Glensanda

Glensanda
Glensanda is located in Lochaber
Glensanda
Glensanda
Location within the Lochaber area
• Edinburgh190 mi or 310 km (road)
(149 mi or 240 km via Corran Ferry)
• London567 mi or 912 km (road)
(526 mi or 847 km via Corran Ferry)
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Dialling code01631
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
56°33′47″N 5°32′35″W / 56.563°N 5.543°W / 56.563; -5.543
Clan Maclean
Clan Maclaine
Branches
Lands
Castles
Septs
Glensanda from Glas Dhruim on Lismore, with Loch Linnhe in the foreground, looking WSW.

Glensanda (Old Norse, the glen of the sandy river) was a Viking settlement at the mouth of Glen Sanda[1] on the Morvern peninsula within south west Lochaber, overlooking the island of Lismore and Loch Linnhe in the western Highlands of Scotland.

Glensanda Castle (Caisteal Na Gruagaich (Maiden's Castle);[1] overlooks the mouth of the Glensanda River which tumbles down 400 metres along its 5-mile (8-kilometre) course from 'Caol Bheinn' into Loch Linnhe. The castle was the main base of the Macleans of Kingairloch (Kingerloch) since the 15th century, but the population fell from 500 to zero after 1812 when they emigrated to Pictou, Nova Scotia.[2][3][4]

The remoteness of the Glensanda settlement is such that there are no road, rail, or marked footway links across the granite mountain, moor, heather and peat bog of the private Glensanda estate. The only practical access is by boat from the shores of Loch Linnhe.

Since 1982 the 2,400-hectare (5,900-acre) Glensanda Estate has been the home of the Glensanda Superquarry created by Foster Yeoman, since acquired by the Aggregate Industries group, which mines the Meall na h-Easaiche mountain,[5] shipping up to 6,000,000 tons of granite aggregates all over the world annually, and with reserves for up to 100 years. To minimise visual impact from the coast the quarry is sited 1 mi (2 km) inland, and cut down into the mountain 1,600 ft (500 m) above sea level. Granite is extracted via a "Glory Hole" and conveyor belt, a pioneering development in alternative quarrying technology.[2]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference RCAHMS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Indy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference CamUni was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference MacHist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Scotlands Places, Meall na h-Easaiche and Glensanda Quarry". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2013.