The name applies to the remains of a stone circle situate about 4 chains S E [South East] of Arcan Mains 4 of the stones are upright the remainder are fallen It is also locally stated to have been also used as a burial place for unbaptized children.
Scotland’s Places
Close to the fort of Rarichie “Tobar na h-Iù” [“The Yew Tree Well”] can be found. In the folklore of the area it was a Danish Fort or a fairy-fort but it is a fort from the time of the Picts. According to Watson’s book the Picts used to say “Tiugamaid ’bhàn ’dhèanamh rotha riachagan,” [“Let’s go down to make rows of scratches [to sow seeds in],”] they used to live at Cadha an Ruigh’, closer to the slopes of Ben Nigg. The well had healing properties and it would be used for “White Swelling.” At the base of the fort the well could be found. There is a verse connected to this well:
“Tobar na h-iù, Tobar na h-iù,
’S ann duit bu chumha bhi uasal:
Tha leabaidh deis ann an iuthairnn
Do ’n fhear a ghearr a’ chraobh mu d’ chluasan.”
[“Well of the Yew, Well of the Yew.
To thee it is that honour is due;
A bed in hell is prepared for him
Who cut the tree around thy ears.”]
A Yew Tree used to be close to this well, with its branches hanging above the well but it was chopped down some time a long time ago, I haven’t found a story to see if it was chopped down by someone, or what happend to the person after they chopped the tree down!
DASG Blog
Strathpeffer Biography
The Great Hero of the Gaels was Finn mac Coul, Fingal of the tales of Ossian. That the old fort would provide a suitable abode for mac Coul’s heroic companions was obvious, and fertile imaginations would use other local features in adapting old tales and inventing new ones. For instance, the great standing stones in the valley had to be explained. So stories readily came to lips of how the ancient warriors used to engage in trials of strength, tossing rocks over the Strath. But even in those days it sometimes happened that the weather spoiled people’s sport, and when the footholds were slippery the stones, instead of clearing the valley, landed deep in the hollow. Look, there are the finger-and-thumb marks of the giants on that stone to this day!
Strathpeffer Biography
What of the signs of burning on the fort walls? From these arose the tale of how the giants went a-hunting to Nigg accompanied by their dogs, of which Finn’s favourites were Bran and Sgeolan (pronounced Scolaing). Garry, a dwarf (only 15 feet tall), was left in charge at the fort, much to his annoyance. He gave vent to his displeasure by storming at the women, and then, going outside, stretched himself on the grass and fell asleep. The women took advantage of the opportunity to peg the plaits of his hair to the ground so effectively that when Garry awoke he nearly scalped himself in trying to pull himself free. Now in a furious temper, he barricaded the women and children indoors and burned the fortress down. From afar the warriors saw the blaze and vaulted home on their spears. They caught the fleeing Garry and offered him the choice of death. The vindictive dwarf-giant chose beheading with his neck on Finn’s knees. Needless to say the ensuing blow not only killed Garry but mortally wounded Finn. So the desolate giants, bereft of wives, offspring and leader, realised that their rule had come to an end and decided to depart. Bearing the body of the mighty Finn to the Craigiehowe Cave at the mouth of Munlochy Bay, they entered, laid down their burden reverently, arranged themselves around and fell asleep. . .
Centuries passed. Then one day a shepherd chanced on the cave and, going inside, saw before him the giants and their hounds stretched out in all their barbaric grandeur. Above the door there hung a hunting horn which he tentatively took down and put to his lips. As he blew he noted with alarm that the giants’ eyes were now open but as otherwise they did not stir he risked a second blast upon the horn. With this the giants sat up resting on their left elbows. Unnerved, the shepherd fled with the anguished cry of the only half-liberated sleepers ringing in his ears: ‘Dhuine dhon dh’fhag thu sinn na’ s moisa na fhuair thu sinn.’ (‘Wretch, you have left us worse than you found us!’) An interesting feature of this tale is that while in Irish legend Finn’s life is terminated at the ford of Brea (Bray), in the Highland Scottish version this event takes place on the hill above the Brae Fiord or, as it is now known, the Cromarty Firth.
HAUNTING THE FODDERTY STONES, KILVANNIE HOUSE AND TULLOCH CASTLE
In about 2006, lots of curious tittle tattle was circulating around the Edinburgh LGBT Community about what might really be happening at Tulloch Castle. A young musician from Midlothian called Cameron. even said something about a Druidic circle. Following strange meetings in Edinburgh with Cameron and Walter Mitty (see below) in 2018, I’m inclined to believe Cameron and lots of other weird stuff he told me many years previously. But where is the Druidic circle? It certainly isn’t in the grounds of Tulloch Castle.
A distinguished-looking Walter-MItty-esque friend of Cameron with an apparently appropriate apparent surname (who’d previously thought that he was head of the Samaritans and now thinks that he’s an eminent professor) said that his family seat was in Tulloch Castle, added further to the mystery by setting me a strange puzzle concerning politicians being taken on trips to these climes, and sent me all sorts of weird documents and messages in Spanish, I was, however, never able to get to the bottom of it! A graduate in History and Politics called Jason from Stirling University had previously told me (in the Summer of 2000) about Edinburgh-SNP-organised ‘hunting trips for prey’ for politicians and VIPs to the Inverness area and I regard his information as reliable. Maybe these strands of information can be pulled together by considering my 2021 blogpost. In other words, have various politicians and VIPS got together for gay fun and frolics on the Fodderty Stones (not all of which are at Kilvannie House)
Thomas Hoskyns Leonard Blog
A local farming family set up this huge standing stone, probably over 5,000 years ago. For the people who erected it, this stone represented their links with the land and their ancestors. They wouldn’t have been known as MacLeods – that is a much more recent association.
The standing stone gave out a clear message: this land is well-used, it is ours and has been for generations. This was a rich land when Clach Mhic Leòid was erected in the prehistoric Neolithic period. The landscape was one of small-scale agriculture and open woodland. Any rough grazing or peat was confined to the high hills, and even the sea was some distance away.
