River Sgitheach
Encyclopedia
Crataegus
Crataegus , commonly called hawthorn or thornapple, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name hawthorn was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe,...
River") is a river in Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use...
, 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...
. It rises on the southern slopes of Ben Wyvis
Ben Wyvis
Ben Wyvis is a mountain located in Easter Ross, Ross and Cromarty, Highland, in northern Scotland, north-west of Dingwall. It forms an undulating ridge running roughly north-south for about 5 km, the highest summit of which is Glas Leathad Mòr...
, passes through Strath Sgitheach, passing Clare plantation, Swordale, the village of Evanton
Evanton
Evanton is a large village in Easter Ross, in the Highland Council Area of Scotland. It lies between the river Sgitheach and the Allt Graad, is north of the city of Inverness, some south-west of Alness, and north-east of Dingwall. The village has a dozen or so streets, the main one being...
, and after about 13 miles (21 km) empties into the Cromarty Firth
Cromarty Firth
The Cromarty Firth of Cromarty') is an arm of the North Sea in Scotland. It is the middle of the three sea lochs at the head of the Moray Firth: to the north lies the Dornoch Firth, and to the south the Beauly Firth....
near the ruin of the old Kiltearn
Kiltearn
Kiltearn is a parish in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. The principal settlement is the village of Evanton, and the parish extends almost to Dingwall and about halfway to Alness. The old Kiltearn church and burial ground are on the shore of the Cromarty Firth. The current church is on the main...
parish church. About a mile to the northeast, on the other side of Balconie Point, the Allt Graad
Allt Graad
Allt Graad is a river in Easter Ross, Highland, Scotland. It is named on Ordnance Survey maps variously as Allt Graad and River Glass. It has also been known as the "Allt Grande", and the archaic Anglicization, "Aultgraad"....
also empties in the Firth. The ruin that lies on the beach between the two rivers is an old salmon fishing bothy of the Novar
Novar House
Novar House is an 18th-century building, located 0.7 miles north of the village of Evanton in Ross, Scotland.-History:The Munros of Novar descend from John Munro, 1st of Milntown, who in turn was the second son of Hugh Munro, 9th Baron of Foulis ....
Estate.
During the summer the water level falls but the river remains an obstacle and even at traditional fords you do well to get across with dry feet. Fortunately there are five bridges: an estate bridge in Strath Sgitheach; the B817 road bridge as the road enters Evanton; the railway bridge; the A9 main road bridge; and a wooden footbridge only 100 yards before the river meets the sea.
Evanton waste water treatment plant is on the banks of the river between the A9 and the sea.
The river was formerly anglicised as either "Skiach" or "Skiack", but the Gaelic spelling is used by the Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
name and that of Highland Council. It is pronounced like SKEE-ach.