Shieldaig

Shieldaig
Scottish Gaelic: *Sìldeag*
Scots: *Shieldaig*
Shieldaig Scottish Gaelic: Sìldeag; Scots: Shieldaig;
	Shieldaig looking north along the sea-front
	Shieldaig Location within the Ross and Cromarty area
OS grid reference	NG815539
Civil parish	Applecross;
Council area	Highland;
Lieutenancy area	Ross and Cromarty;
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Kinlochewe
Postcode district	IV54
Dialling code	01520
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Ross, Skye and Lochaber;
Scottish Parliament	Caithness, Sutherland and Ross;
	List of places UK Scotland 57°31′16″N 5°39′04″W / 57.521°N 5.651°W / 57.521; -5.651

Shieldaig (Scottish Gaelic: Sìldeag; Old Norse: síld-vík, lit. 'herring bay')^[1] is a village in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands, in the Scottish council area of Highland.^[2]

Geography and history

The village was founded in 1800^[3] with a view to training up seamen for war against Napoleon. After his (initial) defeat and exile to Elba, the community found itself a new role as a fishing village. The small island just offshore never had its tall pines harvested to rig warships, and has now become a nature sanctuary.

The name of the village is derived from the Old Norse síld-vík, meaning 'herring bay'.^[1]

Shieldaig is a community of around 85 people,^[4] with its own school, a small pub, a village hall, a church and two restaurants. It is much used as a holiday destination, attracting those interested in fishing, touring the North Coast 500 or explorers of the Torridon Hills, which are a few miles around the coast.

Shieldaig holds a community fete in the second weekend of August.

Education

It is in the catchment area of Gairloch High School.^[5]

Another Shieldaig

12 miles (19 kilometres) to the north lies another Shieldaig.^[4]

Shieldaig from above

References

^ a b W. J. Watson, Place-names of Ross and Cromarty, 1904, p. 208.
^ Gittings, Bruce; Munro, David. "Shieldaig, Highland". The Gazetteer for Scotland. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh and The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
^ Shieldaig Undiscovered Scotland
^ a b "Torridon & Shieldaig". Steve Carter. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
^ "Schools - Gairloch High School". The Highland Council. Retrieved 22 October 2023.

External links

Media related to Shieldaig at Wikimedia Commons

[Watson-1] W. J. Watson, Place-names of Ross and Cromarty, 1904, p. 208.

[2] Gittings, Bruce; Munro, David. "Shieldaig, Highland". The Gazetteer for Scotland. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh and The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Retrieved 7 February 2019.

[3] Shieldaig Undiscovered Scotland

[git-4] "Torridon & Shieldaig". Steve Carter. Retrieved 23 January 2011.

[5] "Schools - Gairloch High School". The Highland Council. Retrieved 22 October 2023.