Coigach

Coigach
The township of Achduart, with Cairn Conmheall in the background.
Coigach is located in Ross and Cromarty
Coigach
Coigach
Location within the Ross and Cromarty area
Population228 [1]
OS grid referenceNC025085
Community council
  • Coigach
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townULLAPOOL
Postcode districtIV26
Dialling code01854
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
58°01′N 5°20′W / 58.02°N 5.34°W / 58.02; -5.34

Coigach (Scottish Gaelic: A' Chòigeach) is a peninsula north of Ullapool, in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The area consists of a traditional crofting and fishing community of a couple of hundred houses located between mountain and shore on a peninsula looking over the Summer Isles and the sea. The main settlement is Achiltibuie. Like its northerly neighbour, Assynt in Sutherland, Coigach has mountains which rise sharply from quiet, lochan-studded moorland, and a highly indented rocky coast with many islands, bays and headlands.[2] The highest summit is Ben Mor Coigach at 743 metres; the distinctive profile of Stac Pollaidh is the other main peak within Coigach.[3] The scenic qualities of Coigach, along with neighbouring Assynt, have led to the area being designated as the Assynt-Coigach National Scenic Area,[4] one of 40 such areas in Scotland.[5]

The name is derived from the Gaelic for "five" or "fifths",[6][7][8] and refers to the five townships of Achduart, Achnacarinan, Acheninver, Achnahaird and Achiltibuie.[9]

  1. ^ "Standard Outputs 2011 (Output Areas S00117989 & S00119174)". National Records of Scotland. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  2. ^ "The special qualities of the National Scenic Areas" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference map was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Assynt-Coigach National Scenic Area". NatureScot. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  5. ^ "National Scenic Areas". NatureScot. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  6. ^ Shirra, Kirstie (21 March 2011). Scotland's Best Small Mountains: Cicerone Press. Cicerone Press Limited. ISBN 9781849653459 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Dictionary Detail - cóigeach".
  8. ^ Murray, W.H. (1968). The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland. London and Glasgow: Collins. p. 325. The name means Place of the Fifths, from an early Celtic custom of dividing land into five parts.
  9. ^ "Coigach Community Hall - About the Hall".