Баллахулиш: Шотландияның таулы аймағындағы кенті

Village in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland

The village of Ballachulish (,/b//æ//l//ə/'/x//uː//l//ɪ//ʃ/ BALəKHOOlish or ,/b//æ//l//ə/'/h//uː//l//ɪ//ʃ/ BALəHOOlish, from Scottish Gaelic Baile a' Chaolais ) in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, is centred on former slate quarries. The name Ballachulish (Ballecheles, 1522 – Straits town) was more correctly applied to the area now called North Ballachulish, to the north of Loch Leven, but was usurped for the quarry villages at East Laroch and West Laroch, either side of the River Laroch, which were actually within Glencoe and South Ballachulish respectively.

Shinty is a popular local sport and the narrows is the traditional boundary of the north–south divide in shinty, with teams north of narrows playing in the North district's competitions and those South playing in their respective competitions. Ballachulish Camanachd Club play in the South Leagues. However, Ballachulish is still considerably far North in relation to most of Scotland. The club has won the Camanachd Cup four times.

In 1903, a branch of the Callander and Oban Railway, from Connel Ferry, was opened to Ballachulish. The site of the former railway halt of Ballachulish Ferry, the last stop on the line before the Laroch quarries, was next to Ballachulish House, some inland from the ferry. Traces of the line, which closed in 1966, remain between here and Connel Ferry. The old terminus station at Laroch (Ballachulish) is now a doctor's surgery. The station, and stationmaster's house, at Duror, is now a private house and the station at Creagan, some 20 mile (32 km) south, has been refurbished in its old traditional Caledonian Railway brown. The station at Kentallen (5 mile (8 km) south of Ballachulish) included a pier. When the Oban Ballachulish branch line closed, the station buildings were bought over by Scottie & Bridget Stewart who ran the renowned Kentallen Station Tearooms for more than 15 years until finally retiring in 1974. Afternoon tea served here was a spectacular feast according to visitors books from the day. This station has now been turned into The Holly Tree Hotel & Leisure Club. Much of the old railway line has been re used as part of National Cycle Route 78, once again giving the beautiful views previously seen from the train.

Slate from the East Laroch quarries, established just two years after the infamous Glencoe Massacre of 1692, was used to provide the roofing slate for much of Edinburgh and Glasgow's skyline in the succeeding centuries. It is of good quality but one weakness is the presence of Iron Pyrite in the rock. These crystals quickly rust away when exposed to the weather, leaving clean square holes and a brown rusty streak. Over 75% of the slate cut from the quarries was unusable as roof covering for this and other reasons. In 1955 the quarries closed, leaving waste mountains for the abruptly unemployed and impoverished villagers to sort out. Between 1902 and 1905 the Ballachulish community was badly affected by two protracted conflicts in the slate quarries. The first began in July 1902, involved a twelve months lockout, and lasted eighteen months. The workers objected to the summary dismissal of the medical officer Dr. Lachlan Grant from both his work in the quarries and his post as Medical Officer for the Parish Council District of Ballachulish. They also objected to the unsatisfactory labour contracts, inadequate wages and excessive charges for the powder, coals and other materials supplied by the company. The second dispute started in the summer of 1905 when members of a hostile crowd charged the quarry manager with autocratic, dictatorial and unfair behaviour towards both Dr. Grant and members of the quarrying labour force and the community. A new company was formed in December 1907 and quarrying continued at Ballachulish until 1955.

The graveyard of the former St John's Episcopal Church has an "exceptional collection of 19th century finely inscribed and carved" gravestones made from Ballachulish slate.