Glen Shiel Kintail May 2020

Glen Shiel, Kintail
A history
Donald John Macmillan
Edited by Innes Ewen

Editor's notes
We are indebted to Dolan's youngest daughter Ngaire who in 2018 persuaded Dolan to record an oral history of Glen
Shiel with particular reference to his own childhood in the glen in the 1940s. The text in the book was originally a
concise representation of Dolan's spoken narrative, but additional material has been added to the Second Edition to
provide a more comprehensive history of the glen.
We are also indebted to the rest of the Macmillan family, friends and neighbours for their contributions to the content of
the book.
The pictures supporting the text are old postcards, my own and family photographs.
This book is sold by the authors at the "cost of printing".
Further copies of the book can be purchased by searching Google for "Blurb" and then search Blurb for " Glen Shiel".
Dolan's original spoken narrative can be heard by searching Youtube for "Innes Ewen 2018" and from the search
results selecting "Glenshiel history Dolan".
Innes Ewen
February 2020
Cover picture:
Sgurr Fhuaran and Sgurr na Carnach from Shiel Bridge
© Copyright 2019 Innes Ewen and Glenys Macmillan
Second edition, February 2020

Table of Contents
Preface
Dolan has always had farming in his blood .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... i
Donald John Macmillan MBE, portrait ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... iv
Map of the Kintail glens ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... v
Map of the Kintail mountains ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. vii
Kintail Timeline .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ix
Historical Ownership of the land and the condition of the people ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... x
Glen Shiel and Strath Cluanie
Head of Loch Duich .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1
Shiel village .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4
Lower Glen Shiel ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 14
Donald Campbell memorial .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 17
Military marker stones ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 20
Torrlaoighseach ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 22
Achadhinrain (Achuran) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 25
Achnashiel ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 32
Achnagart ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 34
The Macmillan family of Achnagart . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 41
Achnagart quarry ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 60
Malagan ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 61
The Saddle ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 64
The Five Sisters of Kintail ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 66
Eas nan Arm ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 68
Luib an Eorna ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 76
The Durrock... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 83
Lub a' Bhodaich .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 86
The Cluanie area . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 89
Coire Lair Lodge... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 98
Loch Lundie ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 102
Appendix 1 Roads
The old military roads ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 105
The roads through Glen Shiel ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 107
Appendix 2 Sporting estates
Estates map ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 115
Appendix 3 Schools
Class photographs ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 122
Appendix 4 Poems
Glen Shiel ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 131
Bellowing by night ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 133
The Glenshiel Song ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 134

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Dolan has always had farming in his blood
by Lynne Kennedy
You see a lot of interesting things when you visit people at their homes, but one of the cutest
was last week when I met Donald John "Dolan" MacMillan in Achnagart, Lochalsh. He showed me a
robin he had found, nesting in a wee hole in the barn wall. "l wave at her and say hello every time I
come in, now that I know she's there," he says.
Dolan's home at Achnagart has been in the family since the late 19th century but the original building
dates back to the late 1700s, or so he thinks. "My great-grandparents were Macleans and they had
been away on the east coast for a while but they returned to this area. My great-grandfather had
experience of stalking so he got the job here on the estate as a gamekeeper around 1886. "However,
we think this house was built a long time before that because when we moved in we were doing the
place up and there was some work needed on the staircase. We found a newspaper dated 1864
propping up one of the treads; it was a 'News of the World', sent to a Mrs. MacRae in Ratagan from
someone in Kyleakin, and it was reporting on the American Civil War. So if the staircase was needing
repaired in 1864 it must have been built a long time before that."
Dolan's grandfather was Tom Ross who came to Achnagart as an underkeeper, when he returned from
fighting in the Boer War. He married the Maclean's daughter and, because there were no sons, took
over the running of the farm. He had five children, and his daughter Christina was Dolan's mother.
"She married Willie MacMillan, my father, and because he worked for the forestry in Letterfearn they
set up home in Ratagan which is where I was born in 1938."
When Dolan was five his sister Sarah (Morag) was born; she has been living in Plockton for many
years and is married to Johnny Nicholson. Within a year of her birth, their mother died and a year after
that their father also passed away. Their grandfather was still alive, living at Achnagart with his
daughter Bella and it was here that Dolan and Sarah came to live. "We walked to Shiel School every
day in bare feet I remember going out to bring the cows for milking and you were in your bare feet so
when the cow got up you'd stand where she had been lying because it was warm on your feet."
"The following year my grandfather died and we stayed here with Bella and my Uncle Johnny, who
became like a father to us. The house never seemed to be empty - there were always relatives or
visitors and the ceilidhs were great, full of characters and stories and singing."
"I applied to go to agricultural college in Aberdeen and the good thing was I had a lot of practical
knowledge from working on the farm. I got through the course okay and I had a van and I would be
away at weekends either back here or off down to Glasgow."
i

Preface
On graduating he saw an advert in a farming magazine for a job in Ayrshire as an assistant in a poultry
unit. I didn't know that much about poultry so I thought it would be interesting and most of my friends
were in Glasgow so I took the job. Before I went away I had worked for the forestry for a bit and it
turns out this farmer wanted a big job done replanting trees to replace all the ones that had been cut
down during the war. I told him about my experience and he said “forget about the poultry, then, you
can replant all the trees". So I fenced the area off and then planted it up.
An accident with a ladder saw Dolan finish in Ayrshire, and move back home. But for that incident his
life could have taken a very different turn. "I had been accepted on a government scheme to take over
a farm in Canada somewhere, but because the farmer in Ayrshire had moved the ladder that day, and
not secured it, I fell off it and ended up in hospital and wasn’t able to leave the country as I had
planned."
When he returned to Achnagart, he got work again with his old employer in Glenelg and it was around
this time, in his early 30s, that Dolan met his wife, Glenys. "She was a Kiwi who had got a job at the
Kintail Lodge Hotel. I invited her to watch a game of shinty and 10 minutes into the game I got a club
across the side of my head and split my ear. So I got carted off to the doctor and she was left there at
the side of the pitch, not really knowing anyone and with no transport back to work." Glenys forgave
Dolan and gave him another chance and they courted for a while before marrying and having four
children. As Glenys was brought up on a farm herself, she was a great help to Dolan over the years.
She also does an important job …. Continuing the family tradition of collecting the daily weather
conditions and sending the information to the Met Office. "My uncle used to do it every day but I
couldn't be bothered with it so Glenys took on the job. She puts it online and sends it off to them."
The couple’s first rnarital home was in Ruarach near Morvich where Dolan had a job helping
the farmer who was a few years from retirement. That was 1972 and a couple of years later their
first child, Eilidh, was born. In 1975 when his boss retired, Dolan got a job with the National Trust for
Scotland at Balmacara. ''We lived in the cottage below the big house and l worked as a gardener and
handyman. One of the jobs I did was to build the pathways for the woodland walks. It was all done by
hand and I had a few people on job creation courses - a bit like YTS - and they helped. We dug the
paths out and filled them with sawdust and then put in steps here and there. "We were very happy
there and our next child Ross was born there. The factor was Neil Sharp and he and his wife, Dorothy,
were very good to us. Dorothy was involved in the local drama group so l got involved helping out as a
stage manager. What a laugh we had with it and one year we went to the Scottish finals at Eden Court
Theatre."
ii

Glen Shiel, Kintail
In 1977, Dolan got the offer of the farm at Achnagart but it was in bad repair, needing a lot of upgrading
including an electricity supply. The director of the National Trust. who owned the farm agreed to the
repairs and in 1978 the family moved in. Shortly afterwards Malcolm was born and then, in 1981 their
fourth child Ngaire. Dolan took over the stock from his uncle and got a cow, from which he built up a
herd. In 1982, as well as his own farm, he took over the management of a farm in neighbouring
Morvich. "We had about 800 to 1,000 sheep altogether. Young Farquhar MacRae helped me out for a
while before he went off to Australia. And Willie Fraser, who now runs the trust’s Kintail estate was
here for a couple of years."
As well as a lifetime spent farming, Dolan also spent nearly 30 years in the mountain rescue, many of
them as team leader. "It was very different in the old days. If we needed a helicopter I could phone up
and get one, and I was allowed to give morphine injections. That doesn't happen now. I remember
there was a party of people and one had done his ankle in - it was out of its joint. I gave him the
morphine and then pushed the ankle back in. The rest of the party started clapping and as it turned out
they were all medical students and the injured man was a doctor. They thought it was quite hilarious."
"Another funny thing was when l was in hospital last year for my bypass operation, one of the nurses
said to me: “Do you remember when you rescued me from The Saddle 22 years ago?” I did
remember and also I remembered the terrible gravel rash she'd had on her backside." Around 10
years ago, Dolan was awarded the MBE for his work in the mountain rescue and as a special
constable. "I accepted it on behalf of the mountain rescue team - everyone involved in it did and does
do great work. It was for all of us."
Three of his four children live locally. Ross is a ranger/stalker with the forestry commission covering
Lochalsh and Skye; Malcolm works for Chill Wind in Glenelg; and Ngaire is doing her nursing training
and has been working locally during her placements. Eilidh has for some years been living in Australia
and has a successful career in IT.
When I phone Dolan late on Sunday night to clarify a couple of things, he's still on the go -
about to take the dogs for a walk and check on a few things. It turns out the robin's eggs have hatched
and there is also a baby woodpecker in the garden. He is very interested in birds, one of the reasons
he planted so many trees around his property. "One of the proudest things l've done is plant the trees
--- it has encouraged so many birds and wildlife. It's one of life's great pleasures, you know, being able
to hear birds sing all the time."
12th June 2009
iii

Preface
Donald John Macmillan, MBE
iv
iv

Glen Shiel, Kintail
v

Preface
vi
Map of the
Kintail Glens

Glen Shiel, Kintail
vii

Preface
Map of the
Kintail mountains
viii

Glen Shiel, Kintail
ix

Preface
Historical ownership of the land and the condition of the people
The Earldom of Ross had
traditionally fallen under the
control of the MacDonald
Lords of the Isles, who ran
their own private fiefdom on
the west coast of Scotland
independent of the Scottish
Crown, but in the 1400s this
ownership was hotly
disputed by the House of
Stewart.
Alexander Mackenzie, the
first Mackenzie chief for
whom we have surviving
c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s
documentation
succeeded
The MacRaes became the Constables of Eilean Donan Castle. It is said that the MacRae of Kintail
had a genealogy of his ancient family written out on a long narrow scroll, near the middle of
which there occurred the marginal note “About this time the world was created“.
x
was
sometime
around 1479 by his son
Kenneth. This Alexander
was styled "of Kintail" and
had held his lands in this
period, according to this
note, from the MacDonald Earls of Ross. However, King James III (1460-1488), forfeited the earldom of
Ross in 1475, taking it from the MacDonalds without having enough strength to make good the royal
claim against them.
Kenneth had a short, bloody period as clan chief (c.1479-1491), as Stewart monarchs struggled for
over a quarter of a century to realise their claims to the earldom against MacDonald counter-claims.
Kenneth was known as ‘Coinneach a’ Bhlàir’ (of the battle). Kenneth turned on his erstwhile allies, the
MacDonalds, who he defeated in battle in Ross-shire in the 1480s, which broke the MacDonald
stranglehold on Easter Ross, resulting in Crown domination of the area and a great increase in the
power of the Mackenzies.
It is thought that the MacRaes first came to Kintail in the 14th century as fighting men in service to the
Mackenzies in return for lands in Kintail, a relationship that endured until the demise of the clan system.

