burial place of the drowned

The sea has taken lives all around Scotland and many bodies have been washed on her shores over the centuries. This is a burial ground that takes its origin in lives lost at sea, situated closely to the dazzling and deadly blue waves of Scotland's shores.

unfinished business

Pipers had a very dangeroud job in the past centuries for not only were they playing at weddings and funerals but during skirmishes, battles and wars with nothing to defend themselves but the weapons of those by their side who had time end energy to spare. The pipers' tunes would rally the Clan and their... Continue Reading →

Chapel of Sand

Chapel of Sand or chapel of Sand of Udrigil, is an almost forgotten but somehow mystic place in Torridon, tucked away between a caravan park, a river, and the sea, close to the village of Laide. In the 18th century the chapel was still in use, then worship came to an end at the chapel... Continue Reading →

I saw the body of my son

Valtos cemetery Uigen in the Parish of Uig lost two young men in the Iolaire disaster. John MacLeod was 22, Angus Matheson was 19. Both were buried at Valtos (Bhaltos), neighbours in death as in life. Weeks had went past and the body of young Angus had not turned up. His parents, Malcolm (Càlum Càm)... Continue Reading →

a hero’s graveyard

Zecharia’s Cemetery (Cill Sgàire) in Bragar, Isle of Lewis Zechariah or Zacharay Macaulay’s father was the Chamberlain of Lewis and owned the land around Valtos, Kneep and Reef. Zachary lived in the first part of the 18th century. He grew up to be a hero and well remembered in the oral tradition of Lewis. The... Continue Reading →

the aftermath

Crosbost cemetery, Isle of Lewis The morning of the first day of the year 1919 dawned but despite the light the day was as dark as a day could be for the islanders. Lewis was in shock, the death toll after the sinking of the HMY Iolaire slowly became apparent. She had taken 205 men... Continue Reading →

the last of all her race

The name Ollaberry derives from Old Norse Olarfsberg, the hill of Olaf. It is a small settlement on the Northmavine peninsula of Shetland Mainland, the land north of the isthmus Mavis Grind. Northmavind offers spectacular views. There is arable land around Ollaberry but the sea still is and always has been both livelihood and death... Continue Reading →

field of the unknown dead

The sea is a dangerous friend, a deadly beauty and an undiscriminating killer. Even on calm days people have drowned in the waters around the islands of the North. When the autumn storms set in, the mighty waves will have had a deadly feast in the past. Many a body washed ashore on Shetland around... Continue Reading →

bodies washed ashore

It was a cold and cloudy morning in the beginning of October 1942. Few men had remained in the village of Lower Breakish. The war wore heavy on the people of Skye. They did not know what waited for them at the beaches of the island. They did not know, what they would soon have... Continue Reading →

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