Tag: history
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Thairteabhagh: Ruins by a Quiet Sea Loch
Seeking some respite from the relentless westerly winds hammering South Uist, we turned east, following the narrow trail through North Glen Dale—Gleann Dail bho Tuath in Gaelic. The path, often little more than a suggestion across bog and tussock, led eventually to Thairteabhagh: a calm, tucked-away sea loch flanked by the remains of a few…
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Benbecula: Island of Fords and Forgotten Classrooms
And so to Benbecula: flat, battered by wind, the Atlantic on one side, soggy peat and bog on the other. In the middle of it all stands a single hill, Rusbhal, soaring to the dizzying height of 124 metres. It qualifies as a landmark largely because nothing else bothers to rise. The island’s name, Benbecula,…
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Balranald: A Crofted Landscape, Shaped by Struggle
Our final day next to the RSPB Balranald nature reserve in North Uist, extended by two days thanks to Calmac Ferries. No complaints. Balranald has been generous — rich in wildlife, history, and atmosphere. The reserve stretches across rocky headlands and quiet bays, with dunes, machair, grasslands, saltmarshes and inland lochs. It was set up…
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The Rainbow over Cille Mhuire
Last night a double rainbow arched cleanly over the burial ground at Kilmuir — Cille Mhuire — which rises, just slightly, out of the flat expanse of the Hougharry machair. This evening we walked there, to the graves and the crumbling kirk. Among the remains is a gneiss cross, still bearing its boss though both…
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Tràigh Iar and the Shadow of St Maolrubha
A day of fierce wind, restless skies and an early downpour. We turned north again for a circuit of Berneray — once an island, now leashed to North Uist by a causeway built in 1999. The route included two kilometres along Tràigh Iar, or West Beach — a stretch of spotless, deserted sand that lived…
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Sponish House: Industrial Echoes at Loch Nam Madadh
I faced a choice for today’s photo: a Mesolithic Chambered Cairn or a Neolithic Stone Circle. Both tempting, both suitably mysterious. But they can wait. Instead, here is Sponish House, a 19th-century structure crouched on the shore of Loch Nam Madadh. Built for Lord Macdonald’s chamberlain or sheriff, it later served as a sporting lodge.…
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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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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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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.