River Conon

The River Conon winds through the Highlands of Scotland, beginning at Loch Luichart and flowing south-east to join the Cromarty Firth. Its course passes through Loch Achonachie and is fed by tributaries such as the River Meig, Black Water and River Orrin. The river is central to the Conon hydro-electric power scheme, with dams at Loch Luichart, Loch Meig and Loch Achonachie and power stations at Luichart and Torr Achilty. Earlier schemes include a small station at the Falls of Conon in the 1920s and a private plant at Dunglass Island in 2015. The river system once powered the Brahan Estate and still supplies electricity today. The Conon’s history includes legal battles over fishing rights that stretch back to 1828, when traps and fixed nets were first challenged. Hydro-electric construction blocked some salmon spawning grounds, but fish lifts at the dams and a pass at the Falls of Conon have restored access to over 100 miles of habitat. Seals now hunt salmon as far upstream as Torr Achilty dam, while islands such as Moy Island and Dunglass Island add to the landscape. A medieval log boat found near Dingwall in 1874, dated to the late 13th or early 14th century, was once kept at the National Museums of Scotland. The upper reaches rise on Mòine Mhòr, a peat bog west of Achnasheen, where springs feed Loch na Mòine Mhòr and Loch an Fhiarlaid. The River Bran, formed here, crosses a single-span Parliamentary bridge at Achnasheen built between 1808 and 1819. The valley widens into Strath Bran, passing power stations such as Achanalt, designed by James Shearer in 1952, and Lochluichart, where the railway was rerouted when the loch was raised. Lochs Fannich, Gowan and Achonachie store water for hydro-electric stations, with fish passes built into their dams to help migrating fish.