sutherland
Clan Sutherland
Clan Sutherland is a Highland Scottish clan whose traditional territory is located in the region of Sutherland in northern highlands of Scotland and was one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The clan seat is at Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland...
, 80 men of Clan MacKay
Clan MacKay
Clan Mackay is an ancient and once powerful Scottish clan from the far north of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old kingdom of Moray. They were a powerful force in politics beginning in the 14th century, supporting Robert the Bruce. In the centuries that followed they were...
, Clayton’s Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Reading and about 100 men of the Clan Munro
Clan Munro
-Origins:The main traditional origin of the clan is that the Munros came from Ireland and settled in Scotland in the 11th century and that they fought as mercenary soldiers under the Earl of Ross who defeated Viking invaders in Rosshire...
under George Munro of Culcairn
George Munro of Culcairn
Sir George Munro of Culcairn was a Scottish soldier of the 18th century from Ross-shire, Scotland.-Lineage:George Munro of Culcairn was the second son of Sir Robert Munro, 5th Baronet of Foulis, chief of the Clan Munro, who was also known as the Blind Baron...
.
Glen Shiel (Scottish Gaelic: Ghleann Sheile) (also known as Glenshiel) is a glen
Glen
A glen is a valley, typically one that is long, deep, and often glacially U-shaped; or one with a watercourse running through such a valley. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower than a strath."...
in the Northwest Highlands
Northwest Highlands
The Northwest Highlands are the northern third of Scotland that is separated from the Grampian Mountains by the Great Glen . The region comprises , Assynt, Caithness and Sutherland. The Caledonian Canal, which extends from Loch Linnhe in the west, via Loch Ness to the Moray Firth in the north...
of 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...
.
The glen runs approximately 9 miles from north-west to south-east, from sea level at the village of Shiel Bridge and Loch Duich
Loch Duich
Loch Duich is a sea loch situated on the western coast of Scotland, in the Highlands.-History:In 1719, British forces burned many homesteads along the loch’s shores in the month preceding the Battle of Glen Shiel....
to the Cluanie Inn (216 metres) at the western end of Loch Cluanie
Loch Cluanie
Loch Cluanie is a loch in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland at the south-east end of Glen Shiel. It is a reservoir, contained behind the Cluanie Dam, constructed by Mitchell Construction and completed in 1957 as part of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board's Glenmoriston project to...
and the start of Glenmoriston
Glenmoriston
Glenmoriston or Glen Moriston is a river glen in the Scottish Highlands, that runs from Loch Ness, at the village of Invermoriston, westwards to Loch Cluanie, where it meets with Glen Shiel. The A887 and A87 roads pass through Glenmoriston....
.W. H. Murray, The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, 7th ed., Glasgow: William Collins, 1977, p. 251 The northern side of the glen lies within the Kintail and Morvich estate owned by the National Trust for Scotland
National Trust for Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...
.National Trust for Scotland information on Kintail Accessed 28 January 2009
Roads
The A87A87 road
The A87 is a major road in the Highland region of Scotland.It runs west from its junction with the A82 road at Invergarry , along the north shores of Loch Garry and Loch Cluanie, then down through Glen Shiel and along Loch Duich to Kyle of Lochalsh before crossing the Skye Bridge to Kyleakin,...
Road to the Isles runs the full length of the glen, reaching a high point of 271 metres two miles west of the Cluanie Inn.OS
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
Landranger, 33, Loch Alsh, Glen Shiel & Loch Hourn The remnants of the military road connecting Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus is a settlement in the Scottish Highlands, at the south west end of Loch Ness. The village has a population of around 646 ; its economy is heavily reliant on tourism....
to the Bernera barracks in Glenelg built between 1750 and 1784 by William Caulfeild, the successor to General Wade
George Wade
Field Marshal George Wade served as a British military commander and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.-Early career:Wade, born in Kilavally, Westmeath in Ireland, was commissioned into the Earl of Bath's Regiment in 1690 and served in Flanders in 1692, during the Nine Years War, earning a...
