Tag: history
-
Ardtornish Castle
After a smooth and unexpectedly quiet crossing of The Minch, with only dolphins or porpoises for company, the Sound of Mull offered a surprise: Ardtornish Castle. Once a key stronghold of the Lords of the Isles—descendants of Somerled and rulers of the Western Seaboard until the late 1400s—this ruined 13th-century fortress stands at the tip…
-
Crash on Vatersay: The Lost Catalina of 1944
I had hoped to photograph the tombolo that links the two high points of Bhatarsaigh—a narrow strip of machair, that low, sandy grassland so typical of the Outer Hebrides. But from the summit of Beinn Ruilibreac, I was just short of a clear view of the twin beaches that lie back to back on either…
-
The Lost Graves of Àird Allathasdail
Tràigh Hamara: a sweep of pale sand where today the Atlantic was rolling in quietly, one more perfect beach among many on Barra. But our attention was not on the beach. It was drawn to the headland opposite. Not the distant one, but the nearer stretch of low dunes and machair: Àird Allathasdail. In 2005,…
-
Dùn Sgùrabhal
Dùn Sgùrabhal stands on a low hill, facing the sea to the west and the expanse of Tràigh Eais to the south. What remains is a collapsed stone structure, but it is still recognisable. Among the rubble, archaeologists have identified a double wall with a gallery between—clear signs of Iron Age construction. Though it has…
-
The Black Stacks and the Weaver’s Castle
There was a brief sense of relief when the ferry finally slipped past the headland. Several sailings had been cancelled thanks to the breezy weather. I then endured ten minutes on the poop deck being drenched by the bow spray before giving up and retreating indoors. The unease only lifted once our wheels touched the…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…