Balbeg (Scottish Gaelic: Am Baile Beag) is a clachan (hamlet) about 0.5 miles (1 km) north-east of Balnain, 4 miles (6 km) west of Drumnadrochit, Inverness-shire (in the Scottish Highlands)[2] and is in the Scottish council area of Highland.
Balbeg
| |
|---|---|
 Balbeg in 1996 | |
  Balbeg Location within the Inverness area | |
| OS grid reference | NH480300 |
| Council area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | IV63 6 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament |
|
Balbeg is also the name of another small settlement, located on the north west shore of Loch Ness, about 4 miles south of Drumnadrochit. The two settlements are sometimes confused.
History edit
Balmacaan Estate edit
Much of Glenurquhart was part of the Balmacaan Estate[3][4] (also known as the Glen Urquhart Estate)[5] owned by the Grant family of Seafield between 1509 and 1946.[3][4] The estate was rented to the wealthy American industrialist and local benefactor Bradley Martin in the late 19th and early 20th century [6] and flourished in the 1880s and 1890s, but went into decline after the 1920s.[3][4] The estate then changed hands so frequently that the issue was raised in parliament.[7][8] The best forestry wood had been felled during World War 2[5][9] and the estate was dissolved in 1946.[3][4] Balmacaan House, near Drumnadrochit, was abandoned soon afterwards[9][3][5] set on fire by vandals in the 1960s and demolished in 1972.[4]
In 1946 Bunloit Farm was separated from Balmacaan Estate and Bunloit Estate was formed round it[10][11] near the small settlement of Balbeg, located on the north west shore of Loch Ness, about 4 miles south of Drumnadrochit.[10][11]
Glenurquhart, the valley in which Balbeg is located, used to be part of the lands of the Grants of Glenmorison, with the lands of the Frasers to the north for most of its time.
Balbeg, like Balnain, did not yet exist in 1832.[12] The River Enrick, which flows through Glenurquhart, was known as Endrie Water at this time.[12] Several buildings were erected during 1872, appearing on some maps, but not others.[13][14][15] It was there by 1896 [16] and 1878[17]
Climate edit
Like most of the United Kingdom, the Inverness area has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).[18]
The weather is pleasantly warm and sunny in the spring and summer, cool and fairly rainy in the autumn and very cold and snowy (with some blizzards) in the winter.
Transport edit
There are occasional buses to Balnain, from which Balbeg is a short walk.
Images edit
-
Sheep on a Balbeg farm during the winter of 1996. -
A Balbeg barn in 1998 -
Moorland near Balbeg in 1998.
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References edit
- ^ Roddy Maclean. "Place-Names of Inverness and Surrounding Area" (PDF). nature.scot. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ Microsoft; Nokia (1 April 2017). "Balbeg" (Map). Bing Maps. Microsoft. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Local History: Drumnadrochit, Scotland—The Appendix". theappendix.net.
- ^ a b c d e Trust, Woodland. "Balmacaan - Visiting Woods". Woodland Trust.
- ^ a b c Historic Environment Scotland. "Balmacaan House (105117)". Canmore. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "On Balmacaan Estate". Am Baile.
- ^ "Balmacaan Estate (Hansard, 26 October 1943)". api.parliament.uk.
- ^ "Balmacaan Estate, Inverness-Shire". Hansard. 19 October 1943.
- ^ a b "Architecture Notes | Canmore". canmore.org.uk.
- ^ a b "Loch Ness and mountains from a Highland estate". 6 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Bunloit Farm, Bunloit, Drumnadrochit, Inverness, IV63 6XG". www.ukpostcodecheck.com.
- ^ a b "Inverness Shire 5 N." www.davidrumsey.com.
- ^ "View map: Inverness-shire - Mainland XXIX.5 (Urquhart & Glenmoriston) - Ordnance Survey 25 inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1855-1882". maps.nls.uk.
- ^ "View map: Inverness-shire - Mainland XXIX.9 (Urquhart & Glenmoriston) - Ordnance Survey 25 inch 1st edition, Scotland, 1855-1882". maps.nls.uk.
- ^ "Scotland". www.davidrumsey.com.
- ^ "View map: One-inch 2nd Edition, Scotland: sheet 73 - Fort Augustus - Ordnance Survey One-inch to the mile maps of Scotland, 2nd Edition, 1885-1900". maps.nls.uk.
- ^ "View map: One-inch 1st Edition, Scotland: sheet 73 - Fort Augustus - Ordnance Survey One-inch to the mile maps of Scotland, 1st Edition, 1856-1891". maps.nls.uk.
- ^ "Inverness, Scotland Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase. Archived from the original on 4 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.