Ben Cruachan - Izeria

Ben Cruachan (Scottish Gaelic: Cruachan Beann) is a mountain that rises to 1,126 metres (3,694 ft), the highest in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It gives its name to the Cruachan Dam, a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station located in a cavern inside the mountain. It is the high point of a ring of mountains, known as the Cruachan Horseshoe, that surrounds the power station reservoir. The horseshoe includes a further Munro (Stob Diamh), a Corbett (Beinn a' Bhuiridh), and several subsidiary summits. "Cruachan!" is the battle cry of Highland clans Campbell and MacIntyre.

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Cruachan Reservoir

Cruachan Reservoir is a reservoir in Scotland. It is located to the north west of Loch Awe, in a corrie beneath Ben Cruachan. It is the upper reservoir for the Cruachan Power Station pumped-storage scheme. It was the filming location for Andor Episode 6, The Eye, standing in as an Imperial infrastructure project, containing a vault. It was created in the 1960s, and is contained by a dam 316 metres (1,037 ft) long. The reservoir has a catchment area of 23 square kilometres (8.9 sq mi), and is capable of holding seven Gigawatt hours of energy. The water level in the reservoir can fluctuate by as much as 10 metres (33 ft) a day due to the operation of the power station.

Cruachan Power Station

The Cruachan Power Station (also known as the Cruachan Dam) is a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK. The scheme can provide 440 MW of power and produced 705 GWh in 2009. The turbine hall is located inside Ben Cruachan, and the scheme moves water between Cruachan Reservoir and Loch Awe, a height difference of 396 m (1,299 ft). It is one of only four pumped storage power stations in the United Kingdom, and is capable of providing a black start capability to the National Grid. Construction began in 1959 to coincide with the Hunterston A nuclear power station in Ayrshire. Cruachan uses cheap electricity generated at night to pump water to the higher reservoir, which can then be released during the day to provide power as necessary. The power station is open to visitors, and around 50,000 tourists visit it each year.

Pass of Brander

The Pass of Brander is a mountain pass in the Highlands of Scotland, where the main railway and road to Oban makes its way between Cruachan, a 3,689-foot (1,124 m) mountain, and Loch Awe. A conventional turbine power station was created by damming the River Awe in the Pass of Brander, feeding the water through underground pipes, and generating electricity as it flows into Loch Etive. It is notable for the Battle of the Pass of Brander, an important victory by Robert the Bruce, and the Pass of Brander stone signals, known as Anderson's Piano, alongside the railway line, to guard against rockfalls.

Pass of Brander stone signals

The Pass of Brander stone signals, also known as Anderson's Piano, are a series of railway signals that are automatically triggered by rockfalls. They are located in the Pass of Brander, between Loch Awe and Taynuilt stations on the Oban branch of the West Highland Line in Scotland. A screen of wires, linked to semaphore signals, is erected on the mountainside alongside the railway track. In the event of one or more wires being broken, signals in each direction are automatically placed at 'danger'. They are part of a warning system that advises train drivers to exercise caution in the event of a rock-fall, and cover a section of track that is just over 4 miles (6.4 km) in length.