Tradition sometimes associates standing stones with burials but archaeologists rarely, if ever, find contemporary evidence of burials at the base of single stones. It wasn’t until around 4,500 to 3,800 years ago, in the later Neolithic and early Bronze Age, that individual burials became common-place.
Nevertheless, it is possible that Clach Mhic Leòid continued to be important to the local people, even as times and beliefs changed. There are a number of large stones showing through the turf close to this magnificent slab. Was the area eventually used as a place of burial? Without archaeological investigation we will never know. Nevertheless, the medieval naming of the stone, Mhic Leòid, reflects valued links with the distant past.
The MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan were the clan chiefs who held Harris from the 13th or 14th centuries until the late 1700s. Perhaps the clan name was given to this standing stone to link the MacLeods to long-departed ancestors, real or imaginary, and thereby emphasise their right to power over the land and the people.
By Jill Harden
“Here…occupying a small knoll known locally as Greenfield Knowe, towards the western end of the plateau…two upright standing stones of boulder character formed a conspicuous feature. They were, if tradition be accepted, the survivors of a larger group. The same tradition records that the farmer of Greenfield Farm, requiring stones for the erection of dykes, removed some of the standing stones from Greenfield Knowe. He, however, speedily found unexpected difficulty in carrying out his intentions. The dykers whom he had employed absolutely refused to use the stones, alleging they would thereby bring misfortune upon themselves and families, , and threatened, rather than risk such calamities, to throw up the job.
“While in this quandry the farmer, it is said, had a vision: a ghostly figure appeared to him, and in a hollow voice warned him against interference with he stones on Greenfield Knowe, and concluded by the adjuration, “Gang ower the howe t’ anither knowe.” Needless to say, the farmer lost no time in obeying his ghostly visitor. Next morning he carted back the stones he had removed and sought material for his dykes elsewhere.”
Mr Hutcheson (1905)
“About the beginning of the present century, when a worthy old parishioner was having some repairs carried out upon his house, he removed a few of the large stones with the intention of having them built into the walls. Throughout the night, however, an eerie feeling came over him, his conscience was on fire, he could get no rest. Accordingly he got out of bed, yoked his horse into the cart, and like a sensible man replaced yjr sacred stones where he found them, went home, and thereafter slept the sleep of the righteous.”
W.M. Inglis (1888)
Greenfield Knowe
Two upright standing stones formed a conspicuous feature on a small knoll known as Greenfield Knowe. They were what remained of a larger group of stones that the farmer of Greenfield farm had removed for building dykes. The dykers, however, absolutely refused to use them, alleging that they would bring misfortune on themselves and their families if they did so. The farmer is said to have had a vision of a ghastly figure who warned him against interfering with the stones saying “Gang ower the howe t’an other knowe.”
Auchterhouse Community
It has sometimes happened that, long after an underground house has ceased to be occupied, new settlers of another race have built their houses directly above these concealed retreats, quite unaware of their existence. Thus, at Airlie in Forfarshire, a cottage was supposed to be haunted because oatcakes, baking on the hearthstone, occasionally disappeared from sight in a mysterious manner. It was thought proper to pull down the cottage altogether, and then it was accidentally found out that the hearthstone was the roof-stone of an underground house, into which the cake had fallen through a crevice. Nobody had thought of lifting the hearthstone before proceeding to the extremity of pulling down the house. That was in the eighteenth century.
Stories of the Mound- Dwellers’ in The Celtic Review
David MacRitchie
Sometime before 1490 (maybe even centuries before!) a young lad named McVicar was tending to his mother’s cow near Brenfield on the shore of Loch Fyne. A party of cattle-raiders passed by, and he spied on them, taking note of where they were heading. According to one story, the raiders were MacAllisters from Tarbert, while another version says they were MacNeills from the Isles. The old maps record them as Campbells. Whoever they were, they had been stealing cattle from the MacIvers of Glassary, who were kinsmen of the lad’s mother. He lost no time in running home and raising the alarm.
The MacIvers were known as the ‘Shaggy Black Horses of Glassary’, and they weren’t best pleased. Cattle raiding was rife between clans, and besides the insult to their pride, the loss of livestock inflicted hardship and starvation on families. Quickly gathering a band of vengeful warriors, they galloped off in pursuit, with the young lad as their guide. They were armed to the teeth, and they’d also had the forethought to bring along the ’wise woman’ of the clan, a witch whose powerful sorcery was only effective while she was mounted on horseback.
They followed the raiders’ tracks through Stronachullin and along the old drove-road over Sliabh Gaoil; then they headed south-west, skirting low rocky hills and isolated lochans until they caught sight of their quarry at a little place named Carse, where the Learg an Uinnsinn river empties into Loch Stornoway. Here they fell on the cattle raiders with unbridled fury. In the heat of the battle, the MacNeills (or MacAllisters, or Campbells!) recognised the witch and yanked her rudely from the saddle. Panick-stricken, the MacIvers yelled, ‘Cur a’Chailleach air a capull!’ (‘Get the old one back onto her mare!’)
But it seemed that the wise woman had other ideas. Perhaps she sensed imminent defeat, or maybe she’d had enough of being used as a battle-witch! Leaping back onto her horse, she galloped away from the mayhem and fled westwards, halting atop a rocky knoll with sweeping views southwards towards the Sound of Gigha. Here, with the sea yawning below her, she leapt and was gone…
Meanwhile, down on the shore, the MacIvers knew that fortune had deserted them but they were fighting grimly on. By this time, other people had got involved: an onlooker, a MacNab, was pursued by four attackers and only saved himself by leaping across a gorge. At least one head had been lost, because the victors later proudly washed it in a river pool known as Slochd na Cinn, ‘the Pool of the Head’.
The young McVicar lad escaped with his life, but it was said that he became an outcast, living in an old fort known as the ‘robber’s den’ above Ardrishaig. He was a menace to his neighbours so one night his thatch was set alight and he was killed while trying to escape. Meanwhile, in a place where the calls of oystercatchers and curlews float up from the ebbing tide, the MacIver clansmen were buried. Standing stones were said to mark their graves.
