River Meig

The River Meig rises in the forested hills north of Loch Monar where several mountain burns join. It flows northeast through Loch Beannacharain and Loch Meig before reaching the River Conon at Little Scatwell. Nearby Loch Luichart lies two kilometres north of the confluence. The river then drains into the Cromarty Firth on the east coast of Scotland. The river’s name comes from an Old Gaelic word meaning ‘pouring forth’. In 1957 Meig Dam was built as part of the Conon Hydro Scheme led by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board. This created Loch Meig, a reservoir that now stretches along the former river course. A late-20th-century cairn near Scardroy remembers Colin Grant Sangster, who died in 1994. Below Loch Meig the river cuts through Meig Gorge, a stretch popular with local kayakers. Dry weather and steady dam releases make the gorge safer for paddlers. One section is known locally as Tea Cup Falls. The surrounding hills remain thickly wooded, giving the river a quiet, sheltered feel.