, can be seen a quarter of a mile west of the Cluanie Inn.The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 252
Geography
Sgurr na Càrnach
Sgùrr na Càrnach is a Scottish mountain situated on the northern side of Glen Shiel, 24 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh. The mountain is part of one of the best views in the Western Highlands as it is one of three mountains which make up the Five Sisters of Kintail...
, Sgurr Fhuaran
Sgurr Fhuaran
Sgùrr Fhuaran is a Scottish mountain that is situated on the northern side of Glen Shiel, east south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.- Overview :...
, Sgurr nan Spàinnteach and Sgurr nan Saighead) in the lower part of the glen, and Sàileag
Sàileag
Sàileag is Scottish mountain located on the northern side of Glen Shiel, 27 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.-Overview:It lies just to the east of the famous Five Sisters of Kintail group of hills to which it is connected by the Bealach an Lapain...
, Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg
Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg
Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg is a Scottish mountain situated in Kintail on the northern side of Glen Shiel, 30 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.-Overview:...
and Aonach Meadhoin
Aonach Meadhoin
Aonach Meadhoin is a Munro mountain situated in the Kintail region of Scotland. It stands on the northern side of Glen Shiel some 31 kilometres south east of Kyle of Lochalsh.- Overview :...
in the upper part.
To the south of the glen, the South Glen Shiel (or South Cluanie) ridge (Creag a' Mhàim, Druim Shionnach, Aonach air Chrith, Maol Chinn-dearg, Sgurr an Doire Leathain, Sgurr an Lochain and Creag nan Damh) occupies the upper part, and in the lower part are The Saddle
The Saddle
The Saddle is one of the great Scottish mountains; seen from thesite of the Battle of Glen Shiel it forms one of the best-known views in the Highlands. It is in the Highland local government area, on the boundary between the counties of Inverness-shire and Ross and Cromarty.The mountain provides...
, according to W. H. Murray "the best mountain of the region both in distant shape and close acquaintance,"The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 276 and Sgurr na Sgine
Sgurr na Sgine
Sgurr na Sgine is a Scottish mountain situated eight kilometres south of Shiel Bridge in the Glenshiel Forest at the lower end of Glen Shiel in the Highland District.- Overview :...
.The Munros, ed. D. Bennet, SMC, 1985, pp. 158–61, 172–7 From Glen Shiel these last two mountains are only accessible by the side valleys – Allt Mhalagain is the most popular – than run off Glen Shiel, unlike the North and South Glen Shiel ridges whose slopes can be reached directly as they run along the glen.
John Macleod writes of the glen that:
The river running down the glen is the river Shiel, which flows into Loch Duich.The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 252
Flora and fauna
The glen contains native tree species such as common alder, downy birch, sessile oak and rowanSorbus aucuparia
Sorbus aucuparia , is a species of the genus Sorbus, native to most of Europe except for the far south, and northern Asia...
. Parts of the northern flanks of the upper glen have been afforested
Afforestation
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no forest. Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover, either naturally or artificially...
with a mix of Scots pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
, Sitka spruce
Sitka Spruce
Picea sitchensis, the Sitka Spruce, is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50–70 m tall, exceptionally to 95 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m, exceptionally to 6–7 m diameter...
and Norway spruce
Norway Spruce
Norway Spruce is a species of spruce native to Europe. It is also commonly referred to as the European Spruce.- Description :...
. Glen Shiel is within 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....
's Fort Augustus Forest Division, and in a 2008 report the Commission wrote "Consideration is being given to restoration of ancient woodland sites in dramatic landscapes like the Great Glen and Glen Shiel."Forestry Commission Scotland, All Forests Visitor Monitoring: Survey of visitors to FCS forests See p. 7. Accessed 29 January 2009
Notable plant species growing on the grassy flanks of the mountains include fragrant orchid
Fragrant orchid
Fragrant Orchid is an herbaceous plant belonging to the family Orchidaceae.-Etymology:The name of the genus Gymnodenia is formed from Greek words "gymnos" meaning "nude" and "adèn" meaning "gland" and refers to the characteristics of the organs for secreting nectar...