Miss Marion Campbell of Kilberry
‘The Kist’, the Magazine of the Natural History and Antiquarian Society of Mid-Argyll 1974
bellacaledonia.org.uk/2018/11/03/creag-nan-uamh/
From Bella Caledonia, the thoughts of the brilliant Dougie Strang
There can be little doubt that this fort was the “cathair” of Abbordobor which the Mormaer Bede the Pict made over to St Drostan, on his arrival at Aberdour in the 6th century AD.
Book of Deer
Dun an Sticir, North Uist
In about 1600, Hugh Macdonald sought refuge on this fortified island after a plot to overthrow his cousin as chief of the MacDonalds of Sleat was exposed. He held out for a year, living in a stronghold that was built on a 2,000-year-old broch on a tidal loch. The only way to get at him was along two stone causeways that are exposed at low tide. The name Dun an Sticir – fort of the skulker – probably comes from this episode.
There is no happy ending. Macdonald was betrayed and captured. He was taken to Skye and thrown into the dungeon under Duntulm Castle where a grisly end awaited him. Given only salt beef to eat but no water – his captor kindly provided him with an empty jug – Macdonald died of thirst.
Steve Farrar
Dun an Sticir
An Iron Age broch situated approximately 9.5 kilometers north of Lochmaddy in a lake on North Uist in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. A building was erected on the site in the late medieval period. Hugh MacDonald of Sleat inhabited Dun Sticir in 1602. In 1586 he hatched a plan to murder his cousin, Donald Gorm, 8th Chief of the Macdonalds of Sleat. After his plan was discovered, he fled to Dun an Sticir
De Tha Tol
Conall Corc and the Pictish Dreamtime
The circular homesteads on Turin have similarities with others in Perthshire and one authority has likened these to Irish structures and linked to an incursion of Gaelic speakers into the region between 500 and 800 AD. There is, remarkably, an ancient Irish tale which may be linked to the site which would suggest this is true and push back the Irish link to the earlier part of this date range, if not before it. I have fancifully called this the Pictish Dreamtime, though this is an unforgivably romantic description of the period just beyond the Pictish historical horizon. I summarised the tale of the possibly 4th century Corc in an earlier post (which can be fully read here ). His story is contained in the Irish legend of ‘The Finding of Cashel’.
Conall Corc, from the Eoganáchta people, was the son of King Luigthech and Bolce Ben-bretnach (“the British woman”), which suggests there may have been even earlier contact between Munster and North Britain. Conall was later adopted by another ruler, his cousin Crimthann, but when he rejected the advances of Crimthann’s wife he was sent in exile to the Picts in Britain. In this foreign land, Conall almost perished in a blizzard, but he was saved by the bard of the local Pictish king. The bard also noticed a magical message written on Conall’s shield at the behest of his father. The message directed the king of Pictland to kill Corc. But the poet changed the words to request the king to give Corc every assistance he could and even give his daughter to the Irish immigrant, which is exactly what happened. Prince Corcc remained in Pictland until he had seven sons and an immense fortune. One of his sons founded the Eoganacht kin-group of Circinn, and was possibly the ancestor of the Pictish king Angus mac Fergus.
Several sources name Mongfinn’s son Cairbre, while the Book of the Hui Maine says the son was Main, but there were three other sons attributed to Corc and Mongfinn, all born in Alba. The full name of Feradach’s daughter was apparently Leamhain Mongfionn, and she had by Corc, Cairbre Cruithenechán of Circinn and Maine Leamhna. The latter was ancestor of the Mormaers of Lennox, around Loch Lomond.
What has this to do with Turin? Corc ended up apparently at the fortress of a Pictish leader named Feradach. The stronghold was named Turin brighe na Righe. The name may be coincidental, but it is still impressive. Corc married Mongfinn, daughter of the Pictish king, stayed ten years sojourn in Alba, and had three sons. In three manuscript versions of the descendents of Eber in the Psalter of Cashel, one of these says that Cairbre Cruithinechan (“Pict Sprung”) was ancestor of the Eoganacht of Magh Circinn.
Whether or not the tales hold water, they are nevertheless intriguing, and ultimately perhaps unprovable. I have provided Vernam Hull’s full translation of one version of the tale of Corc below for anyone interested. The first part of the tale is mission, but the story is interesting all the same.
The Exile of Conall Corc
...Dublin and saw the ships going over the sea. He went with them eastwards over the sea and perceived the mountains of Scotland. They let him go onto the land. He went to a mountain in the west of Scotland. Much snow descended on him so that it reached his girdle. For five days he was without drink and without food until he cast himself down in a dying condition in a glen.
Gruibne the scholar, the poet of Feradach, king of Scotland, came, twelve horsemen strong, into the glen to seek his pigs. He beheld a lap of his mantle above the snow.
“A dead man!” he said. He saw that his body was [still] warm. “Frost has done that to the man,” said the poet. “Kindle a fire around him in order that his limbs will be able to rise.”
That was done so that he steamed. Suddenly he arose.
“Steady, O warrior,” Gruibne said. “Do not fear anything.”
Then, on beholding his countenance, Gruibne spoke as follows:“Welcome, O fair Conall Corc who took each land in the west beyond the region of the sea. Here, the ocean confused you so that sleep stretches you out. A host with silent troops of valor uttered a heavy cry for nine hours so that you were unable to find a word. Good [is] the meeting to which I am destined, [namely], that you came upon me [and] that you did not abide upon the surface of another land. [It was] a plan of sin that sword-ends were brought for your betrayal over the flatness of your body. ..of Lugaid mac Ailella. With honor he was honored. . . O mighty Corc about whom firebrands raise a cry,for fair Cashel protects you so that it will be over Femen that you will rule with fine feasting. Well will you suppress bad weather. In Munster-of the-great-hosts you will receive hostages so that you will be the lion of Loch Lein. Your fame will fill Ireland’s vast plain and the race of Oengus above the surface of each land. The adze-heads will come over the sea’s ocean with hooks of crooked staves.” Actually the poet who had recited the poetic composition was one of the two captives whom Corc had protected from the Leinstermen. Then he put both his arms around him.“It were indeed fitting for us,” he said, “to welcome you. Who,” said he, “saw to your advantage by means of the Ogham writing which is on your shield?” It was not good fortune that it indicated.”
