The Jetty - 2

This photo shows the location of the jetty below The Ferry Stores in Ormsaigbeg, sticking out into Kilchoan Bay. A previous post, here, describes the jetty's early history.

At some point the slipway began to be used by the salmon-fishing industry that was centred at Fascadale. The Ardnamurchan Estate owned the rights to all salmon netting round the shores of the peninsula from Shiel Foot to Laga Bay, and built up a thriving industry. The photo above shows nets drying by the slipway - a few of the big posts are still standing - and a black shed, one of two that stood near the top of the slipway which have since been demolished. One was used for storing nets, the other for the 'coble' - the salmon fishing boat.

The coble kept on the Kilchoan side was smaller than the one that can be seen at the jetty today, which belongs to Dochy Cameron and is still used to work the salmon net which is put out, each year, below the end house of Ormsaigbeg.

At that time the Estate had the right to use the land around the top of the slipway for its operations and for drying the nets, but the right to work the land remained, and remains with the crofter of Croft 67. The Estate also had use of two stone and slate buildings. One, originally a dwelling house and commonly called Shore Cottage, is close to the top of the slipway and is used each year by the Regatta officials and for storing equipment. The other, built as a store room for the salmon, sits between the Ferry House and the shop's store room, and is currently used as a shower and toilet block.

As the salmon fishery went into decline, the right to the salmon fishing and the use of the land by the slipway passed first to the Powries, then to Roddy MacLeod, and finally to Mark James. By the time Mark James disappeared off Ardnamurchan's north coast in a diving incident, the industry had almost ceased to exist.