The second last stop of the day saw us land Tordarroch and after a quick revisit to the Ring Cairn it was onwards to the fort. I pulled in due west of the cairn on a wide grassy part and then followed the road north west towards Tordarroch Lodge. (which looks like a refashioned tower castle) Just before the lodge there is track heading south west near some wooden chalets. Jump 2 gates and walk about 200 meters and the fort is in front of you to the north west, easily recognisable as a small rocky outcrop.
Defences include earthfast stones, massive glacerials and a sheer drop into the River Nairn. Today it was also defended by a bull, a speciality in the area apparently. The entrance to the fort is in the east but not accessible, today, thanks to the efficient guard bull. However I walked to the far west of the fort, went a wee bit downhill, jumped the fence and climbed up into the central fort thwarting the security with the help of a fence which splits the site in two.
Great all round views in an area that has a lot more sites to be explored.
Aedh, the grandson of Shaw ‘Bucktooth’, settled at Tordarroch in 1468. Occupying a strategic site above the fort on the River Nairn, he and his followers became a powerful force in their own right, known as Clan Aedh or Ay. While the Shaws, or Clan Ay, were consolidating their power in Strathnairn, the chief of Mackintosh was murdered in 1524, leaving an infant son, William. To the outrage of the local chiefs, the Earl of Moray seized the boy, allegedly as his guardian. Clan Chattan retaliated against Moray, and Alan Ciar MacIain led Clan Ay in raiding the earl’s lands. Heavy fines forced Alan Ciar to sell the feu of Rothiemurchus to the Earl of Huntly.
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Posted by drewbhoy
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