“What is on it?” said Corc.
“This is on it: If it be during the day that you might go to Feradach, your head is to be removed before it were evening. If it be in the night, your head is to be removed before it were morning. Not thus will it be.”
Afterwards, he bore him with him to his own house, and a hurdle [was] under him, and eight men [were] under the hurdle. On that day a month later, he went forthwith to speak with Feradach, and he left Corc outside. He related to him his whole story, namely, how he went to seek his pigs, and he said that he had intended to kill the man. When he saw the Ogham writing on the shield, he was loath to slay him, for this was on it: “A son of the king of Munster has come to you. If it be during the day that he might come, your daughter is to be given to him before evening. If it be in the night, she is to sleep with him before morning.”
“The news is bad,” said Feradach. “Anyone would indeed be sad that you have brought him alive.”
“Gruibne bound his equal weight in silver on Feradach and brought him in. That one offered him a great welcome. But the daughter was not given to him, for Feradach said that he would not grant his daughter to a hireling soldier . . . from abroad. This availed him hot, because the couple had intercourse with each other so that the woman became pregnant by him, and she was brought
down, and bore him a son. She did not admit that it was Corc’s. They intended to burn her [and] the men of Scotland came for the burning. It was formerly a custom that any maiden who committed fornication without bethrothal was burnt. Hence, these hills are [named] Mag Breoa, that is Mag Breg. Then the men of Scotland besought a respite for the girl to the end of a year until her son
had assumed the form, voice or habit of the sept.
At the end of a year they came to burn her. “I will not bring your son to you,” said she.
“You shall, however, bring him,” said he, “into the presence of Feradach.”
When, then, she was about to be burned, she brought him before both of them.
“O woman,” said Feradach, “does the boy belong to Corc?”
“He does,” said the woman.
“I will not take him from you,” said Corc, “for he is a bastard until his grandfather gives him.”
“I do indeed give him to you,” said Feradach. “The son is yours.”
“Now he will be accepted,” said Corc.
“Go forth, O woman,” said Feradach, “and you shall have no luck.”
“She shall, however, not go,” said Corc, “since she is not guilty.”
“She is, nevertheless, guilty,” said Feradach.
“But she is not guilty,” said Corc. “To each son [belongs] his mother. On her son falls her misdeed, that is, on her womb.”
“Let the son, therefore, be expelled,” said Feradach.
“He shall indeed not be expelled,” said Corc, “since that youth has not attained manhood. For the son will pay for her offence.”
“You have saved them both,” said Feradach.
“That will be fortunate,” said Corc.
“Well, O Corc,“said Feradach, “sleep with your wife. It is you whom we would have chosen for her, if we had had a choice.“’ I will pay her price to the men of Scotland.”
That was done. He remained in the east until she had born him three sons.
“Well, O Corc,” said Feradach, “take your sons and your wife with you to your country, for it is sad that they should be outside of their land. Take the load of three men of silver with you. Let thirty warriors accompany you.”
That was done. He came from the east, thirty warriors strong, until he reached Mag Femin. There, snow descended upon them so that it led them astray at Cnocc Graffand. His father was infirm.That brought them northwards into the north of Mag [Femin].
On that day, the swineherd of Aed, the king of Muscraige, was tending his pigs. That night, he said to Aed: “I saw a wonder today,” said he, “on these ridges in the north. I beheld a yew-bush on a stone, and I perceived a small oratory in front of it and a flagstone before it. Angels were in attendance going up and down from the flagstone.”
“Verily,” said the druid of Aed,” that will be the residence of the king of Munster forever, and he who shall first kindle a fire under that yew, from him shall descend the kingship of Munster.”
“Let us go to light it,” said Aed.
“Let us wait until morning,” said the druid.
[Thither] then came the aforesaid Corc in his wanderings.He kindled a fire for his wife and for his sons so that Aed found him on the following day by his fire with his sons about him. He recognized him then, and he gave him a great welcome, and he put his son in surety under his custody. When,
now, after the death of his father there was contention about the kingship of Munster, then Corc came. Thereupon, a residence was at once established by him in Cashel and before the end of a week, he was the undisputed king of the Munstermen.
The surety of the Muscraige is the first surety that a king of Munster ever took, and, afterwards, they were freed, and a queen of theirs [was]in Cashel. Moreover, the swineherd who was found in Cashel, freedom was given to him and to his children by the king of Cashel, that is, without tribute and without exaction of king or steward. It is he, too, who raises the cry of kingship for the king of Cashel, and is given a blessing by the king, and straightway receives the garment of the king. Hence it is, then, that Corc’s Cashel exists, and it is the progeny and the seed of Corc mac Lugthach that abides forever in Cashel from that time forth.
Angus Folklore
Easier to add the links :-)
Curse Of Macha
Story of Emain Macha
CÚ Chulainn& The Cattle Raid Of Cooley
At Sgalabraig, where rocky outcrops rise above the rough pasture, there is to be found an arrangement of ancientstones, some of which may also have Viking associations.
The most prominent of these is called the Chair Stone. The purpose of the site is open to speculation, but it may have been a Viking court or meeting place with the Chair Stone as the seat of the judge and a prominent stone opposite, the place for the accused. The site could also have been a burial ground.
gatliff.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/1519_Berneray-walk.pdf
Among the various names that have been recorded for the boulder are ‘Crois Aona’ain’ and ‘An’adhan’, suggesting a traditional association with St Adomnan which would be appropriate in an area with dedications to Columba (iii). The name ‘Clach an t-Sagairt’ (’the priest’s stone’) is often associated with meeting-places for recusant worship (iv), but this seems unlikely on North Uist. Martin about 1700 described a stone ‘which the natives call a cross’, and in 1878 it was believed to be ‘the site of a general meeting place of the Picts for worship‘
Canmore
The Sithchen in stories are often seen from the entrance of there dwelling having a Ceilidh inside their knolls. Craig Hasten, a castle-like knoll to the south of the village of Baile Mòr in Paible, North Uist, is known locally as a dwelling place of fairies.
