Laid, Sutherland

Laid is a remote, linear crofting township scattered along the A838 road on the western shore of the sea loch, Loch Eriboll in Sutherland in the northern Scottish Highlands.^[1][2] The township is close to the north coast of Scotland in the Scottish council area of Highland around 6 miles (10 km) south of the village of Durness. The township of Portnancon is located 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of Laid, along the A838 road.

Laid Scottish Gaelic: Leathaid
Laid along the A838 and Loch Eriboll
Laid Location within the Sutherland area
OS grid reference	NC411591
Council area	Highland
Lieutenancy area	Sutherland
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Lairg
Postcode district	IV27 4
Dialling code	01971
List of places UK Scotland 58.491°N 4.727°W / 58.491; -4.727

The township was first settled in 1832, being created to house residents of Eriboll who had been cleared from the eastern shore of Loch Erriboll.^[3] The population has always been low with a small number of crofts on the land.^[1] The primary school closed in 1955.^[3]

The area was considered as a site for a proposed "superquarry" during the 1990s. The plan would have meant a Liechtenstein company, Vibel SA, develop the area for quarrying for aggregate use. The plans were dropped and Highland Council excluded the possibility of a major quarry in the area in its late 1990s structure plan,^[1] although plans for some mineral development continued.^[4][5]

References

1. Setback for Laid crofters' grazing plan, The Guardian, 1999-10-24. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
2. Gittings B, Munro D Laid, The Gazetteer for Scotland, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh and The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
3. Loch Eriboll, Undiscovered Scotland. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
4. Highland estate to change hands, Herald Scotland, 2000-03-27. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
5. Crofters want mineral rights loophole closed, Herald Scotland, 2003-01-03. Retrieved 2015-09-29.