An Up-Side-Down Wall

There's something odd about this wall. See if you can spot it. I couldn't - not until someone who knows far more about the history of West Ardnamurchan than I do pointed it out.

There are many other similar walls across West Ardnamurchan. This one is at Swordle Farm, and it runs between a field and the Ockle road. I wouldn't have noticed anything unusual about it had a I not had a conversation with Donald Houston, who runs Ardnamurchan Estate, a few hours earlier. The wall is, as Donald put it, 'upside down'.

We were talking about the Clearances, and he was saying that map evidence from the early 19th century suggests that the Swordle area may have supported upwards of a thousand residents - that is, it was grossly overpopulated. Yet there is very little sign, on the ground, of all the houses they must have lived in, many of which would have been built of blocks of local stone.

Look at the photograph again and you can see that stone. The wall is clearly in two layers. The original, lower part of the wall had been built before the Clearances, of smaller stones, but, when the then owner came to get rid of all the empty houses, he used their - larger - stones to raise the height of the wall to help keep in the newly-introduced sheep.

Talking of keeping animals in their place, this Highlander was taking a walk down the road towards the Kilchoan House Hotel this morning, probably looking for a beer.