An Geàrr Loch translates from Scottish Gaelic as 'the short loch,' and that is exactly what this sea inlet is, six miles long by a mile and a half wide, scooping inland from the Little Minch on the wild north-west coast of Wester Ross. Longa Island sits like a stopper at its mouth. The Torridon mountains rise behind it. Two single-track roads, the B8021 and the B8056, hug the northern and southern shores respectively, threading together the villages of Charlestown, Gairloch, Shieldaig, Badachro, and Port Henderson. Inside the loch are several small islands, including Eilean Horrisdale, which in the nineteenth century supported its own fishing community.
The name an Geàrr Loch is descriptive rather than poetic. Compared with the deeper sea lochs that bite further south into the Highland coast, Gair Loch really is short, a broad open scoop rather than a long finger. It opens west into the Little Minch, the stretch of sea separating the Scottish mainland from the Outer Hebrides. On a clear day from its northern shore you can see the dark line of Harris on the horizon, and on a poor day you can see almost nothing at all. The Gulf Stream warms the water enough that jellyfish can swarm here in summer, mostly harmless species but occasionally startling for swimmers expecting the usual cold of the North Atlantic.
Locals refer to the two sides of the loch as the village side and the 'overside.' The north shore, served by the B8021 from Gairloch out to Strath and Melvaig, holds the main settlements and most of the visitor amenities. The southern, more sheltered shore along the B8056 runs through Kerrysdale, Shieldaig, Badachro, and out to Port Henderson, a gentler coastline of small bays and woodland clinging to the slopes. Badachro is famous for its inn at the water's edge and its small distillery; the bay there is one of the most photographed anchorages on the west coast. Eilean Horrisdale, set just off the southern shore, supported its own fishing community in the nineteenth century, with a tiny pier and a few houses still visible in the trees.
Seals haul out on the skerries at the mouth of the loch, and minke whales pass through in summer following the herring runs. Otters work the inner bays. The local marine wildlife centre at Gairloch runs daily boat trips when the weather allows, and 'when the weather allows' is the operating qualifier for almost everything that happens here. Atlantic depressions sweep in off the Minch with very little warning, the sky goes silver-grey, and the loch turns the colour of slate within an hour. On the days when the wind drops and the light comes through, the water turns blue-green over the white shell sand, and you can see why nineteenth-century Mackenzies of Gairloch refused to evict their tenants even when the estate was running at a loss. The view alone seems to argue against it.
Gair Loch sits at 57.72 N, 5.73 W, opening west from the Wester Ross coast into the Little Minch. Length about 6 nm east-to-west, width about 1.5 nm. Longa Island guards the mouth; Eilean Horrisdale lies inside, off the south shore. The loch is a clear visual landmark from cruising altitudes inbound to either Stornoway or Inverness; the Torridon mountains (Beinn Alligin, Liathach) stand 10 nm south-east and dominate the horizon. Nearest airfields: Plockton private grass strip 30 nm south, Inverness (EGPE) 60 nm east-southeast, Stornoway (EGPO) 50 nm northwest across the Minch. Maritime stratus, sudden squalls.