port henderson : past & present - Royal Commission on the Ancient ...

The cave may have been used as a look-out point but there is no evidence to sup<strong>port</strong> this. Below this
on the north side of Opinan is a small rock called Cnoc nan Carrachan which means ‘knoll of the wild
roots’ (OSR).
Dixon described this headland between Port Henderson and its neighbour Opinan where there
was the Uamh (said to be derived from a small hollow on the hill which
faced the sea) nam Freicedeadain. This was believed to be the site of
the last fortress in Gairloch held by the M’Leods, of the clan Siol
Torquil, who may have come to Gairloch in the times of the Norse
Vikings from whom it was said they were descended. This dun is an
apparently natural large mound with traces of a long straight bank on its
The Dun
top. In around 1569 the M’Leods were driven from this dun, their last
stronghold. For more information about the MacLeods of Gairloch see
Peoples & Settlement in North-West Ross edited by John Baldwin, page 205.
There appears to be no evidence of round houses in the township although it is said that there is a
broch or round house between Port Henderson and Opinan. There is no sign of this and it is possible
that this might refer to the dun itself.
‘People from Norway?’
When drainage ditches were made on croft 7 a burnt remnant of a pine tree was found, one metre
below the surface of the ground. This was a short length of the trunk and some larger roots. A story is
told locally that ‘people from Norway’ burnt the forest which existed at that time and that the burning
of trees was a common Norse punishment. It is queried whether the remains of this pine tree might
have any connection to this burnt piece of wood. (Above the stump was evidence of birch trees and it is
known that birch trees regenerated quickly when the sheep population dropped). Norsemen conquered
the Scottish islands and then parts of the west coast. In 1263 the King of Norway, King Haakon VI,
undertook an expedition to the west of Scotland because of a dispute with Alexander III of Scotland
who had conquered the Hebrides in the previous year. Haakon retook the islands and also came to the
west coast of the mainland. He died at Kirkwall in 1263. (More details can be found in Highlanders A
History of the Gaels by John MacLeod).
Local superstitions and tales
There were many superstitions in the wide Gairloch area and it was pointed out by Dixon that the
surrounding countryside and coastline lent themselves to many suggestions of the supernatural.
Swirling mists, rushing water and springs, twisted and gnarled trees, dark caves, deep lochs, the
moaning and howling winds, islands and winter where there was more darkness than light all added to
man’s belief in things of a superstitious nature.
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