Glen Shiel, Kintail
However the MacLennans argue that there is no clear proof of the Mackenzies being established in
the area until the 1500s. Eilean Donan castle was owned by the Earls of Ross and their MacLennan
followers until the 16th century they say. Since the early 1500s the River Croe was the boundary with
MacRaes and Mackenzies to the north of it and MacLennans to the south of it. The MacLennans seem
to have been absorbed or ousted by the MacRaes, the final act being the 1645 Battle of Auldearn where
18 MacLennans were killed and it is said their widows were forced to marry MacRaes.
When Seaforth’s lands were forfeited after the 1719 rising Mackenzies' chamberlain continued to
collect the rents and convey the money to his master in exile in Europe. The Commissioners for the
Forfeited Estates tried to demand payment of the rents for themselves, but their attempts to do so were
frustrated by the wildness of the countryside and the opposition of the MacRaes. On one occasion the
Commissioners launched an armed attack, but their soldiers were driven off by the MacRaes.
Seaforth was pardoned in 1726 and his lands were bought back by his sons, and his experience in
1719 stopped him from joining the Jacobite uprising in 1745.
The parishes of Lochalsh, Kintail and Glenshiel in the County of Ross, circa 1850
The original Parish of "Kintail" was split into Kintail and Glenshiel in 1726. Today the name is used very
loosely and is now often used to refer to the whole area between Loch Hourn and Loch Long.
In 1743 potatoes were first introduced in the Highlands.
There were emigrations from Glen Shiel to the USA in 1769 and 1772.
In 1791 at the time of the Old Statistical Account of Scotland the area seems to have been
generally prosperous and there were 1,200 cattle, 300 horses and only a few sheep and goats in the
Parish of Kintail.
xi

Preface
The people were "crowded on the coast", a clachan at Letterfearn
In a census in 1793 all of the inhabitants of Kintail were MacRaes except for 2 or 3 families.
In 1792, of the 17 farms in Glenshiel, all except 2 were occupied by multiple tenants, so that each
farm formed a village (or clachan). Each tenant's right to keep stock and his share of the arable ground
was proportional to his share of the rent. These clachans can be clearly seen on the map on page 105
The last Earl of Seaforth had promised no evictions for sheep, but when he died in 1814 the glens were
cleared for sheep. With the sheep came an increase of rents of up to 6,000 percent in a generation.
Those cottars that remained became paupers and were crowded on the coast, It is unclear how they
made a living as the west coast herring fishing had fallen off at this time, some will have collected
shellfish along the coast, while others will have been involved in the illicit distillation of whisky.
In 1845 the New Statistical Account of Scotland documents the growing poverty in the area. The
typical house at this time had drystone walls with unsquared couples (rafters) built into the walls. The
roof had a thin layer of turf covered with heather, ferns or rushes. There were three rooms, one for the
family, one for potatoes and the third for livestock.
Between 1820 and 1880 two thirds of Highland estates changed hands including Kintail which was
split up and sold off to nine different proprietors in 1840. The Glen Shiel Estate was bought by Sir
xii

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Duncraig Castle on the shores of Loch Carron, the home of Sir Alexander Matheson
Alexander Matheson, who went on to also buy Inverinate in 1844 and Elleandouan in 1851. Sir
Alexander used his money from trading opium in the Far East to build Duncraig Castle as his home.
Increasingly ownership landed up in Lowland, English or even American hands forming a new
disassociated elite in a region of traditional family allegiance. It was a social revolution and the
introduction of sheep destroyed the peoples traditional way of life. So by 1847 the population of the
Parish of Glen Shiel was 750, of whom only 150 were self-sustaining with the remaining 600 being
destitute and dependant on handouts from the church and the landowner to avoid starvation. In the
1841 census for Glen Shiel 38% were MacRaes, and of the 13 households along both sides of the
river, 6 were headed by shepherds. By 1881 there were no crofters on the estate of Glen Shiel.
In 1846 potato blight started the Highland potato famine which lasted for 10 years, piling even more
distress upon the people.
By 1860 public opinion was entirely hostile to evictions to make way for sheep. Between 1870 and
1900 the sheep were cleared from the land and the whole area was turned into a vast sporting estate.
Shiel Lodge, formerly a hotel, was converted into a shooting lodge in 1907.
After the Napier Commission in 1883 it seems that pressure was put on the cottars to leave and the
population of Kintail declined by 500 in the space of 10 years.
In 1917 during WW1, sheep were reintroduced to the glen under the Defence of the Realm Act, to
help feed the nation.
The National Trust for Scotland bought the Kintail Estate in 1945 and the West Affric Estate in 1993.
xiii

Glen Shiel
and
Strath Cluanie

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The head of Loch Duich, before and after Mam Ratagan was planted with trees,
with Glen Shiel running out of the picture on the right with the Five Sisters of Kintail beyond it.
1

Head of Loch Duich
Cairngorm village at the head of Loch Duich
Looking up Loch Duich to Glen Shiel from the Carr Brae road
2

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Sheep shearing at Lienassie, Kintail Note the specially built shearing stools which were brought to
the Highlands by the border shepherds who came with the introduction of the sheep.
Maggie Ormiston's cottage (see map on page 4). Maggie and her younger sister Isabella (Bel) were
born in Boleskine and in 1901 were both unmarried and living here. She was a laundrymaid working on
"own account" age 62 and Bel was a pauper age 56. Bel died in 1902 and Margaret in 1922. The
house is seen on the picture on page 5 and Bel appears in the harvest picture on page 7.
3

4
Shiel Village

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Shiel village circa 1900 with Ratagan House on the distant shore
The three prominent buildings are Shiel Lodge, Shiel House and the manse. On the 1845 Ordnance
Survey map Shiel Lodge is marked as an inn and post office. Telford's bridge across the River Shiel
can be seen below the manse. The three houses to the right of Shiel Bridge are Peggy (Mhor)
MacRaes' house, the post office and the third house is still there. Maggie Ormiston's cottage is in the
field to the right of Shiel Lodge and directly below the right hand side of Shiel House near the bottom of
the picture. Maggie and Bel were the daughters of John Ormiston, a salmon fisher on Loch Duich, and
his wife Ann Fraser who had originally come from Fort Augustus and are buried in Clachan Duich.
Northern Chronicle, 1890 Alleged theft by house-breaking
Yesterday a young man named John Campbell having no fixed place of residence, was tried before Sheriff Hill on the
charge of having, on the 23rd July, broken into the Post Office at Shiel Bridge, and stolen therefrom £1 12s 10d in
money, a quarter of a pound of tobacco, and a writing desk. The accused pled not guilty and was defended by Mr.
Dewar. From the evidence, it appeared that the Shiel Bridge Post Office was broken into on the date above mentioned,
an entrance being effected by the roof, and that a box containing money was removed, as well as a quantity of tobacco
from a drawer in the shop. Miss Grant the postmistress, could not state definitely the exact sum of money which was in
the box, or the quantity of tobacco that was in the drawer. The writing desk was found in a field in the neighbourhood,
minus of course its contents. Suspicion fell upon the accused, as he had been in the shop on two occasions on the day
previous to the theft. Information was given to the police, and in the course of a day or two Constable Macvicar of the
Inverness-shire constabulary, Glenelg, apprehended the accused, and after charging him with the offence, searched
him, and found money and tobacco in his possession to the amount and quantity stated above. Evidence was also
given which went to prove that the accused had not told the truth with regard to his movements, his destination or his
birthplace. After a statement from Mr. Dewar, the Sheriff said that there was ample suspicion that the prisoner was the
guilty party, still, evidence was not sufficient to convict him, and he must therefore find the charge not proved.
5

Shiel Village
This post office was at the north end of the bridge over the River Shiel, circa 1900 (see map on page 4)
Edwardian tourists at the Glenshiel post office, July 1913 Sign says:
"Post Office for money orders, savings bank, parcel post, telegraph, insurance and annuity business"
6

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The bridge over the Allt Undalain in Shiel village. It is not known whether this bridge was built as part of
the 1771 realignment of the old military road, or as part of Thomas Telford's "Road to the Isles" built in
1815.
The Glenshiel harvest in 1886 and everyone is lending a hand. The people are from the left: Ali Bain's
son 1881 gamekeeper at Shiel; Annabel na Braige; Donald unknown; Neil Grant shopkeeper at Shiel
Bridge; Ann Mackenzie - Murdo Ann's mother; Kate Mackay cook at Shiel Inn 1851; John Cameron
from Cairngorm; Farquhar Paterson from Aultachruine; Bel Ormiston from Wade's Bridge, Shiel;
Norman Gillies from Skye; Donald Ruadh from Aultachruine; Marion Gillies wife of Norman; Mrs Fraser;
Donald MacDonald farm servant at Shiel Inn; Brochtair McCauley who lived at Shiel View.
7

Shiel Village
Shiel Bridge built by Thomas Telford in 1820
Shiel House was originally an inn on the Ratagan Estate, but after the Ratagan Estate was split up and
sold off this area became part of the Shiel Estate. After it closed as an inn it became a private dwelling
owned by a MacRae from Paisley and the house was known by the locals as “Paisley”. He was a
wealthy man and had plans to develop the walled fish trap at the head of Loch Duich and build a fish
canning factory. His various exploits annoyed the locals who eventually managed to overturn his lovely
horse and carriage up the Shiel road which sickened him and he left.
8

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Shiel Lodge is marked on the 1845 O. S. map as "Shiel Inn and post office"
It was originally a staging post on the through route from The Great Glen to the west coast, later to
become a very comfortable hotel until it closed in 1907 to be converted into a shooting lodge. The
foreground field between the bridge and Shiel House was known as the “Irish Field” and ballast from
the boats landing goods such as coal was dumped there.
Shiel Lodge, now a holiday home
9

Shiel Village
1924-1925 Glenshiel Shinty Team
Back row: Murdo MacRae (Inchnacroe), Alec MacLennan (Inchnacroe), Alec. MacRae (Luib an
Eorna), Jimmy Clark (Morvich). Front row; D. A. MacRae (Inchnacroe), Christopher MacRae
(Cairngorm), Hector MacRae (Morvich), Papa MacKaskill, Willie MacKay (piper, builder).
Glenshiel Shinty Team
Left to right: Ally MacRae, Jock Stewart, Tom Ross, Duncan MacRae, John MacRae (Billy), Colin
Campbell, Alick MacLeod, Donald Campbell, Duncan MacKenzie (Mestie), John Nicholson (torpedo),
Simon Campbell, John MacRae (Geannie), Colin Campbell.
10

