Lochcarron and its Otters

Visitors to Lochcarron are frequently surprised to see our Shinty pitch tended by a team of Oystercatchers and Curlews, are delighted to hear the Spring woo-wooing of romancing Eider ducks and curious about the Attadale Estate stags but few are lucky enough to glimpse our most captivating local residents. We in Lochcarron have long been aware of our sleek, elusive neighbours. Photographed occasionally rooting for shellfish in seaweed along the front or glimpsed as a whiskery head gliding parallel to the roadside between dives.

During Covid lockdowns in 2020, with traffic and tourism missing, sightings were often daily and a pair were rumoured to be living in a drain under the main road near Rockville Hotel. They were certainly seen coming and going from there. Residents in Croft Road report sightings in their gardens and the burns, dog walkers along the shore by the banks of Allt nan Carnan or on Slumbay Island are not surprised to find find the occasional abandoned Dog Fish corpse, while sailors with boats in the bay grumble about the evidence of visitors having dined out on their decks. All, however, cherish their presence.