Lochan a' Mhadaidh Riabhaich

Lochan a' Mhadaidh Riabhaich lies just over a kilometre to the east of Loch Mudle, just inside the forestry fence.  Since Mhadaidh means dog, fox or wolf, and Riabhaich brindled, grey or brown, the name might mean the lochan of the brindled wolf.

The lochan is about 500m across and slightly longer north-south, and is tucked into a fold in the ground, with the land falling away beyond it towards Loch Mudle.  It's also a beautiful little loch, so very different in its woodland setting from the many we have previously visited, most of which lie in bleak mountain terrain.

The lochan has a low-lying island covered in bracken, at the eastern end of which....

....there are the broken walls of what may have been a small house, with what looks like a stone wall running along the shore.  It would have been an ideal place to live in troubled times, with a natural defensive moat, enough land to grow crops, and plenty of fish - mainly trout - to be taken from the loch.

The lochan lies on Ardnamurchan Estate land, and permits to fish it can be obtained from the Estate or from local outlets such as The Ferry Stores.

Just to the west are the remains of another small farm.  The house, of which little remains but its broken stone walls, lies to the left, sitting on a platform overlooking its fields.  These extended into the area which is now forestry, so a considerable area was worked; the field to lower right shows the characteristic ridges and furrows of lazy bed cultivation.  The best land, as always, is covered in bracken, a sure sign of its fertility.

This view from the southeast shows that the lucky owner would have looked out across his land to another loch, Lochan na Gruagaich, the lochan of the damsel.  To the right is a stream which ran down into his land and into the lochan.

It comes down through a pretty glen in a series of small, stepped waterfalls.  When we were there, in mid-August, the water levels were low: it would be much more impressive at times of heavy rainfall.

Looking at it on a fine summer's day, the place seemed the perfect idyll.  However, it must have been a hard life working the land in West Ardnamurchan's fairly unforgiving climate, so it's not surprising that the farm was finally, and probably very reluctantly abandoned.

There's a map of the area here.  The arrow points to the location of the farm building.