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Aberdeen's Brown hits the ground in the face of a challenge
from (Dolan) Macmillan of Kinlochshiel
11

Shiel Village
The Old Shiel Public School is beside the Shiel shop
As you leave old Shiel School there is a flat area on the other side of the river, which was even more
extensive before the new road was built and cut through the area. In the old days there was quite an
area of arable ground there and it was called the "The Pane" and is where the crofters used to graze
their sheep and cattle. The name "Pane" or "Peighinn" may be derived from the gaelic word for a
penny, which may have been the original rental value of the land.
"The Pane" or "Peighinn" is the area in the foreground now partially covered by trees.
12

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Shiel shop in the early 1960s with the old school and Catholic Chapel in the bottom left corner, and the
Pane across the river. The 1967 double carriageway road runs just beyond the fence bounding the filling
station, crosses the river and runs on down the Pane.
In 2004 the Shiel Bridge cafe, shop and campsite, were revamped by owners John and Lynne Metcalfe.
The development included upgrading the campsite with a new toilet and shower block. Note the
Catholic Chapel and the old school in the background.
13

Lower Glen Shiel
The wall to keep the cows up the glen
In the late 1800s the cows were summered up on the flats above the loch and there was a little wall to
keep them up there The girls milked the cows here in the evening as there was a place to wash the
buckets, and over night the cattle were allowed to wander on down to the Pane.
A family story passed down to Dolan from his uncle Johnny Ross concerns the Boa family who came to
Glen Shiel with the sheep. One of them fancied one of the MacRae girls who milked the cows at Loch
Shiel. He was a shepherd and in the evening when he was finished hefting his sheep he used to sit on
the wall and wait for her to come up to milk the cows so that he could talk to her. While waiting he
started to carve his name BOA on a big stone there, but he had only carved "BO" before the pair of
them ran off together.
14

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Sgurr na Carnach, the Cugan wood and Loch Shiel which has swans and
The Cugan wood is where the ghost dog lived and terrified everybody and kept them on the straight
fairies took a dislike to the dog and enticed it into their place of residence. When it emerged it was
The place where the girls milking the cows washed their buckets
15

Lower Glen Shiel
ducks on it and is a resting place for salmon and sea trout going through
and narrow. It was known as the cu dubh (black dog) but Dolan never saw it. One story says that the
completely bald so it was no longer the cu dubh.
Feral goats roam the Five Sisters of Kintail and the surrounding area
16

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Donald Campbell was gassed in WW1 but survived and ran the Inn at Cluanie for a while before
moving down to Shiel. When he died the service was held in the Catholic Chapel at Shiel and the
coffin was walked to here from where it was transported back to his native Beauly. His brother John
was killed at the Somme, and it is thought that his name was also supposed to be on this stone but for
some reason it never happened. (see map on page 22)
The old Catholic Chapel in Shiel village (see also page 13)
17

Donald Campbell memorial
Ghillie raises spyglass to sharp-eyed crofter
16th January 1998
A long-lost spyglass used to search for deer over a
hundred years ago, and which also saw action in the
First World War, has mysteriously turned up on a hill
on the Wester Ross estate where it was first used.
The lens, which was thought to have been lost
around 50 years ago after being given out on loan
during a stalk, was discovered when Kintail man
Malcolm MacMillan (18) was out fence-building near
the historic site of the battle of Glen Shiel.
The 19th century glass was originally the
possession of Lochalsh gamekeeper Donald
Campbell who, while serving in the Royal Highland
Artillery during the First World War, used it to scout
for the enemy in Egypt and Palestine.
Malcolm's dad, Donald, said it was "sheer luck" the
spyglass was discovered. "If we hadn't gone to build
a fence in that spot and stood in the right place it may
never have been found".
Mr MacMillan, who was recently awarded an MBE
Malcolm Macmillan with the spyglass which for services to the community, managed to open the
provides a link with the past
glass after applying WD-40 and noticed the peculiar
inscription.
"There is no way a gamekeeper could have afforded to inscribe it like that," he said. "They used to
inscribe the casing and maybe the bottom section of the glass, but not up at the top and with all that
writing. The glass itself must be special material for it still to be in this state and survive the elements."
The inscription appears on the second top segment when the glass is opened and shows the name of
the owner and his regiment during the war. It also reveals the lens was passed on to an EH Ashworth of
Egerton near Bolton as a memento of Donald. The bottom section reveals what looks like a family crest
as well as the possible makers, "Ross London 26432," and the name of a nearby valley, "Glenquoiche".
The Campbell family belong to a long line of gamekeepers on the Cluanie and Shiel estates and
Donald's nephew, Colin Campbell, the current keeper at Cluanie Lodge, will be given the spyglass to
look after.
"I can just about remember it," said Colin. "My family were always going on about where was Donald's
glass. It will need a good clean and you can be sure that I'll be keeping it in a safe place."
18

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Chlach a Bhaisteadh, the christening stone - see the map on page 22
There was diphtheria in the 6 or 7 houses in the Cluanie area and the children became very, very ill and
it was decided that they would have to bring them down the glen to be Christened. The people in lower
Glen Shiel did not want to be exposed to the infection and by the time the trip was organised 2 or 3 of
the children had died. A christening stone was set up well outside the village and a minister attended to
christen the children. It is thought that the children who had died may be buried under the ring of stones
on the left.
19

Military marker stones
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquities Scotland, January 11, 1897
Notes on Antiquities in Loch Alsh and Kintail by Thomas Wallace, F.S.A. Scot., High School, Inverness.
One of the principal Military Roads in the Highlands was the one from Fort Augustus to Bernera and
Skye, passing through Glen Shiel. The following reference to this road is made in vol. xxxii, of the
House of Commons Journals, p. 701 :-
"To a party to work upon the road leading from Fort-Augustus to Bemera and the island of Sky, which
party to consist of 2 Subaltern officers, 92 days, at 3d. each per diem, 4 Sergeants at 1s. each, 4
Corporals at 18d. each, 2 Drummers and 100 men at 6d. each = £292. 17s. 4d. Extraordinary charges
for Artificers, carts, tools, lime, underground drains, coal and other incidental expenses, £239, 10s. 0d."
It is pretty certain that at least for fifteen years (1770-1784) a regimental party was employed each
year upon this road; and as the regiments in Fort Augustus would be changed each year, the stone
recording a year's work might each be the record of different regiments. The picture below contains
representations from photographs of stones in Glen Shiel, evidently set up in connection with the road
to Bernera, each probably marking a year's work. Stone No. 1 still stands on an old road in Glen Shiel,
about 2 miles from Shiel Inn. It bears the inscription "XXIV. Reg. Ended." It measures 2 feet 6 inches
high; breadth at the top 14 inches, at the middle 16½ inches, and at the bottom 22 inches, and is 4
inches thick. Stone No. 2 is unfortunately not in its original position, but lies in front of the house, in the
wall of which it was discovered, some years ago on the shores of Loch Duich, about 2 miles from Shiel
Inn. Its dimensions are similar to Stone No. 1, and the inscription runs - "The IV. of King's Own Royal
Reg. made 249 (yards ?) of Road Ea[st], 1771."
(See maps on pages 22 and 108).
20

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Drocht Dreicht, the Pony Burn
Of the two date stones to mark the start or end of a regiments work Stone 1 was located at the Pony
Burn and Stone 2 at the Cugan corner. Stone 1 is believed to have been buried by forestry road works.
The last we heard of Stone 2 it was in the possession of Bill Ramsay of Kyle of Lochalsh for safe
keeping until some authority is prepared to accept it for long term preservation. Where it is now is
unknown. See map on page 22.
About 1 mile from Shiel Inn close
to the road was a souterrain, an
underground prehistoric storage
cellar into which you could crawl.
Once inside the ceiling rose to a
height of 8 feet, and the walls,
floor and roof were all built with
stone slabs. (See map on page
22.)
Culsh souterrain in Aberdeenshire
Earlier the entrance had been
blocked up to stop children going
into it, but it was destroyed when
the new road went through the
glen in 1967. However if you look
carefully you can still see the
remains of it, a pile of large
stones at the side of the road.
21

22
Torrlaoighseach

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Torrlaoighseach from Achadhinrain (Achuran)
Torrlaoighseach
23

Torrlaoighseach
The Lazy Knoll at Torrlaoighseach
Dolan was told many years ago that the meaning of Torrlaoighseach was the lazy knoll, which the
people who lived there did not like and tried to say that it meant something else.
The origin of the MacRaes of Kintail
One story says that the first MacRae's to come to Kintail were two brothers and one lived in
Torrlaoighseach and the other went to Achnagart. According to the Clan MacRae website it happened
like this:
Of a possible migration of the Clan MacRae to Scotland from Ireland, little is known, but their first
known home in Scotland was on the lands of Lord Lovat of Clunes (between Beauly and Inverness on
the south side of the Beauly Firth) sometime during the mid 13th century. Virtually all sources are in
agreement on the location. As evidence they site the long and solid friendship between the Frasers of
Lovat and the MacRaes. John (Ian Carrach) MacRae which means "fidgety John", was forced to leave
Clunes after he killed the Earl of Lovat's illegitimate son. He went to Kintail where he spent the first
night in the house of a man called Macaulay of Achnagart. He eventually married Macaulay's daughter
and their child Christopher (circa 1350 - 1410) was the first MacRath born in Kintail.
Christopher was connected with the Mackenzies who were just getting a foothold in the west, having
recently acquired Eilean Donan Castle. The family that he established were called Clann Ian Charrich
MacRath of Torlysich (Torrlaoighseach), and became for approximately 200 years, one of the chief
families of Kintail until Malcolm Ian Charrich MacRae, Constable of Eilean Donan lost his influence by
supporting Hector Roy's claim for the estates of Kintail against John of Killin. There is no known
recorded genealogy of John's descendants although according to Ella MacRae-Gilstrap, 'several well
known MacRae families claim descent from him.'
24

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The silage pit at Torrlaoighseach
It was said that one year the occupants of Torrlaoighseach could not get their hay dried and they dug a
big pit on the Lazy Knoll and buried it. Subsequently the cattle enjoyed the product of this experiment
which was of course what today we would call silage.
The lands of Achadhinrain (Achuran) with Achnagart in the distance
Today this land is no longer worked, it is just deer forest, but the sheep from Achnagart graze on it.
25

Achadhinrain
The shepherd's house at Achadhinrain (Achuran)
Achadhinrain has good grazing land which was converted into crofts at a later time to increase the
amount of arable land available to the crofters. .
On top of the foreground knoll can be seen a ring of stones, the foundations of a broch
See map on page 22
26

