Qualla: River Morar

River Morar: Introduction

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Lynn M Reid, CC BY-SA 2.0. Half a mile. That is the entire length of the freshwater portion of the River Morar, from the western shore of Loch Morar to the bridge that carries the A830. After that the river fans out across tidal sands and meets the Sound of Sleat. It is one of the shortest rivers in Scotland, but the loch it drains is the deepest in Britain, and the small drop between them - sixteen feet over a rock bar known as the Falls of Morar - hides one of the most ambitious public projects in twentieth-century Scotland.

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Image: Lynn M Reid | CC BY-SA 2.0

River Morar: Three Bridges in Half a Mile

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Dave Fergusson, CC BY-SA 2.0. Within that short course, the river is crossed three times. The uppermost is a four-arched concrete railway viaduct completed in 1897, now Category B listed, carrying the West Highland Line that opened to Mallaig in 1901. The main arch spans 90 feet; smaller arches step down at b...

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Image: Dave Fergusson | CC BY-SA 2.0

River Morar: Let Light Come to the Crofts

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Lynn M Reid, CC BY-SA 2.0. On 21 December 1948, a local crofter named Catherine MacKenzie stood beside the Falls of Morar and turned a ceremonial wheel. Water rushed into Kaplan turbines beneath her, and she spoke in Gaelic: "Gun tigeadh Solus agus Neart an dealain dhionnsuich gach crout" - Let light and p...

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Image: Lynn M Reid | CC BY-SA 2.0

River Morar: The Architect of Stone

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Marion Boyle, CC BY-SA 2.0. The original plans called for brick. James Shearer, one of the Board's architectural advisors, noticed that every building in the highlands was made of local stone and suggested the power stations be too - despite the cost, despite the fact that stoneworking was a dying craft. Ed...

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Image: Marion Boyle | CC BY-SA 2.0

River Morar: Tom Johnston's Vision

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Alex Robinson, CC BY-SA 2.0. The Hydro-Electric Development Act of 1943, which created the Board, was championed by Tom Johnston during his time as Secretary of State for Scotland. His idea was elegant: profits from selling bulk power to the Scottish lowlands would subsidise the cost of connecting individual...

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Image: Alex Robinson | CC BY-SA 2.0