Ardnamurchan headland from Auliston, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Auliston clearance village I, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Auliston clearance village II (Plow Mouldboard), Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Auliston clearance village III, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Auliston clearance village IV, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Auliston clearance village V, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Ben Hiant I, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
Maclean’s Nose, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
Ben Hiant II, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
Drimnin to Dorlin milepost, Auliston, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Ben Hiant III, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
Carna island in Loch Sunart and Beinn Resipol, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Track to Doirlinn I, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Loch na Droma Buidhe between Oronsay Island and Doirlinn, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Track to Doirlinn II, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Doirlinn I, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Shore at Doirlinn, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Doirlinn II, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Croft at Gleannaguda, Morvern, Highland, Scotland.
Date of walk: 14/12/18
This aerial image shows the scale of Auliston village which is comprised of ruined croft buildings of the traditional design with a rectangular stone wall and thatched roof. The walls are mostly intact and many at the original height. 115 people lived here in 1851. When the village clearances continued some occupants (6 families) from Auliston were evicted to Doirlinn. Subsequently in 1868 they were evicted again to permit large scale sheep rearing.
Field boundaries and the ridges of old lazy beds (a traditional method of arable cultivation on peaty soils) visible around Auliston.
With temperatures just above freezing my three season gas mix is struggling and taking ten minutes to boil rather than the normal two minutes and a blue flame. I’ll take winter fuel mix at the next resupply.
SS officer really wasn’t the look I was going for!
Camp at Camas Fearna, the only flat ground I could find under torchlight was below the spring tide mark (the line of seaweed) so I had to check the tide tables for this one!
Some beautiful images of magnificent scenery and an interesting insight into the past. It looks very remote .. and a bit cold.
If felt very remote, most for the scattering of houses were unoccupied too and it was very cold with the wind and relentless hail sleet and rain.
Why Scotland is such amazing country ? My wish to visit there one day.
I think it’s the light, the variety of geology and all the lochs that make it so special
Thank you for the wonderful images. My great grandfather and his family- the MacDonalds were crofters at Bonavullin and Auliston in the early to mid 1800’s. They were “moved” to Oronsay Island in the 1840’s to the 1860’s (by the census records) and it is noted in many accounts that not even rabbits could survive on Oronsay Island, so I come from very resilient Scottish stock. My husband and I have travelled to Bonavullin twice and have stood on the shore near their Crofters cottages and I have breathed in my Scottish ancestry and have felt that this is where I truly come from. Thank You again,
Jenny Gordon
Sydney,Australia
Hi Jenny, Thank you for sharing your great grandfather’s story, I heard about the Oronsay horrors from some locals I met, but your story makes it all the more vivid. Some of the clearance village stories seem nuanced, but this one, in particular, seems akin to genocide. Hardy stock indeed!