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Click for services within this area. Begin your exploration here at Knockan Heights by the side of the A835 Ledmore Junction to Ullapool road. A newly renovated visitor centre hosts an interactive display that will guide you through the geological intricacies of the surrounding rock structures, and explain the significance and importance of local flora and fauna. Those seeking a 'closer' look at this part of Coigach should contact Tom Strang, author, mountain man, photographer and naturalist at Elphin. Tom knows more than most about the area, from sea level to the top of Suilven, the graceful mountain that dominates the western horizon. At Ledmore Junction, near the reopened marble quarry, where Loch Borralan borders the road is Altnacealgach, the burn of the cheats. Many years ago, two old Ross-shire men were given the task of ending a border dispute. They were to walk what they knew to be the true boundary between Sutherland and Ross-shire. On reaching Altnacealgach, they said that their feet had never once left Ross-shire soil; omitting to mention that they had taken the precaution of filling their shoes with Ross-shire earth before setting out. As you continue down Strath Oykle from Ledmore Junction the landscape becomes less demanding. The River Oykle bustles east through heather-banked pools where Atlantic salmon lie. Pause at Oykle Bridge. Cladius Ptolemy (AD127-51), Egyptian geographer and astronomer knew the Oykle. Whether or not he was a salmon angler is less clear. |
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