Солтүстік-Батыс Шотландиясы: Вестер Росс аймағының табиғаты мен өмірі

Area in the North West Highlands of Scotland
the location in Scotland

Wester Ross has one of the lowest population densities in Europe, with just 1.6 people per km2, who live mostly in small crofting townships along the coastline of the region. The area is renowned for the scenic splendour of its mountains and coastline, and the range of wildlife that can be seen. It is a popular tourist destination, receiving around 70,000 visitors each year. Tourism forms a major part of the economic activity of the area, accounting for 35% of all employment. Much of Wester Ross is designated as a national scenic area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure their protection from inappropriate development. Scenic spots including Loch Maree, Inverewe Garden, Corrieshalloch Gorge, Glen Docherty and the Bealach na Bà. Wester Ross was designated as a Biosphere Reserve under UNESCO’s "Man and the Biosphere" (MAB) Programme in April 2016.

The geology of Wester Ross consists predominantly of Torridonian sandstone and Lewisian gneiss. The latter was formed during the Precambrian period, and is the oldest rock type found in Scotland;

Wester Ross is well known for its spectacular mountain scenery, especially the Torridon Hills which includes such peaks as Beinn Eighe and Liathach. Other notable "Torridonian" peaks in Wester Ross include An Teallach and Slioch,

Most of the major roads in the area radiate out from the more populated areas of Easter Ross, and link the settlements on the western coast to Inverness. Less major roads link these east–west routes to form a north–south route along the coast between Kyle of Lochalsh and Ullapool. This route has been marketed to tourists as the Wester Ross Coastal Trail, and also forms part of the North Coast 500 tourist route. The only railway line in Wester Ross is the Kyle of Lochalsh line, which is operated by ScotRail and provides a link between the southern part of the region and Inverness. Four services a day operate on the line, calling at stations at Achnasheen, Achnashellach, Strathcarron, Attadale, Stromeferry, Duncraig, Plockton and Duirinish, terminating at Kyle of Lochalsh.

Despite being located at a latitude of between 57.2° and 58.0° North Wester Ross experiences a relatively mild maritime climate (Köppen Cfb) due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The tables below provide data for three locations within the area: Aultbea, located on the coast near Poolewe; Kinlochewe, located in a more inland position at the head of Loch Maree; and the summit of the Bealach na Bà, located 600 m above sea level in a coastal location.

There are traces of Mesolithic occupation at several sites in Wester Ross, including at Redpoint and Shieldaig. Excavations of a Mesolithic rock shelter and shell midden at Sand on the Applecross peninsula revealed a variety of tools made from bone, stone and antler, together with waste from tool manufacture and food processing. The Mesolithic people were largely nomadic, and permanent settlements were first built during the Neolithic era, when trees were felled to create land for farming. The area was inhabited by Picts in late antiquity, and was largely Christian by the 7th century. From the 8th century Wester Ross, along with much of the western seaboard of Scotland, came under Norse domination, and placename evidence suggests that the Pictish language seems to have been entirely replaced wherever the Norsemen encountered it, with most names considered likely to be of Medieval rather than pre Norse origin. Following the decline of Norse power in western Scotland after their defeat at the Battle of Largs the semi independent Lords of the Isles came to dominate the western coast until the 15th century, when Scottish Crown was able to cement its control over the region. The clan structure began to break down in the 18th century, as clan chiefs came to see themselves as landlords, and the small tenant farmers had no legal answer to a landlord who wished to have them removed. During the late 18th and 19th centuries, the Highland Clearances saw tenants being forcibly moved to become crofters, a system under which their labour would be available when required by their landlords: they would be workers first and farmers second. Crofters were employed in enterprises such as fishing (Ullapool in the north of Wester Ross was built by the British Fishing Society in the 1780 90s) and kelping (the collection and processing of kelp to create products such as soda ash). In the later stages of the clearances the driver ceased to be industrial enterprises, but simply to clear the land for sheep farming, and later deer forests. At this point emigration was often the only option to those removed from their homes. Under pressure from the Highland Land League and public opinion a series of inquiries were held into the situation, leading to the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 which put an end to the clearances by granting security of tenure to crofters. However the act did not break up large estates, and Wester Ross continues to consist chiefly of large single owner estates.

