Walking westwards from Fascadale Bay and approaching our destination of the small inlet called Port Eigin-aig (see earlier post here) we started to come across more and more signs of farm workings. This picture shows a stone wall with, in the background, a field which, in high summer, is probably covered in bracken - a sure sign that the soil is good.The location is some distance from other settlements: Fascadale, Glendrian and Plocaig, the nearest villages, are all about two miles away over rough going. On the other hand, the fields are only a few hundred metres from Port Eigin-aig.
There are several piles of stones in the field, evidence that a great deal of work went in to clearing the land for cultivation. Search as we did, however, we could not find anything that resembled house or byre walls, so either the farming family lived elsewhere and walked to the field each day, or they built impermanent shelters. If the latter was the case, either they used the field as a summer sheiling or they lived in considerable poverty and deprivation.
Port Eigin-aig is a small, rocky bay with a constantly-shifting shingle beach, across which a small stream carves its way. The place must have been heavily used as a great deal of time was invested in building a rock roadway to the right, enabling carts to access the shore. Almost certainly, the main users of the port were the people of landlocked Glendrian, who collected seaweed for fertilizer and kept their fishing boats there. In the old days, herring, mackerel and other species which teemed in these waters would have been an essential part of their diet.
There are several piles of stones in the field, evidence that a great deal of work went in to clearing the land for cultivation. Search as we did, however, we could not find anything that resembled house or byre walls, so either the farming family lived elsewhere and walked to the field each day, or they built impermanent shelters. If the latter was the case, either they used the field as a summer sheiling or they lived in considerable poverty and deprivation.
Port Eigin-aig is a small, rocky bay with a constantly-shifting shingle beach, across which a small stream carves its way. The place must have been heavily used as a great deal of time was invested in building a rock roadway to the right, enabling carts to access the shore. Almost certainly, the main users of the port were the people of landlocked Glendrian, who collected seaweed for fertilizer and kept their fishing boats there. In the old days, herring, mackerel and other species which teemed in these waters would have been an essential part of their diet.By this time the sky had clouded over and the southeast wind was keener than ever, so we did not linger, leaving with the thought that, on a fine summer's day, this would be a wonderful place for a swim.
Port Eigin-aig is marked on the map here.
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