Scottish Islands Explorer 40: Nov / Dec 2016

Page 35: Kinlochline
Above: The Wishing Stone.
Opposite: The CalMac ferry at
Lochaline.
Photographs taken by the author,
James Petre.
Passed into Legend
In the Middle Ages, it was a heartland of the
Lordship of the Isles. From their castle at
Ardtornish, on the east side of the mouth of
Loch Aline, the MacDonalds mustered their
clansmen in 1411 before the journey on to
the famous battle of Harlaw in
Aberdeenshire. In 1462, the Lord of the Isles,
in his castle there, negotiated with the King
of England and signed an indenture which
passed into legend when given the title of the
Treaty of Ardtornish-Westminster.
It was elemental in inspiring Sir Walter
Scott in 1815 to write his long poem e
Lord of the Isles. e MacDonald township of
Ardtornish is now long-gone and only the
stump of his castle remains, like a broken
tooth sticking out of the jaw of Morvern. e
CalMac vessels that ply through the Sound
of Mull pass quite close to this romantic ruin.
Tourists who spot it focus their cameras.
Few know of its dramatic history. ere are
two other medieval coastal castle-towers,
both of which were most likely built in the
15th Century: Kinlochaline by the Duart
Macleans at the head of Loch Aline and
Glensanda by the Kingairloch Macleans
perched atop a rocky eminence at the mouth
of Glen Sanda.
Enforced Removal
Like other parts of the Highlands and
Islands, Morvern once accommodated far
more people. Census figures reveal that
before the Clearances, there were as many as
2,500 residents on this 250 square-mile,
pseudo-island. e Clearances changed all
this dramatically. Most enforced removal was
completed as early as 1815; voluntary
departure, especially from Western Morvern,
continued for a good while aer.
e Ardtornish estate, centred on Ardtornish
House, was acquired in 1844 by that most
notorious figure in Clearance history, Patrick
Sellar, the one-time factor of the Duke and
Duchess of Sutherland. He and his family
returned to Ardtornish House for late Summer
and Autumn enjoying a lifestyle that symbolised
their vision of Victorian success, culture
and respectability in a remote setting.
A few miles to the north, on a hillside close
to the A884 is a track beside which is ‘Sellar’s
Stone’ where, no doubt, he sheltered behind
with his shepherds when driving sheep down
from Sutherland to stock his new estate.
Aer his death, the house remained a popular
resort for his family, including their friends
such as Alfred Lord Tennyson, Sir Francis
Palgrave and Herbert Spencer.
36 SCOTTISH ISLANDS EXPLORER NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2016