POOLEWE, a fishing-village and quoad sacra parish (for a time),
in the parish of Gairloch, county of Ross-and-Cromarty,
5 miles (N. N. E.) from Gairloch
containing, with the island oi Ewe, 25'29 inhabitants.
This village is situated at the mouth of the river Ewe,
which, issuing from Loch Maree, on the south-east of
Gairloch, falls, after a course of about a mile towards
the north-west through the centre of the district of
Poolewe, into the loch whence the village takes its name.
The river is remarkable for the excellent quality of the
salmon with which it abounds, and of which a regular
and lucrative fishery has been long established; and
trout and other fish are also found, rendering it a favourite
resort of anglers. From the situation of the
village at the head of Loch Ewe, and at the junction of
two roads, of which one leads to the village of Gairloch,
and the other to Loch Maree, it has become a port for
communication across the Minch, with the isle of Lewis.
A branch post-office has been established, from wliich
letters are sent daily by a runner to Gairloch; and there
is also an inn, affording excellent accommodation to
visiters, and parties who make excursions to the village
for the purpose of angling. The island of Ewe is described
under its own head. Poolewe quoad sacra parish
comprised a district nearly twenty miles in length and
twelve miles in breadth. Tlie surface is generally hilly,
in some parts mountainous; and the scenery, diversified
with numerous small inland lakes, is every where pleasing,
and in many places highly picturesque. There are
several respectable farms scattered through the district,
which are under good cultivation; and also some small
hamlets, the inhabitants of which are chiefly employed
in the fisheries; but, except Poolewe, there are no villages.
Ecclesiastically the place is within the bounds of
the presbytery of Lochcarrou and synod of Glenelg. The
church, erected in IHIH, under the authority of an act
of parliament, is a neat structure with a campanile turret,
and contains 350 sittings. The minister has a stipend
of £120, wholly paid from the exchequer; with a manse,
and a glebe valued at £5 per annum: patron, the Crown.
The members of the Free Church have a place of worship;
and there are some schools supported by the Society for
Propagating Christian Knowledge, the Gaelic Society,
and the Committee of the General Assembly, the masters
of which have salaries varying from £5 to £'25.