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The Glascharn - See map on page 22
A man who was escaping justice for some crime that he had committed was supposed to have
hidden in this pile of stones for years. He claimed that he climbed to the point on the ridge above
known as Spietian Alasdair Iain every morning to spy on what everyone was doing. It was also said
that he went home each day for his food.
The Glascharn with Spietian Alasdair Iain above
27

Achadhinrain
The peaks on the Five Sisters ridge above Achadhinrain (Achuran)
Cnoc Chupan - see map on page 22
There was a well here with what the old folk considered to be very good water, and they would
spend all day going down to Achadhinrain (Achuran) with a horse and cart to collect a load of hay
and would stop here on the way home to make tea with the water. So different from today
when you could do the same job in half an hour with a tractor and trailer or a lorry.
28

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The Ivy Rock
The band of rocks in the middle distance, halfway between Achadhinrain (Achuran) and Achnagart.
The old military road on the north side of the glen is still discernable today - see the map on page 107
29

Achadhinrain
Looking downstream from Achadhinrain (Achuran)
The old military road winds its way over the Cnoc Chupan on its way to Achnagart
30

Glen Shiel, Kintail
A rotary quern stone for grinding corn
Querns stones at Achnagart
John Ross and Jackie MacRae were discussing querns in Achnagart one day and Dolan's wife Glenys
said "I saw one of those in the burn at Torrlaoighseach". Dolan who had lived all of his life in the area
was amazed to discover that what Glenys said was indeed true.
When the government soldiers tried to suppress the Highlanders after the uprisings they destroyed
most of the querns, so that the people had to go to them to get their oatmeal.
31

Achnashiel
Reproduced with the permission
of the National Library of Scotland
The clachan of Achanashelach, Achnasheal or Achnashiel - Blaeu's Atlas 1654
In 1773 Boswell and Johnson passed through Achnashiel where they sat on a green turf seat at the end
of a house and were served two wooden dishes of milk, one frothed like a sillabub ...... We had there in
a circle all about us, men, women and children, all MacRaes, Lord Seaforth's people. Not one of them
could speak English ..... I gave all those who desired it snuff and tobacco. I also gave each person a
piece of wheat-bread which they had never tasted before ...... There was a great diversity in the faces
of the circle around us. Some were as black and wild as any American savage. One woman was as
comely as the figure of Sappho as we see it painted. Boswell's: Journal of a tour to the Hebrides p108-109
The bushy heather growth conceals the remains of a cottar's cottage at Achnashiel
32

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Bushy heather conceals the remains of a cottar's cottage at Achnashiel with Achnagart beyond
Clach Johnson - the stone that Johnson is said to have sat on at Achnashiel
33

Achnagart
Reproduced with the permission of
the National Library of Scotland
The clachan of Achnagart or Achnangart - Roy's military map of 1755
Reproduced with the permission of
the National Library of Scotland
Achnagart (or Achnangart) farm in 1845
34

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Achnagart nestles below its knoll on the valley floor
The first MacRaes to come to Kintail in the 1600s were two brothers who were sword servants to the
Mackenzies, and one was given Achnagart and the other Torrlaoighseach as a place to live. There
were MacRaes there for generations, the Achnagart ones settled down and fared better than the
MacRaes at Torrlaoighseach who remained longer as warriors.
Sgurr nan Carnach towers behind Achnagart
35

Achnagart
Clach a' Chuamain (see map on page 34)
MacRae Mhor was a very strong giant of a man who it is said carried this stone on his back. While
doing so he met the mason who said that it was the wrong shape so he just dropped it here.
MacLennan's well - named after the tenants of Achnagart before the MacRaes
As a child Dolan remembered being sent to get a skillet of water from this well by visiting elderly
relatives who believed that it had curative properties. (see map on page 34)
36

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Achnagart farm
The archaeologists of the National Trust for Scotland think that there has been a settlement on this site
from medieval times. Achnagart was occupied by generations of MacRaes and it went through all the
stages of being a Highland clachan, a sheep farm and then a deer forest. The walls and fank built for
the sheep are all still there, and they were built from the stones of the houses in the deserted clachans
of Achnashiel and Achnagart.
Between these two clachans there was quite a population and they shared the arable land below the
two clachans to grow their own oats. They had only the bare necessities for life, their oats, and cattle to
give them milk and butter. Since all of the people in a clachan would have been inter-related they
shared all of their foodstuff in order to survive.
Cobbled floor in the byre at Achnagart
37

Achnagart
Ellen (Eilidh) MacRae's cottage at Achnagart
In the 1901 census Eilidh was living here age 63 years with her niece Flora MacRae age 53 years.
Eilidh's occupation was given as "living on own means" and Flora's as "formerly housekeeper".
The sheep fank at Achnagart
In 1917, during WW1, sheep were reintroduced to the glen under the Defence of the Realm Act, to help
feed the nation. A quick win because all of the infrastructure for rearing sheep was already there.
38

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie, Lady Hood
She was born at Tarradale, Ross-shire, on the 27th of March 1783, and married in Barbadoes on the
6th of November 1804, to Sir Samuel Hood, afterwards K.B., Vice-Admiral of the White, and, in 1806,
M.P. for Westminster. Sir Samuel died at Madras, on the 24th December 1814, without issue. Lady
Hood then returned to Great Britain, and, in 1815, took possession of the family estates, which had
devolved upon her by the death of her father without male issue, when the titles became extinct.
She married, secondly, on the 21st of May 1817, the Right Honourable James Alexander Stewart of
Glasserton, a cadet of the house of Galloway, who assumed the name of Mackenzie, was returned M.P.
for the County of Ross, held office under Earl Grey, and was successively Governor of Ceylon, and
Lord High Commissioner to the Ionian Islands. He died on the 24th of September 1843.
Mrs Stewart-Mackenzie died at Brahan Castle on the 28th of November 1862, and was buried in the
family vault in the Chanonry or Cathedral of Fortrose. Her funeral was one of the largest ever witnessed
in the Highlands of Scotland, several thousands of persons being present on foot, while the vehicles
numbered over 150. By the second marriage she left issue—Keith William Stewart-Mackenzie, now of
Seaforth; Francis P. Proby, died without issue; George A. F. W., married a daughter of General T.
Marriott, and died in 1852 without issue; Mary F., married the Honourable Philip Anstruther, with issue;
Caroline S. married J. B. Petre, and died in 1867; and Louisa C, who married William, second Lord
Ashburton, with issue - one daughter. Mrs Stewart-Mackenzie and her husband were succeeded by
their eldest son.
Letter to Lady Hood from Duncan MacRae of Torrlaoighseach
When Lady Hood took over the Mackenzie Estates in 1815 the Estates were haemorrhaging money
and there was a desperate struggle to try and make ends meet, which led to her eventually selling the
Isle of Lewis in 1824. The letter on the next page was written by Duncan MacRae of Torrlaoighseach in
1819 to Lady Hood, two years after she had married James Alexander Stewart, and it reveals her
struggle to raise money from the land. Presumably Duncan MacRae is a descendant of the ancient
family of MacRaes of Kintail and he is clearly well known to Lady Hood.
The income from the lease of the land to cottars would have been insignificant, as in order to receive
poor relief a family had to have an income of less than one shilling and three pence (6.25 new pence)
per annum as late as 1840, so a well off cottar would still have been earning only a few pounds per
annum.
Duncan MacRae talks as if Achnagart is already a farm in single occupancy and he is offering an
increase in the rent for it, a nasty side-effect for the tenants of the introduction of sheep, and a financial
lifeline for the struggling land-owners.
I presume that Mr Dick is a tacksman who rented a large area of land and sub-let it to various subtenants,
one of them being Duncan MacRae. It seems that he was not a popular tacksman and
Duncan MacRae is desperate to get out from under his yoke.
39

Achnagart
Torrlaoighseach 22nd April 1819
Mrs. Stewart MacKenzie of Seaforth
My Dear Madam,
Your kind letter of 29th of March 1819 I only answered the other day and although your ideas are so
high about your land on this place that I cannot close a bargain with you for it yet. I am equally obliged
to you as if we had agreed. I see plainly that you wished to give us preference before any other on
your estate.
We therefore consider ourselves liable to give you full rent for your land and indeed more than we
would give to any other person for we are sure I had seen by several instances that you and all your
family did and shown more kindness to us than even we ever deserved of that character we shall give
you where ever we will go. I have showed your letter to my brother and nephew at Cluanie and none
of them would venture to promise you the rent you proposed either. Although they are very keen to
take your land yet the high rent frights them but if you think you could content yourself with £1,200 or
even £1,250 for all your lands in this place and the salmon fishing I would make them go and close a
bargain with you for the same which I think my Dear Madam is full rent for it.
I am sensible enough that 8,000 sheep will be full stock for all the land you have in this place. Let
other people tell you what they please and I think that 3 shillings should be the rent of a sheep in this
place so far from market.
However I determine to be quit of Mr Dick at any sale and I will take any land in Scotland from you.
I therefore depend wholly upon your Ladyship for a farm and that in Glenshiel the only place that would
suit me whole you have of the farm of Invershiel and Achnagart together the present rent
of Achnagart - - - - - - - 150.00
Invershiel -- - - - - - - - 225.00
375.00
Rent what Mr Dick gets of Invershiel is calculated
¼ of the farm so it leaves them - - - - - - 169.15
Achnagart - - - - - - - - - - - - - 150.00
the present rent paid for the farm 319.15
and I now offer you for the two places £420.00 merely to get quit of Dick and to have you as a landlady.
I hope this offer will please you for Achnagart and what you have of Invershiel and that you acquaint
me by course of post that you’ll take it. I am very busy sowing the oats just now otherwise I would go
and see you personally.
I remain my Dear Madam believe are to be always your sincere friend
Duncan MacRae
40