, butterfly orchid
Butterfly Orchid
Butterfly orchid may refer to:* Psychopsis, any species* Sarcochilus, several species* Anacamptis papilionacea * Encyclia tampensis* Epidendrum venosum* Habenaria psycodes* Oncidium papilio...
, pale butterwort
Pinguicula lusitanica
Pinguicula lusitanica, commonly known as the Pale Butterwort, is a small butterwort that grows wild in acidic peat bog areas along coastal western Europe from western Scotland and Ireland south through western England and western France to Iberia, and Morocco in northwestern Africa.It usually...
and mountain azalea
Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
(Loiseleuria procumbens).Douglas Botting, Wild Britain: A Traveller's and Naturalist's Handbook, London: Ebury Press, p. 182
Herds of red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
and wild goats roam the glen.Wild Britain: A Traveller's and Naturalist's Handbook, p. 182
The Battle of Glen Shiel
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
government and an alliance of Jacobites
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
and Spaniards, and resulted in a victory for the British forces. It was the last close engagement of British and foreign troops on mainland British soil. The battle is sometimes considered an extension of the 1715 rising, but is more correctly a separate rebellion and was the only rising to be extinguished by a single military action. It is "Scotland's only battle site with contemporary remains still visible – including the stone dyke enclosure where the Jacobite munitions were stored".National Trust for Scotland information on the battle Accessed 28 January 2009
The natural strength of the Jacobite position, which was positioned on easily defendable crags in the glen, had been increased by hasty fortifications. A barricade had been constructed across the road, and along the face of the hill on the north side of the river entrenchments had been thrown up. Here the main body was posted, consisting of a Spanish regiment, Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands is the mountain Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The chief of the clan is customarily referred to as...
of Lochiel
Lochiel
Lochiel may refer to:*Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, the Scottish chieftain*Lochiel, New South Wales, Australia*Lochiel, South Australia*Lochiel, Mpumalanga, South Africa...
with about 150 men, about 150 of Lidcoat’s and others, Rob Roy MacGregor with 40 men, 50 men of Clan Mackinnon
Clan MacKinnon
Clan Mackinnon or Clan Fingon is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the islands of Mull and Skye, in the Inner Hebrides.Popular tradition gives the clan a Dalriadic Gaelic origin. The 19th century historian W. F. Skene named the clan as one of the seven clans of Siol Alpin - who according to...
and 200 from the Clan MacKenzie
Clan MacKenzie
Clan Mackenzie is a Highland Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire.-Origins:The Mackenzies, a powerful clan of Celtic stock, were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestry. Descendants of the long defunct royal Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, they...
. British forces included 150 grenadiers under Major Milburn, Montagu’s Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence, a detachment of 50 men under Colonel Harrison, Huffel's Dutch Regiment, four companies of Arnerongen's from the Clan Fraser
Clan Fraser
Clan Fraser is a Scottish clan of French origin. The Clan has been strongly associated with Inverness and the surrounding area since the Clan's founder gained lands there in the 13th century. Since its founding, the Clan has dominated local politics and been active in every major military conflict...
, Clan Ross
Clan Ross
Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross.-Origins:Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan first named as such by King Malcolm IV of Scotland in 1160...
and the Clan Sutherland
Clan Sutherland
Clan Sutherland is a Highland Scottish clan whose traditional territory is located in the region of Sutherland in northern highlands of Scotland and was one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The clan seat is at Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland...
, 80 men of Clan MacKay
Clan MacKay
Clan Mackay is an ancient and once powerful Scottish clan from the far north of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old kingdom of Moray. They were a powerful force in politics beginning in the 14th century, supporting Robert the Bruce. In the centuries that followed they were...
