Heritage

Hydro electric technology dates back to the late 19th Century, when the
first privately owned hydro electric power stations were built to power
both industrial and domestic needs on a relatively small scale. Coincidentally for the Glendoe scheme, the first successful public supply of hydro electricity occurred in nearby Fort Augustus, in 1890. The first large-scale schemes though, came to fruition at Rannoch and Tummel Bridge in Perthshire. However, it was Tom Johnston, one of Churchill’s wartime ministers, who kick-started ‘power from the glens’ for real mass benefits, spurred on in part by the shadow of the Second World War.

Surveying during construction at Pitlochry

For two decades or more after WWII, and with various political, social
and industrial shake-ups occurring simultaneously, hydro power continued to grow in significance. By 1965, 54 main power stations and 74 dams had been built, providing a total generating capacity of over 1,000 megawatts. All this, often dangerous work, was achieved by the ‘Hydro Boys’ and ‘Tunnel Tigers’, a workforce which averaged 4,500, but up to 12,000 at its peak, and which, in another direct link with Glendoe, was composed of a mixture of nationalities including Germans, Czechs, Poles and Italians. So, after the major hydro initiatives of the 1950s and 1960s, Glendoe, (along with the smaller Cuileig near Ullapool, which went ‘online’ in 2001), represents the continuation of a long, historical and successful programme of hydro electric power in Scotland.

Temporary camps like these housed up to 3,000 workers