Wikipedia
(Sithchen = fairies)
One of the largest and most impressive stones is that known as Clach Mor an Che – The Big Stone of The World – which stands at the edge of the seashore. This stone stands eight feet high and is about two and a half feet across. On the first occasion that I visited the stone the sun was just setting and small waves were lapping on the seashore – an idyllic scene if ever there was one. And yet folklore has it that local miscreants were tied to the stone for their wrongdoings. Some punishment! Although it was during the summertime, the Hebridean midges, known for their ferocity, would no doubt have inflicted their own form of punishment upon the wrongdoers! Not far from the stone are the remains of a chambered cairn called Dun na Cairnach, and at least one historian has suggested that the cairn and the stone were monuments to Che, one of the seven sons of Crithne, an ancestor of the Picts who is said to have been buried there following his death in battle.
Alan Pratt, North Uist
The Celtic Planet
Clach Bharnach Bhraodag, means ‘The Limpet Stone of Freya’. The name Freya is indicative of the strong Norse influence in the Outer Hebrides. According to Norse legend it was Freya who taught Odin a form of shamanistic magic called seidhr – and it was Odin who was able to communicate with two ravens who gave him the ability to have ‘knowledge of all things, in all places’. There is a Gaelic saying Tha Tios Fithich Agad, which means ‘you have more knowledge and understanding than is natural’. The literal translation however is ‘you have the raven’s knowledge’.
Alan Pratt, North Uist
The Celtic Planet
This chunky standing stone sits on the slope of Beinn a’ Charra, just east of Committee Road, North Uist. The stone is canted at a considerable degree, about 2 metres off centre, leaning to the south. From tip to toe the stone measures 9’ 3” high and is 6’ 6” wide.
The alternate name Clach Barnach Bhraodac means Limpet Stone of Freya (Freya being the Norse goddess of love and beauty).
Passionate about British Heritage
A piece of pasture land enclosed with an old dyke. the site of a bloody contest between the Macleods & Macdonalds, a large cairn situated close to the east of it is said to contain the bones of the slain. it is situated a little to the west of Kensaleyre Inn Property of Lord Macdonald It means Bloody Fold.
Revd. John Darroch & Revd A. Martin Angus MacPherson – Scotland’s Places
The most interesting feature of the Kensaleyre stones, apart from their superb location by the loch, is the story told about them in Skye folklore.
The stones are also known by their Gaelic name Sornaichean Coir’ Fhinn. The name relates to an old legend that the mythical warrior Finn, or Fingal, and his band of hunters used the stones to suspend a cooking pot over a fire. The pot was so large that it held a whole deer, which Fingal used to make venison stew.
Kensaleyre Standing Stones, Skye
History, tourist information, and nearby accommodation
BY DAVID ROSS, EDITOR
John Francis Campbell’s ‘Popular Tales of the West Highlands’, concerning “the Old Woman or Witch of Jura” and her “magical powers.
There was a Caileach (old woman) in Jura who had a magic ball of thread by means of which she could draw any person or thing towards her. MacPhie (or MacDuffie) of Colonsay was in her clutches, and was not allowed to leave Jura; on several occasions he tried to escape to his native Colonsay in his boat, but always the Caileach would spot him, throw the magic ball of thread into his boat, and so bring him back to shore. Eventually MacPhie found out that the magic of the Caileach’s thread could be broken, but only if it was cut by an equally magic hatchet; thus he pretended to be content with his bondage until he found the chance to steal the Caileach’s magic hatchet, and then he made his escape from Jura in a small boat. When the Caileach noticed his absence, she rushed as usual to the top of Beinn a Chaolis, [the tallest of the Paps] and … hurled the magic ball of thread into MacPhie’s boat, but he cut it with the Caileach’s magic hatchet and made his escape. She was distraught … [and] in despair she slid down the mountain to the sea shore, pleading with MacPhie to return. But he would not, and the marks left by the old woman’s heels as she slid down Beinn a Chaolis can still be seen. They are called Sgriob na Cailich – the slide of the old woman.” The best view is from the ferry from Port Askaig to Colonsay.
One of the stones at Tarbert (presumably this one) is called “Carragh Chaluim Bhain”, i.e. the standing stone of Calum the fair, almost certainly a reference to St Columba.
H C Gillies 1906
The earliest story of Ardtalla stems from the the origins of Gaelic Scotland, featuring the semi-legendary warrior Fionn MacCumhail, (Finn McCool). Earl’s ‘Tales of Islay’ records that the great warrior’s headquarters were in Skye, but he was fond of coming to Islay to relax:
Fionn was said to be the son of an Irish father and a Norse mother. His father’s name was Cumhal and his mother’s Morna. Not only was he a hero in Ireland but his adventures were told in Scotland, especially in the west, and many place names are called after him. If the great Fionn MacCumhail was so fond of Islay and visited it so often, surely there must be some indication somewhere that this was so. At Ardtalla there is Dun Fhinn up in the hills opposite Trudernish. Even from a distance it looks quite imposing. In the same area there is what was once an ideal township, Creag Fhinn, with many interesting features. It is a fascinating place and can be reached after a short climb, though it is not so very easy to find as the old tracks leading to it have disappeared. If only it could come alive again!
Fionn grew up big and strong, good at running, swimming and leaping: in fact he was a real giant, and being the type of person he was, naturally legends grew up round about him. He had a son called Ossian. Fionn was said to have much wisdom, which he got from eating the Salmon of Knowledge, which was given to him by an old man who was fishing nearby. He was called Fionn because he was so fair, and he became the leader of the Fienne, a band of warriors renowned for their bravery and war-like deeds.