There are many different habitats in Wester Ross, ranging from the marine and coastal environment to mountain summits over 1000 m above sea level. The area forms one of the Watsonian vice counties, geographical divisions of the British Isles used for the purposes of biological recording and other scientific data gathering. The coastline is mostly formed of cliffs and rocky shores covered with barnacles and seaweed. These cliffs are home to large numbers of seabirds such as puffins, fulmars, kittiwakes, razorbills, guillemots, black guillemots, cormorants and shags, whilst the rocky islets and skerries are important for harbour seals. There are also beaches and sand dunes: the dunes at Achnahaird in particular support three plant species (petalworts, dune slack mosses matted bryum and sea bryum) that occur nowhere else in Scotland. There is relatively little machair in Wester Ross compared to other parts of western Scotland. Loch Carron is home to the world's largest flame shell beds. The rivers and lochs of Wester Ross support important populations of Atlantic salmon and sea trout, although numbers of adult fish have declined in recent years. Freshwater pearl mussels live in the gravel beds of clean, fast flowing rivers: the population had declined across Europe as a result of pollution, habitat changes and pearl fishing, and the Wester Ross population is now of international importance. The lochs also support internationally important concentrations of breeding black throated divers, which is at the southern edge of its range in Wester Ross. Besides salmon and trout, Arctic charr can be found in many of the lochs. Moorland habitats, which are rare globally, are quite common in Wester Ross. The moors are characterised by blanket bogs composed of sphagnum mosses, and host breeding birds such as golden plover, greenshank and dunlin, along with a resident population of red grouse. The summits of Wester Ross host alpine and sub alpine heaths comprising mosses, liverworts and lichens, and dwarf shrubs such as alpine bearberry, juniper, crowberry, and cowberry. Beinn Eighe is the only known site for the Northern prongwort in the UK, and represents 75% of the known world population. Bird species in the montane areas of Wester Ross include ptarmigan, dotterel and snow bunting, along with raptor species such as golden eagle and merlin. White tailed eagles were reintroduced into Wester Ross during the 1990s, with 58 birds being released between 1993 and 1998. This was the second phase of the reintroduction of white tailed eagles into Scotland, following on from the release of 82 birds on Rùm between 1975 and 1985. As of 2014, it was estimated that there were 98 breeding pairs living along the west coast of Scotland.

The Wester Ross National Scenic Area covers 1635 km2 of countryside and seascape, and is the largest of the national scenic areas in terms of land area (1439 km2). It extends from Loch Kishorn in the south to Little Loch Broom in the north. There are two further national scenic areas (NSA) that include parts of Wester Ross: the Kintail NSA and the Coigach portion of the Assynt Coigach NSA. Wester Ross was designated as a Biosphere Reserve in April 2016. The designated area is subdivided into three zones:
A Core Zone of 53 km2, coincident with two protected sites, the Beinn Eighe and Loch Maree Islands National Nature Reserve and the Coille Mhór Special Area of Conservation. A Buffer Zone of 138 km2 surrounding these two sites and including the entirety of the National Trust for Scotland's Balmacara property. A Transition Zone of 5108 km2 covering the rest of Wester Ross (including 955 km2 of sea). Approximately 20% of Wester Ross is legally protected via the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) designation. In 2014 of coastal waters in the northern part of Wester Ross (from Rubha Rèidh to Coigach) was declared a Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area (NCMPA).

Wester Ross is featured in the lyrics to the song Letter from America by The Proclaimers, and Kishorn Commandos by North Sea Gas, which relate the wild lifestyle of construction workers on the Ninian Central Platform in Kishorn. Many other songs refer to or are named after areas, geographical features and villages of Wester Ross, notably Loch Maree Islands, which has been recorded by many artists including Calum Kennedy. Major outdoor scenes in the films Stardust and The Eagle (based on Rosemary Sutcliff's book The Eagle of the Ninth) were shot in Wester Ross. Plockton was used for shots showing Sergeant Neil Howie's arrival at Summerisle in The Wicker Man. The 2014 film What We Did on Our Holiday starring David Tennant, Rosamund Pike, and Billy Connolly, was filmed in Wester Ross and featured the Salmon Beach and Redpoint. Wester Ross is the location for the adventures of John Macnab in the book by John Buchan. American author George R. R. Martin took the name of the fictional continent in his epic fantasy franchise A Song of Ice and Fire, Westeros, from Wester Ross.