River Conon
The River Conon is a river in the Highlands of Scotland. It begins at Loch Luichart, and flows in a south-easterly direction to be joined by the River Meig at Scatwell before passing through Loch Achonachie. It is joined by the Black Water at Moy Bridge, and the River Orrin at Urray, before flowing past Conon Bridge and into the Cromarty Firth.
The river is part of the Conon hydro-electric power scheme, with dams at Loch Luichart, Loch Meig and Loch Achonachie, and power stations at Luichart and Torr Achilty. This major scheme was developed by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board between 1946 and 1961. Prior to that, a small power station had been built at the Falls of Conon in the 1920s, and a private scheme for the Brahan Estate was commissioned in 2015 at Dunglass Island.
The river system is fished for trout and salmon, but populations of these fish have not always been as healthy as they now are. The use of traps and fixed nets in the river and in the Cromarty Firth has been the subject of legal action since 1828. The construction of hydro-electric schemes has resulted in some of the salmon spawning grounds being lost, but fish lifts at the dams and a fish pass at the Falls of Conon have enabled fish to reach the River Bran, which was previously inaccessible to them, and some of habitat suitable for young salmon has been developed. Although nets in the Firth have now gone, fish are predated by seals which live in the Firth, and hunt up river as far as Torr Achilty dam.
There are several islands in the river, including Moy Island, Dunglass Island and Garrie Island. The river is said to have once been the home of a water horse.
A medieval log boat was found in the River Conon near Dingwall. It was discovered in 1874 following a flood and change in the river's course. Three timbers from it were stored at the National Museums of Scotland, and subsequent radiocarbon dating suggests it was produced in the late 13th or early 14th century.
Route
The waters that form the River Conon rise on Mòine Mhòr, an upland peat bog to the west of Achnasheen and to the south east of Kinlochewe. A series of springs on the slopes of Càrn Loisgte and Carn Breac fall into Loch na Mòine Mhòr and Loch an Fhiarlaid, from which the Abhain Dubh flows eastwards to the diminutive Loch Crann, and the much larger Loch a' Chroisg, which is over deep in places. The A832 Kinlochewe to Achnasheen road runs along the northern shore of the loch. From the eastern end of the loch, the waterway becomes the River Bran, and is crossed by a Parliamentary bridge at Achnasheen. This is a single span bridge built of rubble as part of a ten-year project to construct a road from Achnasheen to Strome Ferry between 1808 and 1819.That road became the A890, but the bridge has been superseded by a wider one slightly further downstream. The river is joined by the Abhainn a' Chomair, which rises in the Glencarron and Glenuig Forest on the northern slopes of Cnoc na Mòine and Carn Gorm, where it is called the Allt Gharagain. This flows to the north, and turns to the north-east near the hamlet of Ledgowan, where it is joined by the A890 road and the Kyle of Lochalsh railway line. It enters a small loch, is joined by the Allt Mhartuin, and enters Loch Gowan. It joins the River Bran just before the railway bridge at Achnasheen railway station. The railway and the A832 road share the valley of the Bran as is continues eastwards. The valley widens to become Strath Bran, and after passing Achanalt railway station, the river enters Loch Achanalt.
The railway crosses to the south side of the waterway at a tiny river section called A Phait, between Loch Achanalt and Loch a' Chuilinn. There is a dam at the eastern end of the loch, and a little further downstream is Achanalt power station. This is housed in a tall single-storey building designed by James Shearer in 1952, built into a cliff at one end and constructed of random rubble. A fish pass consisting of natural pools and some artificial concrete pools enables migrating fish to bypass the power station. The River Grudie joins the River Bran on its left bank, and the Bran is crossed by the railway line close to Lochluichart railway station before the river enters Loch Luichart. The river from Loch a' Chuilinn to Loch Luichart is called the River Bran on modern maps, but was formerly called the River Conon and prior to that was called the River Conan
The River Grudie rises from a series of springs on the foothills of Meallan Chuaich, and is known as Abhainn a' Chadha Bhuidhe prior to entering Loch Fannich. Much of the outflow from the loch is via a tunnel to Grudie Bridge power station, but compensation water maintains the flow in the river, which follows a south-easterly course to reach the A832 road at Bridge of Grudie, with the power station immediately upstream of the bridge. Several of the tributaries of the Grudie are dammed, and a long surface pipeline feeds some of their flow into Loch Fannich.