At one time the people in Islay were being harassed by the Lochlanners and appealed to Fionn to come to their aid. This Fionn did, and he and his men soon cleared Islay of the invaders. A bloody battle took place on the Big Strand called Lathan a Tunnachan, the Battle of the Staves. The warriors fought with staves or short sharp sticks which they threw at their enemy with great force. They carried supplies of these staves under their arm or in a sort of quiver, as was used to carry arrows. Fionn is said to have died in AD283, which places the battle long before the Norse occupation.
Her favourite theory, however, concerned a Danish Princess called Iula, or Yula, who left Denmark with an apron full of stones of different sizes. As she proceeded on her journey some of the stones fell out, one becoming Ireland, another Rathlin and a third Texa. The remainder of the stones fell out and became the string of islands from Ardbeg to Kildalton. She perished in the soft sands off that coast and was taken to Seonais Hill above Loch Cnoc and buried there. What was described in the Statistical Account of 1794 as the grave of “a daughter of one of the kings of Denmark” is marked by two small standing stones about 10 meters apart, though there is no good evidence to support this tradition. Islay is said to have got its name from this lady, or perhaps she may have taken her name from Islay.
Peggy Earl ‘Tales of Islay‘
Anyway, some threads are so bright that they have to be picked up. This is the case with King Nechtan, whose name is perhaps found in Dunnichen (‘the fort of Nechtan’) and the English name for the battle where the Northumbrians were defeated by the Picts nearby, Nechtansmere. Before we consider which Nechtan Dunnichen is named after, there is the matter of confirming this as the place of the battle in 685 AD. To the Northumbrians the site of their national disaster was called Nechtan’s Mere, signifying the swamp or shallow lake in the shadow of Dun Nechtan. But the Welsh, who spoke a very similar language to the Picts, called the body of water Llyn Garan, the Pool of Herons. Was this the original name of the place or did it somehow have two names? (The Irish, meanwhile called it the battle of Dun Nechtan.) It would seem to cast a fragment of doubt over the identification of Dunnichen as the battle site. In fact Dunnichen was not positively identified as the place of the conflict until the connection was made by George Chalmers in his Caledonia in 1807. Chalmers pointed out that the ‘eminence’ on the south side of Dunnichen Hill, still visible in his day and known as Cashili or Castle Hill, must be the ‘fortress of Nechtan’. Chalmers also speculated that the neighbouring hill of Dumbarrow, ‘the hill of the barrow’, signifying notable burials there (Caledonia, I, 155.)
[Note also the King’s Well on the east side of Dumbarrow Hill.]
Angus Folklore : In Search of King Nechtan in Angus and Elsewhere
The Castle of Dores was situated on the summit of the Hill of Dores; it is traditionally said to have been a residence of Macbeth. Great quantities of ashes have been found at various places on this hill, as well as at the site of the Castle. They are thought to be from beacon fires.
Presumably the tradition concerning a castle of Macbeth arose from this; there is no trace of a castle.
Historic Scotland
Tobair na h-oige
An old story told in previous centuries by the indigenous folk of Hirta (St. Kilda) described a long-lost well that was thought to be an abode of the little people, known as the Well of Eternal Youth. Not to be confused with the Well of Virtues near the Amazon’s House less than a mile west, the rough whereabouts of this site is cited by J. Sands (1878) in the folklore section of his otherwise historical account on these faraway Atlantic islands. He wrote:
“Once on a time an old fellow, in going up Connagher with a sheep on his back, observed a Well which he had never seen or heard of before. The water looked like cream, and was so tempting, that he knelt down and took a hearty drink. To his surprise all the infirmities of age immediately left him, and all the vigour and activity of youth returned. He laid down the sheep to mark the spot, and ran down the hill to tell his neighbours. But when he came up again neither sheep nor well were to be found, nor has any one been able to find the Tobair na h-oige to this day. Some say that if he had left a small bit of iron at the well—a brog with a tacket in it would have done quite well—the fairies would have been unable to take back their gift.”
Mrs Banks’ Scottish Calendar Customs (1937)
A nearby but long vanished sacred well.
A group of tourists explore the ‘Mistress Stone’ at Ruiaval. More than 250 years earlier, Martin, described how ‘every Bachelor-Wooer is by ancient Custom obliged in Honour to give a specimen of his Affection for the Love of his Mistress’.
By bowing out from the rock over the cliff while standing on one foot, the suitor was ‘accounted worthy of the finest Mistress in the World’.
National Trust Of Scotland
Similar to the Lovers Stone with similar results :-)
Macaulay, in his “History of St. Kilda” published in 1764, describes a spring there called by the inhabitants Toberi-Clerich, the cleric in question being, according to him, Columba. “This welI,” he says, “is below the village, . . . and gushes out like a torrent from the face of a rock. At every full tide the sea overflows it, but how soon that ebbs away, nothing can be fresher or sweeter than the water. It was natural enough for the St. Kildians to imagine that so extraordinary a phenomenon must have been the effect of some supernatural cause, and one of their teachers would have probably assured them that Columba, the great saint of their island and a mighty worker of miracles, had destroyed the influence which, according to the established laws of nature, the sea should have had on that water,” This spring resembles one in the parish of Tain, in Ross-shire, known as St. Mary’s Well. The latter is covered several hours each day by the sea, but when the tide retires its fresh, sweet water gushes forth again.
MacAulay The History of St Kilda 1764
The Milking Stone is where the St Kildans used to pour milk for the ‘gruagach’, either on Sundays or after the first milking in spring, when they heard the fairies under the stone rattling their spoons.
Information from RCAHMS (ARG) 6 June 2008
Tales From Eynhallow by Thelma Nicol
STANDING STONES
Mammy! Mammy!” Whut wey did that big stones git there?” Peedie Davo tugged at his mother’s sleeve. His mother was tired of Davo’s never ending questions about the great pieces of stone that formed the familiar landscape by the Loch of Stenness she promised, that if he was good she would tell him at bedtime, hoping that by that time he would have forgotten. She had not reckoned with peedie Davo’s determination to get an answer to his question.
