Loch Heilen is a loch in the civil parish of Dunnet in Caithness, Scotland. St. John's Loch and Loch Heilen are the two largest lochs in the parish. It is about inland from Dunnet Bay to the west, which is on the north coast of Scotland. The town of Thurso is about to the west.Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by Francis H. Groome; publ. Thomas C. Jack, Edinburgh,1901. (Article on Dunnet)
The loch has had various spellings - Hayland, Haelan, Hailan, Heilen.Caithness OS Name Books, 1871-1873 Caithness volume 03 OS1/7/3/102 scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/digital-volumes/ordnance-survey-name-books – retrieved Feb 2024
The loch is orientated in an east to west direction, and is over long. Its breadth (north-south) reaches almost a half a mile and the surface area is . The centre of the loch is the deepest part, approximately, deep.Bathymetrical Survey of the Scottish Fresh-Water Lochs, ed. Sir John Murray K.C.B., F.R.S., D.Sc., and Laurence Pullar F.R.S.E., F.R.G.S., publ. Challenger Office, Edinburgh, 1910; Vol 2, part 2, pp. 17-18 and Vol. 5, Plate 5:: St John's Loch, Loch Heilen
The overflow of the loch is through the Burn of Inkstack, which exits from the north shore. This flows northwards, joining the Burn of Ham, and flowing into the sea on the north coast of Caithness, at Ham.Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps of Great Britain, Sheet ND27 & Part of ND17 - B, Publ. 1963
The loch has an abundance of ducks and other wild birds, especially Mallard, Wigeon and the Common goldeneye.Wildfowl in Great Britain, ed. G. L. Atkinson -Willes (for the Wildfowl Trust), Publ. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London 1963; p.225
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