Appin

Appin (Scottish Gaelic: An Apainn) is a remote coastal district of the Scottish West Highlands bounded west by Loch Linnhe, south by Loch Creran, east by the districts of Benderloch and Lorne, and north by Loch Leven. It lies north-east to south-west, and measures 14 miles (23 km) in length by 7 miles (11 km) in breadth.

The district is mainly in Argyll and Bute, with a coastal strip to the north, along Loch Leven, within the Highland council area.

The scenery of the coast is extremely beautiful - a combination of seascapes and rugged and mountainous country inland - and Appin forms part of the Lynn of Lorn National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland.^[1] The principal hills are double peaks of Beinn a' Bheithir - 3,362 feet (1,025 m) and 3,284 feet (1,001 m) - and Creag Ghorm- 2,372 feet (723 m) - in the north, and Fraochaidh 2,883 feet (879 m), Meall Bàn 2,148 feet (655 m) and Beinn Mhic na Céisich 2,093 feet (638 m) near the western flank of Glen Creran. The chief rivers are the Coe and Laroch, flowing into Loch Leven, the Duror and Salachan flowing into Loch Linnhe, and the Iola and Creran flowing into Loch Creran. The leading industries are forestry and tourism, lead mining and slate quarrying and being of former importance but the superquarry Glensanda, in Morvern, on the opposite bank of Loch Linnhe provides employment. Ballachulish, Duror, Portnacroish, Appin and Port Appin are the principal villages. Appin was the country of a branch of the Stuarts.

The A828 road runs along the coast of Appin. A passenger-only ferry to the island of Lismore runs from Port Appin. The district formerly had a railway, but the Caledonian Railway company’s branch line from Connel to Ballachulish was closed in 1966.

This is where the famous Appin Murder took place in 1752.

Notable residents

• Elizabeth Macquarie (née Campbell), wife of the fifth governor of New South Wales, was born in the area. During his term the governor named the towns of Appin and Airds after his wife's birthplace and her family's estate respectively. The Female Orphan School in Parramatta is said to have been modelled on the estate's main house.^[2]

External links

• Further information on the history of Appin
• Castle Stalker

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.