“You promised Mammy,” he whispered as she tucked him up in bed. “Whut wey did they git there?” His mother shook her head and sat down wearily on the stool by his bedside. “Weel,” she began, “hid wis a long time ago and I canna mind the rights o’ hid bit hid wis afore the Norsemen cam tae Orkney, so they must be thoosands o’ years ould.”
“Oulder than Grandad?” Davo enquired, looking across the lobby where his Grandfather drowsed by the fire in the kitchen.
“Oh yass, far oulder than Grandad. There wisna many folk bade in Orkney at the time. All the folk lived doon sooth thoo see’s. They say that t he standing stones reach doon intae the grund twice as far as they stand abune hid .”
“Whut wey did they git doon there then I winder?” Peedie Davo’s enquiry into the origin of the Standing Stones of Stenness was proving to be more of a problem than his mother had ever imagined.
“Well,” she struggled on, “shut thee eyes like a good boy noo, and I’ll tell thee.” With fingers crossed that he would soon fall asleep she began. “Hid wis a midsummer’s night . The day hid been hot an quiet, not the usual breezy kind o’ wither that we usually hiv in June. The sky wis somet imes owercast and a rumble o’ thunder cam fae the direction o’ Hoy. There wis great flashes o’ lightning. A’ the birds wir quiet and the twa three folk that lived aboot hands wir huddled taegither. The bairns were a sleepan snug and warm under thir sealskin blankets.”
Peedie Davo’s mother paused and glanced hopefully at her small son. “Did the thunder come again Mammy?” he asked.?
“Oh yass,” she answered. “More thunder and rain like they have niver seen the like o’ afore or since. Suddenly there wis a great flash o’ lightning and the grund roond aboot Stenness wis thrown up like hid wis an earthquake. Some o’ the big stones landed upright and the grund fell back and filled up the holes except whar the Loch is noo. It filled up wae the rain water and so there’s been a loch there ever since and nobody’s ever bothered tae shift the stones so they are still there too. The twa three folk that hid lived in Stenness at that time wir thrown up in the air bit they landed in Stromness and decided to stay there. And that‘s the weyt here’s more folk in Stromness than in Stenness.”
There was a gentle snore from the bed and a sigh from peedie Davo’s mother as she whispered: “Whit a lot o’ lees thee mither tells thee Davo. Bit the truth is she disno ken whut wey the stones cam tae be there and nither dis anybody else. Goodnight Davo!”
Broch Of Gurness by Thelma Nicol
from the Tales Of Eynhallow
I wandered round these ancient ruins,
With thoughts so far away,
I thought of hallowed customs,
When people here did stay.
And then I touched some weathered stones,
Someone had built with care,
Fashioned with an artist’s touch,
Although no tools were there.
A hollowed stone where once a maid,
Had ground the corn for bread,
Blackened stones upon the floor,
Say: “Here a fire was laid”.
Some skins spread on the floor, perhaps,
To keep the small room warm,
And in this ancient home, no doubt,
Children too were born.
A thousand years ago or more,
These warriors hunted deer,
And fashioned with their work worn hands,
Bead and bowl and spear.
Perhaps a thousand years from now,
Someone will wander round,
The ruins of our modern homes,
All scattered on the ground.
Will some machine-made cooking pot,
Or factory-fashioned cup,
Remain a thousand years somewhere,
For someone to pick up?
The Sheriff’s Kettle
Here (Kenshot Hill) in 1420 the gruesome murder of Sheriff Of The Mearns, John Melville, took place. Landowners complained frequently about the sheriff’s tiresome behaviour. One day, during a hunting party they murdered the sheriff, boiling his body and each sipping a spoonful of the brew.
Turbine Noticeboard, Mearns.
Slide No: 30 Duntulm Castle
Nine miles from Uig is Duntulm Castle, and one way it leads over a long slope of land called “the garden of Skye”. On the verge of Loch Snizort the stack of Scudburgh is seen standing like a lighthouse. Duntulm Castle, originally the site of a “dun”, once was the stronghold of pirate Norsemen, anterior to the Norwegian invasion of Harold Harfager. It is a considerable ruin perched upon a precipitous cliff, and still has an imposing look. The castle built by the chiefs of Clan Donnel in the twelfth century, remained the home of the MacDonalds till they moved to Mugstadt. “Big Donald with the blue eyes”, Lord Of The Isles and grandson of Donald Gorm, who lost his life besieging Eilan Donan Castle in Loch Duich, at one time starved a kinsman to death in the dungeon of Duntulm. This kinsman having conspired against his uncle, wrote to an accomplice in Skye, and by the same opportunity sent a friendly letter to Donald Gorm, but in transmit the letters passed into the hands of one who could not read, and this person handed to Donald Gorm the one that revealed his nephew’s treachery. He was immediately captured, carried to Skye, and immured in Duntulm; there he was starved to death, after first being supplied a meal of salt food, and daily after this to mock his thirst, a covered drinking cup was lowered to him, which on being uncovered, was found empty.
Destination St Kilda ‘From Oban to Skye and The Outer Hebrides‘
George Washington Wilson and Norman Macleod
Edited by Mark Butterworth
Slide 34 Circle Of Callernish
At the head of one of the inlets in Loch Benera is a megalithic cruciform, Drudicial circle, called the Circle of Callernish. This Druidicial temple is one of the largest, as well as one of the most complete of its kind in Scotland. The total number of stones, when the temple was complete, was sixty five, of which about forty five are still standing, ranging from sixteen to four feet tall.
In the immediate neighbourhood are several smaller circles, some of them, being as large as fifty feet in diameter. The circle occupies a striking position in an open track of moor, and appears to have been surrounded at a small distance by a trench or ditch, which is now in many places obscured, the sames as at Stenneshouse, Orkney and Stonehenge, England. It is thought by some that these stone circles may have been places of worship, erected by the Norsemen, as in some Northern sagas; the temple of Thor is described as a circular range of upright stones, containing a central stone, called the stone of Thor, where the sacrifices or executions were performed.