Middle section
The railway and road follow the northern edge of Loch Luichart. Construction of the dam at the eastern end of the loch required some of the railway to be relocated, because the level of the loch was raised, and a new station was built, which opened on 3 May 1954. Mossford hydro-electric station is sandwiched between the road and railway a little further to the east, and water from Loch Fannich passes through the station and discharges into Loch Luichart. There is a scattering of houses in the area, which form the hamlet of Lochluichart. The Allt Coire Mhuilidh flows southwards and into the loch near the hamlet of Corriemoillie, after which the road and railway are separated from the loch by a range of hills, the highest of which is Cnoc na h-lolaire at. The loch turns to the south, and the dam is to the north of Little Scatwell.Below the dam, Allt a' Ghlinne joins the river on its right bank. A bridge carries the minor road from Little Scatwell, and immediately afterwards is Luichart power station, fed with water from Loch Luichart by a tunnel. The next tributary is the River Meig, which joins on the right bank. It rises as a series of springs and streams in Glencarron and Glenuig Forest, close to the source of the River Bran, but on the southern slopes of the hills. It passes through Gleann Fiodhaig and heads in a north-easterly direction to reach Loch Beannacharain. A minor road runs along the northern shore of the loch, which contains an artificial island at its eastern end, on which a prehistoric crannog settlement was built. Below the loch the river is joined by Allt Gleann Chorainn on its right bank, and then by Allt Gleann Meinich on its left bank. It turns to the east near the hamlet of Dalnacroich, where the wide valley is known as Strathconon. At Bridgend it is crossed by a bridge with three arches, approached by a causeway with six more arches. The structure dates from the early to mid-19th century. It carries the minor road that runs along Strathconon across the river to its southern bank. The river then enters the artificial Loch Meig, created by the dam at its eastern end, and passes through a natural arch before it joins the Conon.
Eastern section
The river continues eastwards to reach Loch Achonachie. On its southern bank is Orrin power station, which receives its water supply from Orrin Reservoir, an artificial loch on the River Orrin. Loch Achonachie was created by constructing a concrete mass gravity dam at its eastern end. It includes a Borland fish pass, to enable migrating fish to reach the upper reaches of the river, with a single-storey turbine hall and two-storey office block built into the dam structure. The architect was James Shearer, and the building is dated 1955. To the south of the dam is the Fairburn estate, of designed landscape, created in the late 18th and early 19th century, before it was remodelled by John Stirling in the late 19th century. As well as remodelling the park, he built a Baronial mansion house in 1877–78. Known as Fairburn House, it was designed by Wardrop and Reid, and most of it has three storeys, although it includes a five-storey tower.The Black Water joins on the left bank, after which the A832 road crosses at Moy Bridge, running from a junction with the A835 road on the north bank of the river to the village of Marybank, to the south. Moy island is formed where the channel splits, and then the north bank is the southern edge of the Braham estate, of designed landscape. It was created in the 17th century, improved during the following two centuries, and hosts an extensive collection of specimen trees and rare species. The river is joined by the River Orrin on its left bank before it turns to the north, and the large Dunglass Island is now the site of a hydroelectric station for the Brahan estate. Conon Bridge railway station is close to the northern end of the island, and the Far North Line crosses the river on Cononbridge railway bridge. It was designed by Joseph Mitchell and constructed in 1860–62. With five arches and a span of, it is sharply skewed, and this was achieved by building each span as five narrow spans, which are staggered to achieve the skew.
The railway bridge is the normal limit of tides. Next to the northern end of the bridge is an octagonal tollhouse, built by Joseph W Mitchell in 1828, which was used to collect tolls from people using Thomas Telford's Conon Bridge, which has since been demolished. The A862 road now crosses the river on a newer bridge. Garrie Island sits in the river before another road bridge that carries the A835 trunk road. The river channel widens to the south of Dingwall, as it becomes part of the Cromarty Firth. There is a rifle range to the east of Dingwall, and much of the firth is marked as a danger area. Beyond the danger area, the A9 road crosses the firth on Cromarty Bridge. This was opened on 12 April 1979, and is nearly long. The deck is carried by 67 piers, designed to minimise changes to the tidal flows, in order to protect the feeding ground which are an important habitat for migrating birds. A maintenance programme costing £1.5 million drew to a close in June 2018. Beyond the bridge, the Cromarty Firth carries the waters of the Conon to the sea.