Glen Shiel, Kintail
41

The Macmillan family of Achnagart
The Macmillan family of Achnagart
Dolan's great grandfather came to Achnagart sometime around 1897 so the family have been in continuous occupation
of Achnagart for 123 years. Malagan became empty in 1976, so for the last 44 years they have been the only family
living in the 12 miles of Glen Shiel from Shiel Bridge up to the Cluanie Inn, apart from some occasional occupation of
Torrlaoighseach by quarry workers and the Campbell family. Editor
"My great great grandfather John Ross was a shepherd in Glen Calvie in Easter Ross, who on the
24th of May 1845 was one of 90 people in 18 family groups who were evicted by force from the glen.
While the menfolk searched for an alternative place to live, the women and children were allowed to
shelter in Croick churchyard. Some scratched messages on the church windows including my great
great grandfather who wrote “John Ross, Shepherd, Parish of Ardgay”.
The women milked the cows in a nearby field to provide milk for the infants, and borrowed a flask
from the unlocked church to feed them. These infants included Dolan’s great grandmother Christina
Ross who was born in 1841. Later the church was locked and they were unable to return the flask
which was retained by John Ross’s family and survived the decades in a wall cupboard that had been
plastered over. In 2015 the flask was donated by Dolan to the museum in Inverness.
My great grandfather Hugh Maclean (Uisdean mhor) came to Achnagart as a keeper at the time that
the sheep were being taken off the land and it was turning into a deer forest. At that time there weren't
many keepers around, but he had been down about Fort Augustus for a while where there was deer
stalking and he got the job as stalker at Achnagart. He was a fair age when he came there.
About 1902 my grandfather Tom Ross who had served in the Boer war in Africa came home and the
troops had been promised that when they came back they would get a job. There were very few jobs
down in Lord Lovat's estate so they had to take any job that they could get, so he came to Achnagart
as an assistant to the stalker Hugh Maclean. There was a son and Sarah the younger daughter still at
home when Tom Ross arrived, the son leaving shortly thereafter. A year or two later Tom Ross married
Sarah and her parents continued to live with them, Uisdean Mhor dying in 1918 and Christina in 1927,
so they had the old couple with them for quite a long time.
My mother Christina Ross was born in 1916 and was brought up in Achnagart, marrying William
Macmillan at the Cluanie Inn in 1934. William was a forestry worker and they had four children Tommy,
Roddy, Dolan and Sarah. Unfortunately my mother died at the age of 29 and my father William died a
year later at the age of 37 when I was 8 years old.
My mother's siblings Maggie, Isabella and Thomas all married and moved away from Achnagart.
My uncle John Ross took over Achnagart when my grandfather Tom Ross died, and when my parents
died he and Aunt Bella took over the care of the four of us and kept us together as a family and brought
us up at Achnagart."
42

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Croik church
The message scratched by Dolan's great great grandfather John Ross on the window of Croik church
43

The Macmillan family of Achnagart
The flask from Croik
church which was
used to feed milk
to the infants.
44

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Christina and Hugh Maclean, Tom and Sarah Ross,
Maggie Walker (nee Ross) and Maria Gordon
45

The Macmillan family of Achnagart
Tom Ross and his family at Achnagart in 1926
Grandmother Sarah Ross (nee Maclean) and her
daughter Maggie
William Macmillan and Christina Ross,
June 1934
46

Glen Shiel, Kintail
This letter refers to the negotiations between Tom Ross and the new landowners, the National
Trust for Scotland, regarding his future under the their ownership of the Estate. Invershiel Lodge
has been turned into a hotel and the new tenant is Mr Chisholm who also has been given a
contract by the National Trust to keep down the deer numbers and control the vermin on the
estate. The Trust have negotiated that Mr Chisholm should give Tom Ross employment as a
gamekeeper.
47

The Macmillan family of Achnagart
In this letter it is clarified that Mr Chisholm is to pay Tom Ross the same wage as he had
previously been receiving, but the Trust want him to start paying 2 shillings per head for his
sheep. It also recognises that the Trust see his son John Ross as his future successor.
48

Glen Shiel, Kintail
24th August 1943, Tom Ross above Luib an Eorna
18th September 1943, above Eas nan Arm, Eric Gillies, Tommy Ross and Tom Ross
49

The Macmillan family of Achnagart
22nd August 1942
Miss Babs (a Robertson), Tom Ross, Danny Unknown and Tommy Ross with a royal stag
John Ross of Achnagart
50

Glen Shiel, Kintail
1978 John Ross of Achnagart
Sybil and Thomas Ross and family at
the Allt Mhoir house at Cluanie
51

The Macmillan family of Achnagart
Roddy, Dolan and Sarah
Macmillan
"The Big Fella", an Imperial stag that
lived in Glen Shiel for many years
Tommy, Roddy, Sarah and Dolan
Macmillan
52

Glen Shiel, Kintail
This document from the National Trust for Scotland summarises the history of Achnagart prior to
Dolan taking over the lease in 1979.
The previous tenants at Achnagart had a "Service Tenancy Agreement" with the land owner which
gave them the grazing rights for a few cattle and some sheep as part of their wages.
By the time that Johnny Ross retired in 1979 the landlords of Achnagart were the National Trust for
Scotland and it was agreed that if Dolan took on the lease of Achnagart then it would be on the basis
of a full agricultural tenancy which opened up the possibility of assistance from the Department of
Agriculture to him.
53

The Macmillan family of Achnagart
Dolan was awarded his MBE for services to the
community and to the Kintail Mountain Rescue
Team of which he was a member for nearly 30
years, most of them as team leader.
54

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Alan MacKaskill (Glenelg), Dolan Macmillan and Alasdair MacRae (Shiel Bridge)
The extended Macmillan family in 2012 (from left to right)
Innes and Kate Ewen, John Nicholson, John Duncan MacKerlich, Sarah Nicholson, Dolan, Duncan
MacKerlich, Glenys, Duncan, Mandy Stoddart, Ngaire, Calum, Jennifer Nutkins, Anna, Emily,
Isabelle, Malcolm, Georgina, Iain, Ross and Eilidh (all Macmillans unless otherwise stated)
55

The Macmillan family of Achnagart
John Alec Boyd, Glenys Macmillan and Malcolm Macmillan at Achnagart
Dolan Macmillan of Achnagart
56

Glen Shiel, Kintail
There is a story about another MacRae Mhor who was born in Achnagart who was a very big powerful
man who regularly went to the sales at the mart in Dingwall. There were highwaymen robbing the
people who were going to the mart in Dingwall and he was through at the sale one day and he met
somebody that he knew who had been robbed the previous week. "Well" he said "we'll see how good
they are at robbing people this week."
So he made a big show of collecting some money at the mart and flashing it while in the crowded arena.
Later he set off for home in his little horse and gig and he was going along the road somewhere up near
Garve when he was stopped by two men who had a rope across the road. He walloped the first one
and knocked him unconscious, and the other fellow did not know what had happened and he came
round the back of the cart and he thumped him too so that both of them were unconscious. He tied
them together with a rope, back to back, rolled the rope round and round them and knotted it. He left
them like that and went back to Dingwall, picked up 2 or 3 men that were there and brought them out
with him in a cart and they took the two robbers back to Dingwall where they were locked up. The two
robbers when subsequently telling the tale said that when they stopped the horse and gig the Devil
came out and hit them!
He then came home and he decided that he had a calling and he went off to the Free Church College
in Edinburgh, passed all of his exams with flying colours, and entered the ministry. He preached in
Ardelve for a while, eventually going out to Lewis where he remained for the rest of his life. He left a
legacy of MacRaes in Lewis and the local doctors in Kintail were all off this MacRae Mhor.
57

The Macmillan family of Achnagart
The Free Church College in Edinburgh (the central building with the brown door)
The monument to the MacRaes at Sherrifmuir where they fell almost to a man
Another MacRae Mhor was out with the Earl of Mar at the battle of Sherrifmuir in the first Jacobite
uprising. He had so many dead bodies piled up around him that it was said that the only way that the
government soldiers would be able to get at him would be to tunnel through the bodies. There must
have been a gene in the MacRae family that made large powerful men.
58

Glen Shiel, Kintail
In the burn above Achnagart there are some Aspen trees which are not common on the West Coast of
Scotland. They were planted there by Dolan's grandfather who brought them from Kiltarlity in Easter
Ross. The ruins of Eilidh MacRae's cottage are in the bottom left corner.
59

Achnagart quarry
Achnagart quarry supplied the road stone for the upgrading of all of the roads in the area to double
carriageway. The quarry ran all of the time, a noisy roaring quarry.
Rock crushing plant at Achnagart quarry
60

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Malagan, 1845
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
Malagan, 1967
The last occupant of the house at Malagan was John Hugh Maskell who died on 29 January 1976.
He was known as the "Black Officer" and had fought as a mercenary for General Franco in Spain.
61

Malagan
The house at Malagan
Malagan is long gone and has been bulldozed
flat, but it was occupied by Duncan MacDonald
(the Ghillie Ban) and his sister Mary Anne
MacDonald when we were children.
Johnny Malagan was born up at Loch Lundie
(see maps on pages 98 and 102), but his
mother died shortly after giving birth. Johnny
then came to live at Malagan with his father
Duncan MacDonald and his aunt Mary Anne
MacDonald. Dolan grew up with Johnny
Malagan who he said was a great character full
of stories.
Watchers for poachers were called "stoppers"
and they used to position themselves at
Malagan which was therefore known as a "stop
house" .
The cutting at Achnagart
It is thought that there was a loch here in the
olden times, and the very deep cutting at
Achnagart was dug to drain the loch so that the
loch bed could be used for arable farming.
62

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Mary Anne MacDonald at Malagan
Duncan MacDonald (the Ghillie Ban) in WW1 uniform. Note the spurs.
63

The Saddle
While on the run after the Battle of Culloden, Bonnie Prince Charlie travelled overnight from Loch
Quoich across the south Glen Shiel ridge, and spent the day of Tuesday the 22nd of July 1746
sheltering in this cave on the north side of Glen Shiel behind Malagan (NG97161415). Come nightfall
he resumed his flight eastwards to Strath Cluanie before moving on to Glen Moriston.
Glen Shiel from the Saddle
From Malagan a very good pony track goes up to The Saddle, a very popular route for climbers
heading to the classic climb of the Forcan Ridge. It is a busy path for most of the year.
64

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The Forcan Ridge of the Saddle
65

The Five Sisters of Kintail
The Five Sisters of Kintail
Sgurr na Moraich - the one that runs to the sea
Sgurr nan Saighead - the fair or yellow one, or the peak of the arrows
Sgurr Fhuaran - because of the wells that are on it
Sgurr na Carnach - cairns and rocks
Sgurr na Ciste Dhubh - the dark black hill
On the Five Sisters ridge
66

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Sgurr a' Chuilinn, the valley of the Allt Mhalagan and Faochag with the Reidh Chuilinn in front
As you go up the glen past Malagan the hill facing you is very appropriately called Sgurr a' Chuilinn and
the flat area below it called Reidh Chuilinn where the Skye drovers rested their cattle for a few days
before crossing over into Glen Quoich. The Skyeman's well is above the road and a burn runs down
and the remains of the walls to hold the cattle in can still be seen.
The hill on the left is called Laich an Aise which joins onto Ciste Dhubh and has a rise of 3,035 feet with
a 62% gradient, and it is recognised as one of the longest unbroken steep slopes in Scotland.
67

Eas nan Arm
The house at Eas nan Arm, demolished when the new bridge was built
A flitting taking place at the house at Eas nan Arm in 1938 with Fred Walker, Donald Gillies, Jock
Stewart, Ina MacRae, with Betty the girl in front. The dog's name is unknown. Fred Walker was the
local carter who owned the lorry and he married Johnny Ross's sister Maggie and he was the last
person to live in the house at Eas nan Arm before it was demolished
68

