Ormsaigbeg & Ormsaigmore

This view of Kilchoan, looking west from the parish church, shows most of the crofting township of Ormsaigbeg. The name Ormsaigbeg is derived from the Norse words ormr, a 'snake' or 'serpent', and vic, a 'bay'. According to Angus Henderson in his neat little book, Ardnamurchan Place Names, the word bheag, which means 'little' in Gallic, was added 'for the sake of expediency' - whatever that may mean.

The township is strung out along a narrow road which ends at the dark headland of Sron Bheag, where sron means 'nose' or 'promontory', and bheag is 'little'. The brackern-covered hill at the back is Druim na Gearr Leacainn, the 'ridge of the hare', behind which rises the much higher mountain of Beinn na Seilg, the 'hill of hunts'. All of which suggests that, at the time these places were named, there was a wealth of wildlife - which there still is, including pine martens and the rare Scottish wildcat.

The huddle of white houses by the shore towards the right of the picture is the beginning of Ormsaigmore, where mhor is Gallic for 'big' - which is quite inappropriate as Ormsaigmore is far smaller than Ormsaigbeg. Most of the buildings are associated with the village shop, The Ferry Stores, an emporium which prides itself in stocking the wide range of goods that the remoteness of this community demands.

Deciphering the meaning of local place names is always a nightmare, particularly for the inexpert, and even more so when many words vary in their spelling. Thus the mhor of Ormsaigmore is mor in the Gallic dictionary. But what they do offer is another window into the history of an ancient area such as this, where Norse and Gaels vied for possession of this precious land.