Glenelg (, also Gleann Eilg is a scattered community area and civil parish in the Lochalsh area of Highland in western Scotland. Despite the local government reorganisation the area is considered by many still to be in Inverness-shire, the boundary with Ross-shire (where the post town of Kyle of Lochalsh is situated) being at the top of Mam Ratagan ("Ratagan Gap" or "pass") the single-track road entry into Glenelg. The main village is called Kirkton of Glenelg and commonly referred to as "Glenelg". There is a smaller hamlet less than to the south by the jetty and skirting Glenelg Bay known as Quarry. There are several other clusters of houses scattered over Glenelg including up Glen Beag and Glen More and on the road leading to the ferry at Kyle Rhea. The parish covers a large area including Knoydart, North Morar and the ferry port of Mallaig. At the 2001 census it had a population of 1,507. The smaller "settlement zone" around Kirkton had a population of 283. In 2011 Highland Council estimated that the community of Glenelg and Arnisdale had a population of 291. Geography Glenelg is located south of Loch Alsh, by the fiercely tidal Kyle Rhea narrows, where the Isle of Skye is closest to the mainland. Between November and February, the only access to Glenelg is by road over the Mam Ratagan – known loosely as "the Bealach" (pass) – from Shiel Bridge on the main road from Inverness to Skye. From the summit of Mam Ratagan the road runs gently into Glenelg down Glen More (Gleann Mhòr, "big valley"), which is otherwise isolated from Loch Duich by Beinn a Chuirn, and from Loch Alsh by Glas Beinn. There is a second valley, approximately parallel to Glen More and to the south known as Glen Beag (Gleann Beag, "small valley"), separated from Glen More by Beinn a' Chaonich. On reaching the coast, the road continues southwards, following the shore of Loch Hourn, where it terminates at Corran; Loch Hourn is separated from Glen Beag by Beinn a' Chapuill and Beinn Sgritheall. Its proximity to Skye meant that Glenelg was formerly of more strategic importance and had a significantly larger population. It appears on the relevant map of the first atlas of Scotland, published by Joan Blaeu in Amsterdam in 1662, for instance. Cattle from the outer islands were taken to Uig in the north of Skye