In the middle of the 19th century Scots were emigrating in large numbers to what is now Canada. In the early 19th century numbers were considerably smaller and the reasons for leaving were different. In the latter half of the 19th century poor and destitute Highlanders were forced out by the notorious Clearances; the earlier... Continue Reading →
Mill Street Old Burial Ground, Ullapool The burial ground in Ullapool’s Mill Street is called old but it is in fact fairly new. Ullapool is fairly new, it was designed and constructed in the late 18th century. This is a burial ground and not a graveyard or kirkyard, where the burial place is part of... Continue Reading →
It was one of these late summer days when Scotland feels the coldest: a grey drizzle spread across the country and brought a chill to the bones. Night-time was near and it felt far from reasonable to get out of the car and take pictures of the graveyard in Ardersier. But there it had turned... Continue Reading →
Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland, And we in dreams behold the Hebrides: (Canadian Boat Song) Calgary Bay, Isle of Mull. It looks west, towards Canada, whose Calgary took the name from the one on Mull. And it took the people, who used to live here. Like human waves going out... Continue Reading →
The words moss and lichen made it very early into my vocabulary, I am not a native English speaker and moss and lichen seem rather unusual words for a foreigner to know. But then again, for a foreigner who delights in Scottish cemeteries, it is not such an unusual vocabulary after all, because moss and... Continue Reading →
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 →
There is no trace of Kildonan on Google Maps to be found. If you know where to look (57.865564,-5.235921), you can see the outlines of what used to be houses and barns. Kildonan is gone because the people of Kildonan had to go. How hard and frugal their lives must have been. Cold and desolate... Continue Reading →
Graveyards of Scotland 
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