, Clayton’s Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Reading and about 100 men of the Clan Munro
Clan Munro
-Origins:The main traditional origin of the clan is that the Munros came from Ireland and settled in Scotland in the 11th century and that they fought as mercenary soldiers under the Earl of Ross who defeated Viking invaders in Rosshire...
under George Munro of Culcairn
George Munro of Culcairn
Sir George Munro of Culcairn was a Scottish soldier of the 18th century from Ross-shire, Scotland.-Lineage:George Munro of Culcairn was the second son of Sir Robert Munro, 5th Baronet of Foulis, chief of the Clan Munro, who was also known as the Blind Baron...
.The Battle of Glenshiel, 10 June 1719. Note upon an Unpublished Document in the Possession of His Grace the Duke of Marlborough, by A. H. Millar, F.S.A. Scot. For Spanish retreat, see p. 68. Accessed 28 January 2009
One of the peaks on the northern side of the valley, Sgurr nan Spainteach (Peak of the Spaniards), derives its name from the 200 Spanish troopsThe Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland, p. 278. Other sources give the figure as 300. who fought a rearguard action on the side of the defeated Jacobite rebels and who retreated over the peak. This peak's parent mountain is Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe, which means peak of the black chest. Irvine Butterfield writes that "although some of the coins they [the Spanish soldiers] dropped were later found there is no mention that they fell from a black chest [...] the black chest is in reality the deep hollow of the Allt Dearg on the south-west slope [of Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe]."Irvine Butterfield, The Magic of the Munros, Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1999, p. 134
The painting The Battle of Glenshiel 1719 by the Flemish
County of Flanders
The County of Flanders was one of the territories constituting the Low Countries. The county existed from 862 to 1795. It was one of the original secular fiefs of France and for centuries was one of the most affluent regions in Europe....
painter Peter Tillemans
Peter Tillemans
Peter Tillemans was a Flemish painter, best known for his works on sporting and topographical subjects. Alongside John Wootton and James Seymour, he was one of the founders of the English school of sporting painting....
(c. 1684–1734)Peter Tillemans on Artnet Accessed 30 January 2009 shows the opposing forces in the glen; the figures in the foreground probably include Lord George Murray
Lord George Murray (general)
Lord George Murray was a Scottish Jacobite general, most noted for his 1745 campaign under Bonnie Prince Charlie into England...
and Rob Roy MacGregor on the Jacobite side and General Joseph Wightman on the British side.National Galleries of Scotland online collection Accessed 30 January 2009 This "highly accurate"Provenance of The Battle of Glenshiel 1719 Accessed 1 February 2009 painting, which hangs in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery on Queen Street, Edinburgh, Scotland. It holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. In addition it also holds the Scottish National Photography Collection...
, was originally catalogued as The Battle of Killiecrankie, 1689
Battle of Killiecrankie
-References:*Reid, Stuart, The Battle of Kiellliecrankkie -External links:* *...
.
Prince Charlie's Stone
The steep south-west slopes of Sgurr na Ciste Duibhe contain a large boulder known as "Prince Charlie's Stone", where Charles Edward StuartCharles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
, known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie", spent a day in the summer of 1746 hiding from English troops once he had left the Isle of Skye
Skye
Skye or the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills...
. At the time he had a £30,000 bounty on his head, having fled after the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
.Highlanders: A History of the Gaels, p. 173 After he reached Glen Shiel, Charles was sheltered by the "Seven Men of Glenmoriston", who "lived in a cave called Corriedhoga, high in Glenmoriston where the valley closes toward Loch Cluanie",John Prebble, Culloden, London: Penguin, 1967, p. 303 some 10 miles to the east of Glen Shiel. They sheltered the prince for a week during July 1746, vowing
Notable people
John Farquhar MunroJohn Farquhar Munro
John Farquhar Munro is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and was the MSP for Ross, Skye and Inverness West from 1999 until his retirement in 2011....
MSP
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...
was born in Glen Shiel on 26 August 1934.Biography at Scottish Liberal Democrats site Accessed 29 January 2009