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Eas nan Arm is named after the army, as this is where the Battle of Glen Shiel took place on the 10th
of June 1719. This was the last battle fought on British soil between the British army and a foreign
army. Not much of a battle more a sort of skirmish. The Highlanders with a small contingent of Spanish
soldiers who had landed at Eilean Donan Castle were trying to start an uprising.
Panorama of the Glen Shiel battlefield
69

Eas nan Arm
The Highlander's breast walls,
Pass of the Spaniards escape route above
The Highlander's breast walls,
Seaforth's rock in wood behind
from the Highlander's entrenchments
70

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The Highlanders had set up their positions on both sides of the valley of the River Shiel, waiting to
cause havoc when the government soldiers passed below. However the government troops stopped
short of the trap and engaged the Highlanders with mortars.
It was the first time that the government troops had used mortars against the Highlanders which set
the heather on fire and the fierce flames forced the Highlanders to abandon their positions. They fled
over the top of the hills and returned to their homes.
71

Eas nan Arm
Government ships came in and blew up Eilean Donan Castle on the 10th of May 1719 as the Spanish
soldiers had initially garrisoned themselves there. It was also a message to the owners of the castle, the
Clan Mackenzie, to knuckle down and behave themselves.
Telford's bridge at Eas nan Arm built circa 1816 with the modern road bridge beyond
72

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Eilean Donan castle rebuilt in 1911
Johnny Ross and Murdo MacRae, the
Forestry Commission's man in charge,
were clearing a drain in the woods at the
battle site when they dug up a pouch with
musket balls in it, but the leather bag was
rotten and the stitching had gone so they
just put the musket balls in a glass jar.
The family still have the musket balls.
When Dolan was in Achnagart he was
crossing the river at Achadh nan Seileach
(see map on page 22) where the
Jacobites and Spaniards had camped and
he came across what he at first thought
were some birds eggs but which turned
out to be a pile of musket balls.
73

The Forestry Commission
The soldier's flat, Luib an Shennan, the flat above Eas nan Arm
About 1920 the Forestry Commission planted most of the left hand side of the glen above the battle
site, and since then the trees have been harvested and planted again.
74

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Dolan had a newspaper cutting from the 1920s which shows a
group of men digging trees out of a big bog which has the caption
"New industry - tree mining in Glen Shiel". What had happened
was that some of the locals who had got jobs there decided that
the best thing that they could do with the young trees was dig a
big hole in the bog and bury them. However somebody spotted
them and they had to go and dig them all up, and take them out
of the hole, and there were thousands and thousands of trees.
The forestry commission's man in charge got the sack. Dolan
liked the caption "Tree Mining in Glen Shiel new industry", and he
thought that somebody was taking the mick. Nearly all of the
men were relatives of Alec MacRae who was in Luib an Eorna at
the time, there was Murdo, Farquhar and Eddie MacRae, they
were all there.
The forestry commission employed about 20 people in the glen at
one time and they built a workman's hut. Dolan worked there for
a while in the 1960s planting trees at Luib an Eorna, they were
still planting bits of it at that time.
75

76
Luib an Eorna

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Panorama of Luib an Eorna, the barley meadow, where the ground was good for
The old shed at Luib an Eorna
Where they used to rub archangel tar and butter into the sheep's wool to keep the maggot flies off
them. It was a terrible job and you would only do 10 sheep a day because it was so hard on the
hands. It had to be done or you could lose half your stock to the maggots.
77

Luib an Eorna
growing barley, which was used to make barley bree, a primitive form of whisky
The shed at Luib an Eorna with its new roof
When applying the tar they sat on a stool (see page 3), turned the sheep on its back and tied its legs.
They then split the sheep's wool into 2" or 3" sections and rubbed in the tar and butter and the heat
of the body melted it and it ran through the entire fleece.
78

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The shed at Luib an Eorna with its old roof by Penelope Clay
The morraines below Luib an Eorna
According to Eddie MacRae the whisky still to make the barley bree was concealed in these morraines
79

Luib an Eorna
Creagan Luib an Eorna, the home of Eddie MacRae,
demolished in 1967 when the new road went through the glen
80

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Ellen MacRae,
with Murdo and Jessie
two of her five children
at
Creagan Luib an Eorna
81

Allt an Fearna
Allt an Fearna, where the sheep fanks are still visible today
The burn is a place where you can find garnets.
Earrings made from Glen Shiel garnets
by Saffron Jewellery of Glen Shiel
82

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Looking down Strath Cluanie to Loch Cluanie from the Durrock, at 902 feet above sea level, the
highest point on the road.
Out to the left lies the Bealach Dearg
Panorama of the South Cluanie Ridge from the Durrock, part of the Shiel Estate -
83

The Durrock
On the north side of the glen there are several stells
which are shelters for sheep
- there is no livestock on any of these hills today but at one time they carried 4,000 sheep
84

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Horse Corrie is at the end of a spur from Sgurr an Fhuarail, above the Cluanie Inn
Coire an t-Slugain
On the south side of Strath Cluanie the corries are very deep and very good for deer stalking.
85

86
Lub a' Bhodaich

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Lub a' Bhodaich from the A87 main road
Lub a' Bhodaich with Cluanie Inn and Loch Cluanie in the distance
A film company were using the ruins as a set and reroofed them prior to a scene where the buildings
were to be burned down. On hearing of this and not wanting to waste a good door, a man from Kyle
went up and removed the barn door which he still has on a shed in Kyle of Lochalsh today
87

Lub a' Bhodaich
The remains of Lub a' Bhodaich
Another story of how the buildings were burned down tells how the crofter could not get into the barn
because of hay packed behind the door, so he cut a hole in the thatch and dropped in from above.
He landed in a heap of adders who were sheltering from the winter cold. The adders started stinging
him so he shouted to his wife to set the barn alight, which she did. It is not known whether he was
burned alive or stung to death.
88

Glen Shiel, Kintail
89

The Cluanie area
Cluanie Inn with the "Side School" in the foreground
The pupils at the Cluanie Side School, circa 1955
Standing: Duncan MacLeod, Tommy Ross, Unknown, George Stoddart, Ronnie Ross, David Ross
Seated: Sarah MacLeod, Janet MacLeod, Betsy MacLennan (teacher), Mary Stoddart
90

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The side school today, now a climbing club hut.
In 1953 there were only four pupils - John and three brothers from another family - in the Side School, at that
time located in a bothy attached to the shepherd's house at Allt Mhoir and later transferred to the parlour of
the former Inn. For a time, the teacher cycled every day from near Dornie, a round trip of forty-odd miles.
The Dam Builders: Power from the Glens by Jim Miller
Cluanie Inn with the old military road to Fort Augustus, later upgraded by Telford, running in
front of it. The road going up the hill behind is Telford's link road to Tomdoun.
91

The Cluanie area
Cluanie Inn was originally a staging post on the through route from the Great Glen to the west coast, but
it closed down in 1940. The building of the Cluanie dam allowed the Inn to reopen as a hotel about 1953.
In 1953 the nearest telephones were fourteen miles away down the trough of Glen Shiel and twelve miles
south over the hills at Tomdoun by Loch Garry.
Cluanie Inn, 722 feet above sea level
92

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Cluanie Inn in winter
In the Ordnance Survey Name Books for Ross and Cromarty, dated 1848-1852, Cluanie Inn is described
as follows: "It is two stories in height and slated but in very bad repair. Its principal feature is its
miserable accommodation for travellers".
Cluanie Inn in the 1960s
93

The Cluanie area
A tour bus at Cluanie Inn in the 1960s
The Allt Mhoir house. Thomas and Sybil Ross lived here for a time. (see map page 89)
Also sometimes referred to as Coiremore.
94

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Cluanie Lodge and Loch Cluanie,
An Caorann Mor (the pass through to Glen Affric) is on the right
The distant snow covered hill on the right is Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan on the far side of Glen Affric
Cluanie Lodge
95

Cluanie Lodge
The keeper's cottage at Cluanie Lodge
In the early 1900s, Mr. Stoddart, keeper at Cluanie Lodge with his wife
and family Duncan, George and Dolly
96

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Ciste Dubh, An Caorann Mor (the pass through to Glen Affric) and A' Chralaig.
Cruachan house was at the head of An Caorran Mor (see map on page 89)
The west end of Loch Cluanie before the dam
97

98
Coire Lair Lodge

Glen Shiel, Kintail
It is thought that the original building at Coire Lair (above) was incorporated into the large extended
lodge as the west wing (below) (see map page 98)
When John (Jock) MacLeod married Johnny Ross's sister Isabella, he was then working as Estate
Manager for the Hydro Board who had bought the Coire Lair Estate in the late 1940s
99

Coire Lair Lodge
It is thought that the west wing was subsequently raised to two storeys as seen above
"The 25 roomed mansion house, Corrielair Lodge, Glenmoriston was destroyed by fire yesterday. A
bus-load of hydro workers from the camp at Cluanie were taken to the mansion house to fight the blaze
until Fort Augustus and Inverness fire brigades arrived. By then the fire had such a hold that nothing
could be done to save the three storey building. Twenty eight of the executive staff of the Mitchell
Construction Company who were occupying the house while engaged on the North of Scotland Hydro
Electric Board scheme were made homeless. Arrangements have been made to accommodate them
on the camp-site, but all lost their belongings. The Lodge built in the 1920s was a familiar landmark in
the glen." Evening Express Thursday 23rd December 1954
Circa 1956, the modern road is a newly formed scar across the hillside above Loch Cluanie.
Below it we can see Coire Lair Lodge awaiting the arrival of the flood waters when the Cluanie
dam is sealed. Note Telford's road running up to it
100

Glen Shiel, Kintail
When the water level in Loch Cluanie is low the chimneys of the white shepherd's cottage behind
Coire Lair Lodge (see bottom picture on page 99) appear above the surface of the water.
The Narrows before the dam was built, Loch Cluanie in the foreground, Loch Beag beyond
(see map on page 98)
101

Loch Lundie
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
Prior to the building of the Cluanie dam in 1957, Loch Lundie was a separate loch lying 76 feet
higher up the hillside. At high water levels Loch Lundie now becomes part of Loch Cluanie.
Looking over Loch Lundie and Loch Cluanie from the 1755 military road. The modern road makes a
distinctive sweep round the back of Loch Lundie.
102

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The site of the Cluanie dam
The Cluanie dam
103

Appendix 1
Roads
104

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The Old Military Roads built in the 1700s.
The red roads are attributed to Field Marshall George Wade (also known as General Wade) and the
black dotted roads are attributed to Major William Caulfield.
105

