Sunart (/ˈsuːnɑːrt/SOO-nart,Scottish Gaelic:Suaineart[ˈs̪uəɲərˠʃt̪]) is a rural district andcommunity in the south west ofLochaber inHighland,Scotland, on the shores ofLoch Sunart, and part of thecivil parish ofArdnamurchan. The main village isStrontian, at the head of theloch, which is the location ofArdnamurchan High School, the local fire station, police station and other facilities.
The district is bounded to the south by the eastern half of Loch Sunart and by part ofMorvern, to the west by theArdnamurchan peninsula (beyondSalen), to the north byLoch Shiel, and to the east and north east by the district ofArdgour, from which it is divided by a range of high hills. Main access to the area today is viaGlen Tarbert, from theCorran Ferry, although there is also a road coming in fromLochailort, viaMoidart, to the north. Although the area may seem isolated now, in the past the main mode of transport in theWest Highlands was boat, and the district was well-integrated into the west coast economy and culture.
Nearly all of the population live in a narrow ribbon of small settlements along the northern shore of Loch Sunart, with a southerly aspect. The inland, including the shore of Loch Shiel, consists of rough, hilly country, mainlymoorland,peat bog and woodland, dominated by the main hill,Beinn Resipol, which is aCorbett.
The main income for the area istourism, with somesalmonfish-farming.
The area is renowned for the richness of its wildlife, and it contains some of the best surviving remnants of theancienttemperateAtlanticoak forest[1][2] which once clothed most of the west coast of Scotland,Wales,Cornwall andBrittany, but now survives only in isolated pockets. Loch Sunart itself also has a richflora andfauna. In the past salmon andsea troutangling was important to the local hotels, but, like much ofEurope, the runs of fish in the spring and summer are much reduced.
The area is reputed to have the widest variety of mosses, ferns,fungi,lichen, the rare chequered skipper butterfly, andbryophyte species in the whole of Europe, due to the mild, wetoceanic climate.[3][4]
Sunart is designated as aSpecial Area of Conservation.[1]
A campaign is underway to removeRhododendron ponticum, aninvasiveintroduced species.[5]
56°41′43″N5°34′07″W / 56.69525°N 5.56862°W /56.69525; -5.56862