Lochailort
Encyclopedia
Lochailort is a hamlet in Scotland
that lies at the head of Loch Ailort
, a sea loch, on the junction of the Road to the Isles (A830
) between Fort William and Mallaig
with the A861
loop towards Salen
and Strontian
. It is served by Lochailort railway station
on the West Highland Line
. Nearby is Lochailort Inn, a public house
, and Our Lady of the Braes, a small Roman Catholic church that was consecrated in 1874 but little used since 1964 as Sunday Mass is celebrated in the chapel at Inverailort House.
On the opposite side of the loch is Inverailort House.
The wife of the owner of Inverailort House, Christian Cameron, was a keen photographer in the late 19th Century. She took many photographs of the house and surrounding area but most of the glass plates were lost or destroyed when the military took over the house during WWII but the surviving photographs have been published in a book. Christian Cameron is said to have died of a broken heart after much of the contents of the house were badly damaged by the army when they emptied it.
This was requisitioned by the War Office
at the end of May 1940 for use in the training of irregular forces as the Special Training Centre. Initially this was operated by MI(R) but became part of Combined Operations
. Many techniques of guerilla and irregular warfare were developed there and training techniques which were adopted for Commando training. SOE
training was centred on nearby Arisaig House. The army moved out of the house on 20 August 1942 and it was then taken over by the Royal Navy when it became HMS Lochailort and used for the training of naval cadet ratings to be officers on small craft used by Combined Operations
. The Royal Navy moved out in January 1945.
The village and nearby buildings have appeared in films such as Local Hero
, Breaking the Waves
and Complicity
. The main businesses in the area are tourism
and salmon farming
in the loch.
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...
that lies at the head of Loch Ailort
Loch Ailort
Loch Ailort is a sea loch loch in Morar, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. Loch Ailort is a shallow V shaped loch, with the small Ardnish Peninsula on the north side, and the large southwest facing Moidart Peninsula to the south...
, a sea loch, on the junction of the Road to the Isles (A830
A830 road
The A830, sometimes known as the Road to the Isles , is a road in Lochaber, in the Highlands of Scotland, which connects the town of Fort William to the port of Mallaig....
) between Fort William and Mallaig
Mallaig
Mallaig ; is a port in Lochaber, on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland. The local railway station, Mallaig, is the terminus of the West Highland railway line , completed in 1901, and the town is linked to Fort William by the A830 road – the "Road to the Isles".The village of Mallaig...
with the A861
A861 road
The A861 road is a circuitous, primarily coastal, road in Highland, Scotland.The A861 serves the communities of the remote Ardgour, Sunart, Moidart and Ardnamurchan areas Although the ends of this road are only fourteen miles apart its total length is seventy miles.Route *junction with the A830...
loop towards Salen
Salen, Ardnamurchan
Salen is a scattered village, overlooking Salen Bay to the south, which is an inlet of the westen sea loch, Loch Sunart, on the eastern end of the Ardnamurchan peninsula, in Argyll, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland....
and Strontian
Strontian
Strontian is the main village in Sunart, an area in western Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, on the A861 road. It lies on the north shore of Loch Sunart, close to the head of the loch...
. It is served by Lochailort railway station
Lochailort railway station
Lochailort railway station is a railway station serving the village of Lochailort in the Highland Council area in Scotland. This station is on the West Highland Line.- History :...
on the West Highland Line
West Highland Line
The West Highland Line is considered the most scenic railway line in Britain, linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban on the west coast of Scotland to Glasgow. The line was voted the top rail journey in the world by readers of independent travel magazine Wanderlust in 2009, ahead of the iconic...
. Nearby is Lochailort Inn, a public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, and Our Lady of the Braes, a small Roman Catholic church that was consecrated in 1874 but little used since 1964 as Sunday Mass is celebrated in the chapel at Inverailort House.
On the opposite side of the loch is Inverailort House.
The wife of the owner of Inverailort House, Christian Cameron, was a keen photographer in the late 19th Century. She took many photographs of the house and surrounding area but most of the glass plates were lost or destroyed when the military took over the house during WWII but the surviving photographs have been published in a book. Christian Cameron is said to have died of a broken heart after much of the contents of the house were badly damaged by the army when they emptied it.
This was requisitioned by the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
at the end of May 1940 for use in the training of irregular forces as the Special Training Centre. Initially this was operated by MI(R) but became part of Combined Operations
Combined Operations
Combined Operations Headquarters was a department of the British War Office set up during World War II to harass the Germans on the European continent by means of raids carried out by use of combined naval and army forces...
. Many techniques of guerilla and irregular warfare were developed there and training techniques which were adopted for Commando training. SOE
SOE
- Organizations :* Special Operations Executive, a British World War II covert military organisation* State-owned enterprise, a government-owned business* Sega of Europe, a computer game developer* Sony Online Entertainment, a computer game developer...
training was centred on nearby Arisaig House. The army moved out of the house on 20 August 1942 and it was then taken over by the Royal Navy when it became HMS Lochailort and used for the training of naval cadet ratings to be officers on small craft used by Combined Operations
Combined Operations
Combined Operations Headquarters was a department of the British War Office set up during World War II to harass the Germans on the European continent by means of raids carried out by use of combined naval and army forces...
. The Royal Navy moved out in January 1945.
The village and nearby buildings have appeared in films such as Local Hero
Local Hero
Local Hero is a 1983 Scottish comedy-drama film starring Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster. It was directed by Bill Forsyth and produced by David Puttnam....
, Breaking the Waves
Breaking the Waves
Breaking the Waves is a 1996 film directed by Lars von Trier and starring Emily Watson. Set in the Scottish Highlands in the early 1970s, it tells the story of an unusual young woman, Bess McNeill, and of the love she has for Jan, her husband. The film is an international co-production led by Lars...
and Complicity
Complicity (film)
Complicity is a 2000 film based on the novel Complicity by Iain Banks. The screenplay was written by Bryan Elsley. It was directed by Gavin Millar...
. The main businesses in the area are tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
and salmon farming
Aquaculture of salmon
Salmon, along with carp, are the two most important fish groups in aquaculture. In 2007, the aquaculture of salmon and salmon trout was worth US$10.7 billion. The most commonly farmed salmon is the Atlantic salmon. Other commonly farmed fish groups include tilapia, catfish, sea bass, bream and...
in the loch.