Appendix 1 Roads
A well preserved section of General Wade's Military Road near Melgarve in the Corrieyairack Pass
The Old Military Roads
Prior to the building of the military road about 1755 most travellers to and from Inverness took the
route through Strath Croe, Glen Lichd, Glen Affric and Strathglass which was only suitable for foot traffic
and horses and led to Beauly on the Moray Firth about 11 miles west of Inverness.
There have been four roads built through Glen Shiel over the last 274 years and few people manage to
identify them correctly including the Ordnance Survey who in their map of 1845 refer to "General Wade's
Military Road", a term loosely used to refer to all military roads built in the 1700s.
Starting in 1724 General Wade built a road on the line of what is now the A9 from Dunkeld to
Inverness, a road through the Corrieyairack Pass from Laggan Bridge on Speyside to Fort Augustus
and a road down the Great Glen from Inverness to Fort William before handing over to General Clayton
in 1733, and the same year responsibility was again passed on to Major William Caulfield. General
Wade never got west of the Great Glen and the roads in the Highlands were almost all built by Major
William Caulfield. Prior to assuming command of the road building programme Caulfield had worked
under Wade, and the construction of some of the roads attributed to Wade, such as the road down the
east side of Loch Ness, was supervised by Caulfield as the road surveyor. In total 250 miles of road of
roads are attributed to Wade and 800 miles are attributed to Caulfield. These roads remained the
responsibility of the army until 1814 when their management was passed on to the Commissioners of
Highland Roads and Bridges.
106

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The roads through Glen Shiel
The 1755 old military road
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
The lower part of Glen Shiel from Roy's military map of 1755 showing the old military road from Fort
Augustus to Bernera barracks in Glenelg built by Major William Caulfield in the years just before 1755.
107

Appendix 1 Roads
The 1771 realignment
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
Telford's 1815 road
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
The photographs of the marker stone from the Cugan Corner (see page 20) bears the date 1771 along
with military markings. This seems to suggest that the section of the old military road in the lower part
of Glen Shiel was moved to the south side of the river at that time. This realignment removed the two
crossings of the River Shiel which were made by the previous road.
About 1815 Thomas Telford, Scotland's most famous engineer, was instructed to design and build a
"Parliamentary Road" to join up Invermoriston, Kyle Rhea, Kyle of Loch Alsh and Stromeferry with
building work carrying on well into the 1820s. This was the first proper road to Skye and the part from
Shiel Bridge to Cluanie Inn is shown in red on the map on page 109 and is referred to as Telford's road.
In 1814 Telford was responsible for the Invergarry to Kinlochourn road, and in the 1817 he was also
responsible for the Tomdoun to Cluanie road across Loch Loyne which was built to link the two routes.
The modern two lane road through Glen Shiel was built about 1967 and in the main follows the line of
Telford's road through Glen Moriston and Glen Shiel.
108

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The 6" to the mile Ordnance Survey map published in 1845
Showing Telfords road from Cluanie Inn to Shiel Bridge
Printed with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
109

Appendix 1 Roads
Telford's bridge over the River Shiel at Eas nan Arm
and below being replaced by a new bridge when the modern road was built in 1967
110

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Telford's road through Glen Shiel with the Five Sisters ridge on the right
111

Appendix 1 Roads
Telford's road through Glen Shiel with Faochag and the Saddle on the left
112

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Telford's link road from Cluanie to Tomdoun crossing the valley of the River Loyne.
Photograph taken before 1956 when the Loch Loyne hydro dam was built
The same bridge in 1973 at a time of a very low water level in Loch Loyne
113

Appendix 2
Sporting Estates
114

Glen Shiel, Kintail
The modern sporting estate boundaries
The above table is from a book called "The Deer Stalking Grounds of Britain and Ireland" written by G. Kenneth
Whitehead, published in 1960 by Holland and Carter.
115

Appendix 2 Sporting Estates
The Deer Stalking Grounds of Great Britain and Ireland.
Compiled by G Kenneth Whitehead, published 1960.
Affric Forest:
Acres, 34,000. Highest ground Carn Eige 3,877', lowest ground 750'
Shot pre WW1 stags 80, hinds 80 to 100 = 160 to 180
Shot post WW1 stags 80, hinds 100 = 180
Owner until 1944 was Chisholm then sold (part) to Provost R Weatherspoon 1948 & Forestry Commission (majority
part).
Corrielair Forest: (North Cluanie)
Acres 7,500. Highest ground Garbh Leac 3673', lowest ground 650'
Shot pre WW1 stags 20 to 50, hinds 10 = 30 to 60
Shot post WW1 stags 10 to 20, hinds 6 to 10 = 16 to 30
At beginning of 1950 there were about 2,500 sheep.
Poaching going on as road running through so resulted in only about 10 to 20 Stags being shot.
For a number of years prior to and after WW1 was included with Kintail forest. Owner G. Girvan.
Glenquoich:
Acres 20,000. Highest ground Gleourach 3,395', lowest ground 600'
Shot pre WW1 stags 100, hinds ? = 100 +
Shot post WW1 stags 60 to 70, hinds 40 = 100 to 110
Sheep grazed on 3,280 acres of it. The western portion was cleared of sheep about 1878.
Owner, Mr G Williams until 1955 then Mr G Gordon
Glenshiel Estate:
Acres 11,000, Highest ground The Saddle 3,317', lowest sea level
Shot pre WW1 stags 40, hinds 20 = 60
Shot post WW1 stags 25, hinds 10 = 35
Deer on (afforested) 1899, fed deer on maize and locusts beans (which the children were eating).
Glenshiel and Cluanie worked as one forest and both belonged to Baillie Trust. 3,653 acres of Glenshiel belong to
Forestry Commission.
Kinlochhourn
Acres 6,586. High ground Sgurr na Sgine 3,098', lowest sea level.
Shot pre WW1 stags 20, hinds 10 = 30,
Shot post WW1 stags 15 to 18, hinds 6 = 21 to 24
Afforested first in 1884.
Owner Captain H Birkbeck.
Kintail Forest
Acres 12,000. Highest ground Sgurr Fhuaran 3,505', lowest sea level.
Shot pre WW1 stags 35, hinds 30 = 65,
Shot post WW1 stags 35 , hinds 35 = 70.
Eastern end was afforested 1882 and Western end 1901. North Cluanie (Corrielair) included after 1901 (26,495 acres)
The whole forest was cleared of sheep before WW1
Acquired by The National Trust for Scotland in 1945 (divorced from Corrielair then) who use primarily for sheep.
116

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Lord Burton and the Glen Quoich Sporting Estate
From 1873 to 1905 Arthur Bass (of the brewing family), later to become Lord Burton, rented the Glen
Quoich Sporting Estate, where he hosted lavish shooting events where the guests sometimes included
Prince Albert and King Edward VII. During the course of his 33 year lease of the estate there were a
total of 2,599 stags shot. The Glen Quoich Estate kept detailed records of every deer kill, as well as the
slaughter of the "vermin" on
the estate, which is how we
have the table on page 111.
The sheep were cleared off
the east part of the Glen
Quoich Estate in 1848, and
from the west part in 1878.
Lord Burton later bought the
Glenshiel Estate including the
fishing rights on the River
Shiel, which he owned until
his death and is now in the
Glenquoich Lodge, back row, 2nd & 3rd left are Lord Burton & Edward VII ownership of the Burton Trust.
The King’s visit to the highlands Edinburgh Evening News, August 15, 1905.
The King (Edward VII) will, after reviewing the Volunteers in the King’s Park on Monday 18th September,
leave Edinburgh by special train for Invergarry at two o’clock that day. Invergarry station will be reached
at 6.36, and His Majesty, attended by his suite, will immediately leave in his own motor for Glenquoich
Lodge, which will be reached before eight o’clock. His Majesty has expressed a desire that his visit to
Lord and Lady Burton should be attended by as little ceremony as possible, as was the case last
autumn when he went to Glenquoich. During the week he will remain at Glenquoich there will be
several deer drives, in which the King will take part. He will also enjoy some yachting and fishing in
Loch Hourn and the adjacent waters.
The drive made last year by motor
car from Glenquoich by Tomdoun,
Cluanie and Glenshiel to Loch
Duich, where his Majesty was met
by Lord Burton’s yacht and a flotilla
of other yachts from the
surrounding places, and escorted
to Loch Hourn, charmed the King
very much, and at his desire that
part of the programme will probably
be repeated on the coming
occasion.
117

Kintail – too many deer
Appendix 2 Sporting Estates
This article first appeared in the magazine “The Scottish Gamekeeper”
I was employed by the Red Deer Commission, now Deer Commission for Scotland, early in 1960. It
was on 14 February 1961 I was sent over to Kintail in South West Ross-shire to investigate a complaint
from the Morvich Sheep Stock Club Tenants of the National Trust, that there were too many deer on the
grazing ground.
It was a cold bleak day and I travelled up to Glen Lichd, which runs through the centre of the estate
with a club member John MacLeod. Without having to go far from the vehicle we saw large herds of
stags and hinds.
Percy Unna left money for Kintail, which includes the famous Five Sisters mountain range to be
purchased for The National Trust for Scotland, if and when it came on the market. This happened in
1945 and because of the wording in Unna's will, all stalking ceased. Staff were retired or paid off, so it
was not surprising there was a marked increase in deer numbers.
John Ross of Achnagart, who ghillied and stalked on the ground for many years said that Kintail was
never known as a stag wintering forest but from the late 1950's more stags appeared each winter. He
felt sure this was because of the large areas fenced off in the East Glen Affric area by the Forestry
Commission, this was some of the best wintering deer ground in the Highlands
Kintail was always interesting for me. My great-grandfather, Hugh Maclean, was one of the first
watchers and stalkers in Glen Shiel. My grandmother spent most of her life there and as a small boy I
spent holidays in Achnagart, hearing stories of the old days from Tom Ross (John's father), a Boer War
veteran from the Lovat Scouts who spent the rest of his life as stalker at Glen Shiel.
That same year the National Trust made an agreement with the Red Deer Commission to have a cull
of the poorest stags each season and similar management with the hinds after an initial heavy hind cull
mainly on the sheep ground.
My first eighteen months with the Red Deer Commission was mainly shooting hungry, marauding, out
of-season stags, many miles from where they should be, so it was a real treat to get back to some
proper stalking.
For the next thirty-four years I helped with the Kintail cull. We could have been less selective and
have done the job much quicker and cheaper but the National Trust went out of their way to be good
neighbours and our job was very careful selection of stags and hinds. Every stag shot was recorded -
118

