River Laxford

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Laxford (Norse lax-fjord, 'salmon firth'), a stream and a sea-loch of Eddrachillis parish, NW Sutherland. The stream, issuing from Loch Stack (118 feet), runs 5¼ miles west-north-westward to the head of the sea-loch; is crossed, 1¼ mile above its mouth, by a large strong bridge with a public road; and enjoys high repute for its salmon and sea-trout, ranking as the second best salmon river in the county, and having been known to yield as many as 2500 salmon and grilses in a single year. It belongs to the Duke of Sutherland, and is strictly preserved. The sea-loch, extending 3¾ miles north-westward from the river's influx to the Minch at a point 4½ miles N by E of Scourie, has a varying breadth of 3½ furlongs and 2³/₈ miles; sends off, from the middle of its N side, Loch Chathaidh, extending 2⁵/₈ miles east-north-eastward; contains ten islets, of which Eilean Ard rises to a height of 238 feet; has shores and sea-boards much broken by projecting rocky heights; is overlooked by magnificent Highland scenery; and affords excellent anchorage. In consequence of its narrowness and intricacy, the loch is sometimes called the Kyle of Laxford.—Ord. Sur., shs. 107, 113, 1881-82.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer