|
 Log in |
Register
|
|
Argyll and Bute (Islands): Latest Posts |
Showing 1-10 of 1,676 posts. Most recent first | Next 10 
Corr Eilean (Cairn(s)) — Images (click to view fullsize) |
 
|
Posted by drewbhoy28th April 2024ce |
Pointhouse (Chambered Cairn) — Folklore |
|
The cairn covered the remains of a great hero. He was wont to wear a belt of gold, which, being charmed, protected him on the field of battle. One day, however, as he rode a-hunting accompanied by his sister, the maid, coveting the golden talisman, prevailed upon him to lend it to her. While thus unprotected he was killed - whether by enemies or mischance the attenuated tradition does not clearly indicate; and this cairn marked the warrior's grave James King Hewison 1893 |
Posted by drewbhoy 19th March 2024ce |
Dun Bhuirg (Broch) — Folklore |
|
By the shore of Loch Scridain in Ardmeanach is Dun Bhuirg (the name combines the Gaelic and Norse words for fort). Like other prehistoric forts, it was thought to be inhabited by fairies. One day a woman living nearby was at her weaving and exclaimed, 'it is about time the people of the hill were coming along to give me a hand.' Suddenly she was overrun with fairies from the dun who swiftly turned all the wool into cloth. When they asked for payment for their work, she shouted, 'Dun Bhuirg is on fire!' The fairies rushed off and were not seen again, but surprisingly did not punish her for the mean trick she had played on them. This story from P.A. McNab's Isle of Mull (1970) is a variant on an earlier tale repeated all over the Highlands, set in similar places with similar names. In around 1860, John MacLean of Tarbert in Argyllshire supplied John Francis Campbell with a version very like the one above, although the Argyllshire woman is not trying to avoid paying but is overwhelmed by the fairies' eagerness for work, like wizard at Creag Mhor and Creag Bheag (Northern Highlands). macLean adds a verse spoken by the fairies while at their work and another when they depart in haste, mourning their possessions lost in the supposed fire, the latter translated by Campbell as: My mould of cheese, my hammer, and anvil, My wife and my child, and my butter crock; My cow and my goat, and my little meal kist; Och, och ochone, how wretched am I! A slightly different tale was told of the hill of Dunvuilg in Craignish, Argyllshire, where the call of fire is given by an envious neighbour of the woman whom the fairies are helping, and Campbell heard yet another version in Lewis 'from a medical gentleman, who got it from an old woman, who told it as a fact, with some curious variations unfit for printing'. these unprintable details may possibly have concerned throwing urine at the fairies, a technique adopted, for instance, at Dunvegan Castle. The Lore Of Scotland - A Guide To Scottish Legends Westwood & Kingshill |
Posted by drewbhoy 2nd January 2024ce |
Carn Liath (Stone Fort / Dun) — Fieldnotes |
|
Returning to Tayvallich by mid morning from Learg Mhor, the early morning start had proved to be cloudy and fairly damp, it was now warming up and sunny. Time to return Jura for a day via the passenger ferry. Same directions as before. My last visit to Carn Liath was during the Summer of 2021. Ferns and other vegetation covered the site. This time being April, the vegetation was much less which revealed that the dun was and is surrounded by a defensive wall. Slightly more stonework can be seen as well. Clear views over to the Knapdale Peninsula. It's good to be back. All of this ferry taking and walking makes a Drew thirsty and hungry. Just as well that the famous distillery is down below, next door to a fine restaurant. Re-visited 05/04/2023. |
Posted by drewbhoy 12th July 2023ce |
Carn Liath (Stone Fort / Dun) — Images |
    
|
Posted by drewbhoy 1st May 2023ce |
Showing 1-10 of 1,676 posts. Most recent first | Next 10
Top of page