Glen Shiel, Kintail
age, weight, number of points and the name of the stalker labelled on the antlers, which was kept until
the end of the season usually around 15 October.
Any interested local stalkers on the neighbouring estates were invited to have a look at the heads.
This was good experience for the young stalkers. In fact any stalker (competition was intense) who
ended the season with the oldest average age or weight, who got the poorest switch head or the least
number of points was recorded.
Much of Kintail's eighteen thousand acres is similar to the Glencoe Hills where deer could not be shot
if you wanted an undamaged carcass. Often when a poor head was seen holding hinds it was possible
to get a shot just as night was falling or get out an hour before daybreak and take the stag by surprise
in a more accessible position.
Several quite experienced people said to me you would find this careful selection a waste of time. You
will always find the odd good stag and plenty of poor ones no matter what you shoot. After thirteen
seasons, I began to believe they were right but from 1975 onwards results were quite dramatic from
there on, switch and narrow heads became more and more difficult to find each season and more 10,
11, 12 pointers appeared.
In the same season of 1986, there were at least sixteen royals. two fourteen pointers and numerous
nice ten pointers. On the forest, poor heads became more difficult to find and the average number of
points began to increase as the better stags were culled as they became older - also the average
carcass weight.
I always thought it was a great pity that the National Trust, who are short of cash and never far away
with the begging bowl, could not have made thousands of pounds cash on these heads.
Percy Unna in his will made it clear he wanted unrestricted access to the hills and no more traditional
deer stalking. He must have been easily offended or ignorant of the law, as unrestricted access to the
Scottish hills was there before he was born as Walter Winans found out to his cost. Having said this, I
think people who wander around the hills during the stalking season, could be running great risk if they
do not check where stalking parties may be operating.
With the present pressure on stalkers and contractors to shoot more and more, it is only a matter of
time until some unfortunate hill walker gets a bullet between the eyes. I don't think Percy Unna would
turn in his grave if the National Trust had made a bit of extra cash to spend on the estate and this could
have been done without offending any hill walkers.
119

Appendix 2 Sporting Estates
Our instructions were to say to any walker or climbers who were considerate enough to inquire about
stalking, you can go where you wish on the National Trust ground, but it would help us if you avoid a
certain area at a certain time and this usually worked. However, there is no doubt that with the annual
increase of walkers and climbers all over the Highlands, life is becoming more difficult for many estates.
For several years. we carried out the hind cull, always looking for the poorest hinds and calves and
keeping a few days clear for the end of the hind season when usually a few poor beasts appeared from
remote areas. Due to other work the Red Deer Commission had to give up the hind cull but Lee
MacNally, the National Trust Ranger at Torridon, who worked all his life with deer, carried on a similar
cull.
Each season we did a census of deer numbers and Kintail maintained a fairly steady population apart
from hard weather or severe westerly gales when deer appeared from neighbouring forests to the east.
Unfortunately, the National Trust are now anything but good neighbours. They seem to believe there
has been a huge increase in deer numbers and have more than doubled the culls.
This puts the present stalkers in an impossible position. If they have any hope of getting the required
numbers then anything with horns will have to be shot and possibly next year anything with knobs, the
hinds treated in a similar fashion and then probably some silly ass from Head Office will be phoning the
stalkers saying last year you killed 125 stags · how come this season you only have 30?
Scotland has never been so well off for the number of deer experts, most of them armchair experts,
who, if they walked through a glen could not tell a knobber from a hind or spot half the deer on the
ground.
I cannot think what the National Trust has to gain by pandering to these experts. If they cannot make
up their own minds, then the next move must be to get rid of the 2,000 plus sheep on their land.
Soon, perhaps the crofters will have their palms greased with silver or maybe a bit of arm-twisting to
part with their woolly vermin. My advice to the crofters would be, if it pays you to part with some sheep
by all means do so, but make sure that any land fenced for natural regeneration will eventually be
returned and don't ever give up one inch of your hill grazing rights that your forefathers fought so hard to
regain.
lain MacKay - Kintail.
Editor's note: Iain was Dolan's second cousin
120

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Walter W. Winans (April 5, 1852 – August 12, 1920)
Winans was the most extreme example of the invading force of the new disassociated elite to
purchase Highland Estates in the 1800s. He was an American businessman who acquired ownership
or tenancy of over nearly 250,000 acres (1,000 km2) in Glen Strathfarrar, Glen Cannich and Glen
Affric in the Highlands of Scotland.
In 1884 he prosecuted a Scotsman, Murdoch MacRae, for grazing a pet lamb on land owned by him.
The failure of Winans' prosecution established the right to roam which was a key element in opening
British parklands to the public.
His favoured hunting tactic was to organise teams of ghillies to drive deer into narrow passes where
they would be mown down with modern firearms: an undignified corruption of the medieval tinchel.
Caricature of Winans
published in Vanity Fair in 1893
121

Appendix 3
Schools
122

Glen Shiel, Kintail
123

Appendix 3 Schools
Obverse
Reverse
In 1926 John Ross left Glen Shiel Public School as its Dux.
Obverse
Reverse
In 1928 Christina Ross left Glen Shiel Public School as its Dux.
Next Page
Shiel School admissions 1922-1932
Yellow: Tom Ross of Achnagart's youngest 4 children
Green: reference to Luib an Eorna side school
124

Glen Shiel, Kintail
125

126
Appendix 3 Schools

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Shiel School, circa 1951
Back
Iain Campbell, Christopher MacRae (grandson of Ellen MacRae), Mrs Isabel Gillies (nee Matheson
from Totaig)
Middle
Janet Campbell, Helen Mulholland, Doreen MacGregor (quarry workers daughter), Bethellen
Campbell, Christine MacGregor (quarry workers daughter), Morag (Sarah) Macmillan, Christine Walker
(Sarah’s cousin)
Front
Alasdair MacKay, David MacRae, Collie Campbell, Jimmy MacKay, Michael MacKay, Donnie MacKay
127

Appendix 3 Schools
Shiel School, 1967
Back
Katie MacLean (student teacher), Mrs Isabel Gillies (nee Matheson from Totaig) (teacher)
Middle
Alexandra MacRae (Totto), Christine Sutherland, David MacRae (Carn), Flora MacRae, Janis Allison,
Christopher MacKinnon, Alice Gillies, Kenny Fraser, Mary Fraser, Donald Nicholson, Fiona MacRae,
Duncan MacRae, Iain Fraser, Doreen Fraser
Front
Bridget MacRae, Unknown, Andrea Bailey, Roddy MacLeay, Marie Bryson, Jim Bryson, Andrew
MacLeay, Treeny Fraser, Jackie MacRae
Note
Later Mrs Isabel Gillies was to become head teacher at Loch Duich Primary School, and she must have
retired sometime around 1990.
128

Glen Shiel, Kintail
129

Appendix 4
Poems
130

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Glen Shiel
’Twas down by Cluanies side we came
The gateway to the west
The Black Wood Birch and Ridge above
Where eagles soar and nest.
With Girvan's grazing on the right
Where sheep crop every crust
They're now the Monarchs o' the Glen
And red deer bite the dust.
The Girvan family's sheep grazed the
hills on the north side of Loch Cluanie
Across the loch at Cluanie Lodge
The red deer feed at will
With peat smoke curling high above
Old Duncan's moorland still.
Duncan Stoddart, keeper at Cluanie
Then round the bend is Cluanie Inn
Where bearded is mine host
And to this ever open door
We'll gladly drink a toast.
From Cuillen's rocky heather slopes
The raven croaks its way
And on the Saddle's jagged ridge
The foxes hunt their prey.
The crags, the rocks, the lochs and burns
All natures wild design
And now and then a man-made view
With slopes of spruce and pine.
A wide new road that hides the past
Sweeps round by Luib an Eorna
And tar macadam hides the spot
Where Eddie MacRae was born.
131

Appendix 4 Poems
A forest track that's fenced across
George was a bull hired by Johnny
Beyond a leafy glade
Ross and Iain Campbell which had
That marks the Lonely Lovers Climb
to be rescued by Dolan and the
That George the bull once made RAF Mountain Rescue from
the summit of Ciste Dubh
By Esse'n Armins sparkling flow
Where many a Spaniard died
And high above stands Creag nan Damh
Where Royal Stags are spied.
A quarry hole that scars the Glen
Where many a yarn is spun
As Highland Donald sweats it out
'Neath Hailstones in the sun.
And on to grassy fields we come
Whose stock top every mart
The richest man within the glen
The Laird of Achnangart.
Donald worked at the quarry
Hailstones was a manager
at the quarry
Johnny Ross
The hills above the Ravens Rock
Their peaks in snow we lose
The horses on the fields below
The Kings of Scubbie Dhu's.
And towering over all the rest
The famous Sisters rise
With rocks and screes on every face
A climbers paradise.
And as this lovely glen we leave
A spot to shop we view Shiel shop
And like the glen the time stands still
As in a line we queue.
Unknown
132

Glen Shiel, Kintail
Bellowing by night
The distant sound of bellowing by night,
Brought Cluanies specials out in might
Stalkers and ghillies there they came,
To find out just what was the game.
They sped from Gart and Shiel and Knock,
And even from far off Badenoch,
From Malagan, Corrielair and Loup-an-Eorn,
The feeders came as if jet borne.
There's barley bree at Cluanie Inn,
The “Chief” is there to say "Come in”,
Headlamps shine from Naam to Durrock,
“Now I see a 1,000 stags”, shouts Duncan Stoddart,
Heads and weights were all remeasured,
But this time by Imperial measure,
The various clans took constant aim,
And found the "bead" was still the same.
From Scour-na-Creek to the Byre,
Tomorrow we'll wander at desire,
Said Damph to Nobber with relief,
“They'll see B-All, it’s my belief'",
The lookouts from the Badgers Den and Tigh A 'Mholain,
Tonight at Cluanie are a fooling,
The stags say thanks to old Tom Gin,
Long may the watchers have head spin.
Unknown
133

The Glenshiel Song
Appendix 4 Poems
There are songs sung in Scotland of corries and Bens
Of rivers and mountains and beautiful glens
But the one place in Scotland that brings most appeal
Is a place called Kintail at the foot of Glen Shiel
Chorus
It lies so serene on Loch Duich’s fair shores
The Five Sisters behind hosting climbers galore
I’ve travelled the Highlands from Wick to Loch Eil
But my heart will always be at home in Glen Shiel
Going westwards from Cluanie to the head of the glen
Past the Durrock, Luib an Eorna and down round the bend
Where the Spaniards did battle at Eas nan Arm bridge
With the stags standing guard on the Saddle’s high ridge
Then down by the quarry where the river runs strong
There’s a pool there where salmon come yearly to spawn
You’re nearly at home when Loch Shiel comes on your right
When you round the church corner Loch Duich’s in sight.
There’s Kintail Lodge Hotel where you go for a dram
Where the views so majestic dining at the Port Bhan
Allt a’ chruinn Carn-gorm and Ben Attows high peak
Which reaches Inverinate at the foot of Glen Lichd
Tommy Mackenzie,
To the tune of the Mountains of Mourne
134

135

No, my spirit shall stray whaur the red heather grows!
In the bonnie green glen whaur the mountain stream rows,
'Neath the rock that re-echoes the torrent's wild din,
'Mang the graves o' my sires, and the hearths o' my kin.
William Air Foster (1801-1864)
136

137