Author: Fhithich
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Sunset over Eigg and Rùm
A fitting finale to this year’s Scottish trip. Tomorrow we begin the journey south. Open Space Web-Map builder Code
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Airsaig Canal
Surely the last thing you would expect to find in the Western Highlands would be a canal, the Crinan and the Caledonian excepted of course. But there’s another one in Arisaig. It was built to enable timber to be floated down from a sawmill at Loch nan Eala to the sea. The lade, to give…
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Port Achadh an Aonaich
About a mile south of the distributed settlement of Smirisary near Glenuig. Along a very rugged but well-defined path. Port Achadh an Aonaich is at the path’s end and known locally as “White Sands”. Smirisary is a fascinating place. Most of the old cottages have been renovated and made into holiday homes but with no…
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Camas an Lighe
Still on the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Camas an Lighe is more commonly known as the Singing Sands although I am not sure if that is a literal translation. But they didn’t sing for us. We had expected a coral beach that does ‘sing’ indeed when you walk on it. Carraig Fhada on Islay is a good…
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View to Rùm from Beinn Resipol
Beinn Resipol is a relentless climb, gradually getting steeper and steeper nearing the summit. But the views are well worth the climb. Super if today a little hazy. The loch is Loch Sliel, connected to the sea by the short River Shiel. In the distance is the island of Rùm. The name Bienn Resipol shows…
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Camas nan Geall
An idyllic south-facing haven on Loch Sunart. A glen rich in history from a Neolithic chambered cairn and standing stone to a 19th-century deserted settlement. In 1737, when Ardnamurchan was sold by the Duke of Argyll to Alexander Murray, Lord Stanhope, the settlement of Camas nan Geall had a population of 35: 9 men, 13…
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Ardnamurchan
Quiz question: What is the connection between these hills on the westernmost point of the British mainland to the Cleveland Dyke back home in the North York Moors? The answer is of course they were both formed by volcanic activity near the island of Mull. Ok, there is a bit of a time difference between…
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Allt na h-Eilde
‘The stream of the hind’, swollen and tumultuous as it begins its plunges down towards Loch Leven. Its source is Loch Eilde Mòr, which I think translates as ‘the big loch of the hind’. Perhaps the shelter and grazing here are favoured by nursing hinds. Such a large volume of water coming down the ‘stream’.…
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The Appin Murder
This is Loch Leven, familiar to all those who have travelled on the A82 to Fort William. The Ballachulish bridge crossing the loch is just hidden by the headland on the north shore. On the south shore, again just out of sight is the tiny village of Duror. Here, on 14 May 1752, Colin Roy…
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The Siannag of Dunstaffnage Castle
A wet and gloomy day, so dull in fact my photo count was a bit lean. So the featured image above is the runner-up from yesterday. Dunstaffnage Castle near Oban is a must-see on the tourist itinerary. Built by Duncan MacDougall, the Lord of Lorn, about 1220, on a plug of conglomerate rock. It would…