View source for Lochailort

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox UK place
| static_image_name                = Inverailort House.jpg
| static_image_caption             = [[Inverailort House]]
| country                          = Scotland
| official_name                    = Lochailort
| scots_name                       =
| gaelic_name                      = Ceann Loch Ailleart
| population                       =
| os_grid_reference                = NM773818
| map_type                         = Lochaber
| coordinates                      = {{coord|56.87407|-5.65564|display=inline,title}}
| unitary_scotland                 = [[Highland (council area)|Highland]]
| lieutenancy_scotland             = [[Lord Lieutenant of Inverness|Inverness]]
| constituency_westminster         = [[Ross, Skye and Lochaber (UK Parliament constituency)|Ross, Skye and Lochaber]]
| constituency_scottish_parliament = [[Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch]]
| post_town                        = LOCHAILORT
| postcode_district                = PH38
| postcode_area                    = PH
| dial_code                        = 01687
}}
'''Lochailort''' ({{IPAc-en|l|ɒ|x|ˈ|aɪ|l|ər|t}} {{respell|lokh|EYE|lərt}}, {{langx|gd|Ceann Loch Ailleart}}) is a hamlet in [[Scotland]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Lochailort |url=http://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst1891.html |website=The Gazetteer for Scotland |publisher=School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh and The Royal Scottish Geographical Society |accessdate=4 July 2018}}</ref> that lies at the head of [[Loch Ailort]], a [[sea loch]], on the junction of the [[Road to the Isles]] ([[A830 road|A830]]) between [[Fort William, Highland|Fort William]] and [[Mallaig]] with the [[A861 road|A861]] towards [[Salen, Ardnamurchan|Salen]] and [[Strontian]]. It is served by [[Lochailort railway station]] on the [[West Highland Line]].
Nearby is Lochailort Inn, a [[public house]], and Our Lady of the Braes, a small [[Roman Catholic]] church that was consecrated in 1874 but little used since 1964 as Sunday Mass is celebrated in the chapel at [[Inverailort House]] which is located on the opposite side of the loch.
==History==
The owner of Inverailort House, Christian Cameron, was a keen [[photographer]] in the late 19th century.  She took many photographs of the house and surrounding area but most of the glass plates were lost or destroyed when the military took over the house during [[World War II]] but the surviving photographs have been published in a book.  Christian Cameron is said to have died of a broken heart after much of the contents of the house were badly damaged by the army when they emptied it.<ref>[http://www.iainthornber.co.uk/ The Cameron Collection: Moidart and Arisaig in the 19th Century, Ian Thornber, Ian Thornber Publications], {{ISBN|978-0-9556279-0-3}} {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016104537/http://iainthornber.co.uk/ |date=16 October 2007 }}</ref>
The house was requisitioned by the [[War Office]] at the end of May 1940 for use in the training of irregular forces as the Special Training Centre. Initially this was operated by [[MI(R)]] but became part of [[Combined Operations]]. Many techniques of [[guerrilla]] and irregular warfare were developed there and training techniques which were adopted for [[British Commando|Commando]] training as well as [[Achnacarry Castle]]. [[Special Operations Executive|SOE]] training was centred on nearby [[List of SOE establishments|Arisaig House]].
The army moved out of the house on 20 August 1942 and, after having been taken over by the [[Royal Navy]], subsequently became HMS Lochailort and was used for the training of naval cadet ratings to be officers on small craft used by [[Combined Operations]]. The Royal Navy moved out in January 1945.<ref>Commando Country, Stuart Allan, National Museums Scotland 2007, {{ISBN|978-1-905267-14-9}}</ref>
==Film locations==
The village and nearby buildings have appeared in films such as ''[[Local Hero (1983 film)|Local Hero]]'', ''[[Breaking the Waves]]'' and ''[[Complicity (film)|Complicity]]''. The main businesses in the area are [[tourism]] and [[Aquaculture of salmon|salmon farming]] both in the sea loch, and in a large freshwater hatchery.
==See also==
*[[Lech-a-Vuie Platform railway station]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060624195053/http://lochaber.com/lochailort/index.htm lochaber.com]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060430190250/http://www.lochailortinn.co.uk/index.htm Lochailort Inn]
*[https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=hlUKIjgW9LY Loch Ailort and the salt marshes]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8nvTLt-ABI Lochailort railway station]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuiNFnl_5YY Video of Inverailort House]
*{{oscoor gbx|NM768823}}
[[Category:Populated places in Lochaber]]
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in North Lochaber]]