Category: Scotland
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Pink on the Rocks
Hugging the coast of North Uist, it feels as though wildlife is everywhere. There is more of it than we saw on Lewis and Harris—though perhaps that is only how it seems. Among the birds we could name: Redshanks, Ringed Plovers, Northern Shovellers, Lapwings, Sanderlings, and the ever-familiar Eider, or Cuddy Duck. Then of course…
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Dùn an Sticir: Where the Skulker was Captured
New island, new weather. We drove off the ferry at Berneray into sheets of rain, with gales on the way. The forecast promises little joy, so we will be hunkering down until the storm has had its fun. Before the worst of it, I managed to photograph Dùn an Sticir, set on a small islet…
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Rubh’ an Teampaill
Perched at the edge of this headland, a crumbling medieval chapel stands forlorn. Its gables and walls almost reach full height, but its purpose has long since faded. Believed to date from the 15th or 16th century, the building sits atop a stony mound, hinting that it was merely the last in a long sequence…
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Trying to Name the Mountains of Harris
Studied the map, guessed that was Oireàbhal rising beyond Luskentyre, with Tioga Mòr beside it—though no doubt someone will correct me. Took the photo from Bulabhall. Taransay sits to the left, once home to Castaway (2000). Not worth the noise, as I remember.
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Clach Mhic Leoid
A lone standing stone on a windswept Hebridean headland, Viking graves nearby, hints of lost structures beneath the sand—Clach Mhic Leoid keeps its secrets well.
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The Quiet Legacy of Linda Norgrove
A bike ride out to the headland at Àird Mhòr Mhangarstaidh was the plan. On the map, it looked unremarkable—a bleak stretch of land with some decaying post-war military leftovers and, presumably, sea cliffs worth seeing. On the way, we met a farmer just back from taking his “dry” sheep onto the moor. I assumed…
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Valtos: A Quay Built After the Storm
A village built on stone, debt, and salt water. Boats lost, promises broken, and a quay that came when the fishing was in decline. This is Valtos.
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The Bernera Riot of 1874
An idyllic beach yet hiding a dark history. In 1874, crofters defied a tyrannical factor, faced eviction, marched in protest, and won. It was the beginning of the fight for land reform in the Hebrides.
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Taigh a’ Bheannaich
A ruined chapel, vanishing huts, and a handful of monks who chose isolation on the edge of the Atlantic. Taigh a’ Bheannaich is where faith met the wind and held fast for 1,400 years.
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A Day Among Norse Horizontal Mills
A day of water-mills—horizontal ones, no less. We visited eight, or so I believe; one quickly loses count. It took me some time to grasp how they worked. The water wheel sits flat in a channel, its blades catching the water and spinning the millstone directly above. No gears, just force and gravity. The mills…