Destination St Kilda ‘From Oban to Skye and the Outer Hebrides‘
George Washington Wilson and Norman MacLeod edited by Mark Butterworth
But the most extraordinary relic of antiquity in the village is a subterranean house. I had heard of it on my first visit; and on the 13th July 1876 determined to have it opened and examined. A crop of potatoes grew on the top, and the owner at first refused to allow this to be disturbed. But by dint of raillery, persuasion, and a promise to pay the damage, he at length acceded to my request. This underground dwelling was discovered about thirty-two years ago by a man who was digging the ground above it, and was generally called the House of the Fairies. The aperture on the top was filled up again, and it had never been opened since. But after a little search the hole was found and an entrance made. Two or three men volunteered to clear out the stones and soil that had accumulated on the floor to a depth of several feet, and worked with a will. The house was found to be twenty-five feet long by three feet eight inches wide, and about four feet in height. The walls consisted of three or four ranges of stones, a roof of slabs resting on the sides. This house runs due north and south, and curiously enough there is a drain under the floor. Amongst the debris on the floor I found numerous stone axes, knives, and fragments of a lamp, as well as pieces of rude pottery. As there was no tradition concerning this house, and as it is assigned to the fairies, it may be very old; but I am inclined to think that the stone period extended to a very recent date in St Kilda. I have some satisfaction in believing that I am the discoverer of stone implements in St Kilda, and that my claim has been recognised by the Society of Scottish Antiquaries.
From Life In St Kilda During the 1870s.
Overlooking Stornaway is Cnoc na Croich (Gallow’s Hill) which was the place where justice was meted out to wrongdoers in times past when the clan chief, McLeod of Lewis, had the power of pit and gallows.
Lewis and Harris by Francis Thompson.
Close by the township of Ballantrushal is the tallest standing stone in Scotland. Almost 5.7m high, this monolith could easily have been a prehistoric sea marker. The coastline hereabouts tends to be rocky and it is no particular coincidence that the beach close by is one of the few amenable landing places available for open craft. The Gaelic name is Clan an Truseil, the Stone Of Sorrow. Local tradition has it that it marks the grave of a Norse prince, but also commemorates the victory of the Morisons of Ness over their sworn enemies, the MacAulays of Uig. The monolith, however, predates any event AD.
Lewis and Harris by Francis Thompson.
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.
‘A lofty hill over which the boundary between this parish from that of Auchindoir. It derives its name from the following incident, when the of Lord Arthur Forbes commonly called ‘Black Arthur’ was being carried over this hill for internment in Kearn Church Yard. The bearers rested on this hill during a snow storm. There is no cairn as the name would imply on or about the hill.‘
Parish Records.
(They rested the coffin near where the trig point is nowadays. The cairn is some 70 meters to the south east.)
Back to Kintockrat. During the plague (bubonic) the people still had to continue selling their produce, with as little contact with plague victims as possible. It was decided to have a weekly market and Kintockrat became the trading area, but with the proviso that, as in other parts of the country, no contact would be made with the citizens of Brechin. Miss Knox (former owner) showed me an ancient cairn covered with copper coloured leaves from the surrounding birch trees. This had been left as a monument to the dreaded plague. Here country people would leave their produce, laid out around the cairn and a grassy space it. An ancient path is still evident leading to and from the area. A receptacle would have been left, probably one of the many stone bowls at Kintockrat, and the Brechiners would select the goods required and deposit their coins as payment in the stone receptacles. Whether water or any other means of attempting to sterilise the coins was used, e.g passing through flame, is unknown. The beautiful glade and large copper birch trees around it was a lovely are and of course one’s memory goes back to the poor people who suffered long ago.
Brechin. The Ancient City.
The Erskine family and the Dun estate were a symbol of authority in the area. As you pass along the main drive and look to the right you might notice the small fenced-off area known as the Gallows Knowe.
The National Trust Of Scotland cares for the Gallows Knowe so that people can continue to give it new meanings linking the past, present and future. Gallows Knowe was built 3,500-4,500 years ago as a burial sound. Since then, people have thought about it in different ways and put it to different uses. The mound has played a role in community identity, power and authority. It has also been a symbol of the rights of certain people to call this place their own.
In the medieval period, the Gallows Knowe may have been used as a place of execution for the crimes of theft and manslaughter. The tradition that the mound was the for the medieval Barony of Dun was recorded by 19th century surveyors mapping the countryside around the House Of Dun. The Barony was a large territory administered by the Lord Of Dun. Gallows Knowe may have been chosen because it lay very close to Dun Castle, the lord’s seat of power. The mound is also highly visible from the public road from Montrose. It would have been an obvious warning to passers-by of the punishment awaiting wrong-doers.
The medieval Baron may also have been held there. This was a sort of parliament and court of law. It sorted minor disputes between neighbours as well as passing judgement on more serious crimes. Monuments like Gallows Knowe were often used for important gatherings in medieval times and they provided impressive settings for ceremonies. Their association with an ancient, unknown past, meant they were seen as very powerful places.
Search Scotland – House Of Dun 2011.
Some of the legends about the meeting place of swords.
The Horned God
The horned god was the ancient pagan god of fertility. He was often half animal and half human. The Celts called him Vernunnus. He had the head of a stag and the body of a man.
When Christianity came to Britain the god of fertility was transformed into the Devil. His nickname ‘Auld Hornie’ is a link back to this older belief in the horned god.
(One of the stories found on various posts near the path.)
Local tradition associates this hill with the infamous ‘James Of The Hill’. This was the name given to James Grant, a member of the local gentry who committed murder in Elgin in the 18th century. He became a bandit renowned for his cunning and intelligence, as well as his ferocity. Eventually he was captured and imprisoned at Edinburgh Castle, from where, with the help of his wife, he made a daring escape. After further adventure in Ireland, James was given a Royal pardon for his many crimes.
Canmore.
A small knoll partly destroyed in the flood of 1829, called Lord Auchindown’s cairn, marks the spot where Sir Patrick Gordon of Auchindoun is said to have died after the battle of Glenlivet in 1594.
NSA 1845.