Glen Strathfarrar
Encyclopedia
Glen Strathfarrar 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 Highland
Highland (council area)
Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute. Their councils, and those of Angus and...

 region 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...

, near Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. Its surface is above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie"...

.

Geography

The River Farrar
River Farrar
The River Farrar is a river in the Highlands of Scotland. It begins at the confluence of the Uisge Misgeach and the Garbh-uisge, which flows out of Loch Monar...

 runs through the glen.

The Glen is part of the Affric-Beauly hydro-electric power scheme
Affric-Beauly hydro-electric power scheme
The Affric / Beauly hydro-electric power scheme for the generation of hydro-electric power is located in the western Highlands of Scotland. It is based around Glen Strathfarrar, Glen Cannich and Glen Affric, and Strathglass further downstream....

, with a dam at Loch Monar and underground power stations at Deanie and Culligran.

There are a number of mountains on either side of the glen, many of which are popular with walkers. These include the Munro
Munro
A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over . They are named after Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet , who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables, in 1891. A Munro top is a summit over 3,000 ft which is not regarded as a separate mountain...

s of Sgùrr a' Choire Ghlais
Sgurr a' Choire Ghlais
Sgurr a' Choire Ghlais is a mountain in the North-west Highlands of Scotland. It lies between Glen Strathfarrar and Glen Orrin and it is an excellent viewpoint, being the highest mountain in its group - a group which includes the Munros of Sgurr na Ruaidhe, Sgurr Fhuar-thuill and Carn nan Gobhar...

, Sgurr Fhuar-thuill, Càrn nan Gobhar
Càrn nan Gobhar (Strathfarrar)
Càrn nan Gobhar is a mountain situated on the northern side of Glen Strathfarrar in Scotland. It stands some 40 kilometres west of the city of Inverness.It is usually climbed along with the neighbouring Munros of Sgurr a' Choire Ghlais and Sgurr na Ruaidhe....

 and Sgurr na Ruaidhe to the north, as well as Sgurr na Lapaich
Sgurr na Lapaich
Sgurr na Lapaich is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, situated north of Loch Mullardoch in the high ground that separates Glen Cannich and Glen Strathfarrar. The mountain reaches a height of 1,150 metres , and is the fourth highest mountain north of the Great Glen...

, another Càrn nan Gobhar
Càrn nan Gobhar (Mullardoch)
Càrn nan Gobhar is a Scottish mountain situated on the northern side of Loch Mullardoch in the upper part of Glen Cannich. It stands some 50 kilometres west-southwest of the city of Inverness in a remote group of four Munros informally known as “The Mullardochs” which form the high ground between...

, An Riabhachan
An Riabhachan
An Riabhachan is a Scottish mountain in the Skye and Lochalsh district of the Highland council area. It is situated 35 kilometres east of Kyle of Lochalsh standing in an isolated position at the western end of Loch Mullardoch, ten kilometres from any public road.- Overview :An Riabhachan reaches a...

 and An Socach to the south. There are also two Corbetts - Beinn a' Bha'ach Ard
Beinn a' Bha'ach Ard
Beinn a' Bha'ach Ard is mountain on the northern side of Glen Strathfarrar, in the Highlands of Scotland. It is situated at the eastern end of the glen, 5 km north-west of the village of Struy, and 16 km west of Beauly...

 and Sgorr na Dìollaid
Sgorr na Dìollaid
Sgorr na Dìollaid is a mountain in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It is situated between Glen Strathfarrar and Glen Cannich, 7 km north-west of the village of Cannich....

.

River Farrar

The Farrar is formed as the waters of the Garbh-uisge and Uisge Misgeach merge. The river then adopts a sinuous course along the flat floor of the glen, running eastwards through two lochs, Loch a' Mhuillidh and Loch Beannacharan, then continuing east to merge with the waters of the River Glass
River Glass, Strathglass
The River Glass is a river in the Scottish Highlands which flows northeastwards down Strathglass. It begins at the confluence of the River Affric and the Abhainn Deabhag, near the village of Tomich...

 to form the River Beauly
River Beauly
The River Beauly is a river in the Scottish Highlands, about 15 km west of the city of Inverness.It is about 25 km long, beginning near the village of Struy, at the confluence of the River Farrar and the River Glass...

 below Struy Bridge.

Access

The road along the glen is private, and a locked gate system operates whereby permission for motor vehicle access must be requested at the gatehouse. A quota of cars are allowed in the glen each day. Access times vary, according to the month, between 9am and 8pm. In the winter the only means of access is to contact the Mountaineering Council of Scotland
Mountaineering Council of Scotland
The Mountaineering Council of Scotland is the national representative body in Scotland that exists to protect the freedoms and promote the interests of climbers, hillwalkers and mountaineers, including ski-mountaineers...

 who will give a security code for the gate. The relative lack, therefore, of cars through the glen contributes to the remote and utter peace and calm, especially of the upper reaches of the glen toward Loch Monar.

There is no restriction on access along the glen by foot, bicycle or other non-motorised transport.

Etymology

The name of the glen is a curious 'Gaelicisation' of the Gaelic. As a strath is an elongated glen, a title of 'Glen Strath' is tautological and so a nonsense. It is likely though that an English-only speaker, ignorant of the meaning of 'Strath' when transcribing the map of the location, recorded that this was the 'Glen of Strathfarrar'.
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