Boleskine Shinty Club have been in existence for a mere seventy six years, yet the game of Shinty has been rooted in the local area for one hundred years or more. The game developed in the area during the latter part of the 19th Century, mainly due to the influence of technology and the determination of entrepreneurs to develop the art of aluminium production, through smelting bauxite using electrical conduction. This process required the generation of electricity producing high currents (Amps). A smelter factory was commissioned in the latter part of the last century under the technical guidance of Lord Kelvin and was ready for production in the year 1894.

The production of Aluminium was by no means difficult for our fore bears, it was mass production that held the key! In the year 1889, a ton of Aluminium fetched a market price of £3000. Mid way through 1896 the price had dropped to £160 per ton! The key to the merchandising extravaganza?...Cheap electricity.

What Foyers, a small hamlet in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, had in it's favor, was an abundance of water. Not just Lochs and streams but one of the most spectacular and in the view of engineers, powerful resources in the UK, the Falls Of Foyers. The emergence of Hydro Electricity was about to change the face of history.

Locals and professional tunnel builders were employed to hew a tunnel 1.5 miles long through some of the hardest rocks known to man--Granite. The odds were against them but, duly, on time, the tunnel was completed and the first ingot of the world's most desirable metal was delivered in the year 1894.

Through the diversion of the catchment area for the River Foyers there was no shortage of water to turn the vertical generators at the Smelter at Lower Foyers. This in turn produced ample electricity of the required amperage to be of use in the smelting process. Millions of tons of water were used from the nearby hills to feed these generators and as a result the Falls were rendered less than impressive due to the diversion to the Smelter. In the first year of production, the Foyers Smelter accounted for 200 tons of aluminium, close to the world's total output at that time!

The Falls of Foyers

The Falls may have been tamed but they are still an awesome sight and well worth a visit. However , be warned, stout shoes are essential for the walk to the view point.
The access to the falls is via a well maintained pathway, opposite Foyers stores, in the center of the village. The pathway leads down to a couple of excellent vantage points, where the view can be fully appreciated.

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