It joins the Kyle of Sutherland at Invershin, which then flows into the Dornoch Firth at Bonar Bridge and then the North Sea.

There are several bridges on this section, a number of prehistoric remains on the banks, and the ruins of a corn mill at Gruid.

Fish lifts were built into the dams to allow migrating salmon to pass upstream into the rivers beyond Loch Shin, but survival rates for smolts which hatch in the upper reaches are small, and a catch and release policy has been implemented, to attempt to improve dwindling stocks of game fish.

Habitat improvements have also been carried out, to provide spawning grounds for salmon and to increase the population of freshwater pearl mussels, which clean the water.

Water from it flows along the Abhain a Choire ("Corrie River") past the settlement of Corriekinloch to reach the north-west end of Loch Shin.

[3] The short Merkland River joins it to Loch a' Ghriama, which covers 270 acres (109 ha) and is at 318 feet (97 m) AOD.

[4] A narrow channel crossed by a bridge carrying a minor road joins it to Loch Shin.

[12] Just before the Tirry enters Loch Shin, it is crossed by a bridge carrying the A838 road, near the settlement of Tirryside.

The architecture is of a high quality with a prominent copper roof, as the structures form a focal point for the village of Lairg.

There is an island near the right bank, formed by the leat running to the west of it which formerly supplied Gruids Mill, parts of which are still in situ.

[19] Shortly afterwards, the Grudie Burn joins on the right bank, after it has passed through the single-arched Achany Bridge, which carries the B864 road.

After the board was created in 1943, they produced a list of 102 projects which they thought could be built, from small ones to huge ones involving several neighbouring glens, including that for the Shin.

These figures are considerably smaller than for many of the Board's other schemes, but the local population was fairly small and scattered, and so the capacity of the system was consequently lower.

Parliamentary approval to proceed was received in the summer of 1953, after lengthy negotiations, and George Wimpey & Co began work on the contract in 1954.

The power station building is a two-storey design, integrated into the dam wall, and faced with random rubble.

The architect for the design was James Shearer, and architectural details include carved panels and armorials.

In common with many of their projects, the engineers were responsible for the functional form of the buildings, but the architect decided on their appearance and style.

This led to a style which was called vernacular modernism, and reflected the attempt to ensure that the buildings harmonised with the landscape.

[27] To ensure that migrating salmon could still reach their spawning grounds on the upper river, a fish screen at Inveran stops them from entering the tail race of the power station.

From there, the water passes through two small turbines to enter a tunnel which carries it beneath Moavally, a hill of 1,677 feet (511 m), to the western shore of Loch Shin.

Cassley power station has two turbines, capable of generating a total of 10MW, and was used to feed the area around Durness in the far north west of Scotland.

A weir near the Dalnessie Estate diverts water into an aqueduct, which discharges into the upper reaches of the Feith Osdail, a tributary of the River Tirry, which flows into Loch Shin.

Scotland does not have a national rod licence scheme, and only a permit from the riparian owner is required to go fishing.

[31] A long term scientific study has taken place on the Shin to look at the life cycle of the Atlantic salmon.

Smolts have been caught and tagged with a passive integrated transponder, to calculate survival rates as they attempt to exit from Loch Shin through the hydro-electric dams.

This involved constructing eleven large wooden structures and the addition of new gravel to the river bed.