Map Evidence

This is a clip from the OS 1897 revised version of the local 25" map showing part of the course of the Millburn. 'A' is where the fire station stands today at the Sanna turn. On a rather grey day we walked around this area, finding some of the things marked on the map.

The 'sheepfold' marked '1' is a very substantial structure built against a steep cliff. The inner part of the fold has a wall which is nearly 3m high in which there is a narrow entrance. We thought the area beyond might originally have been roofed as the builders took great pains to ensure that the top of the wall was horizontal, but the OS map would have had this area shaded had it been roofed in 1897.

'2' is a croft house with a byre attached at its northern end. On the map this is shaded, so in 1897 it was roofed and, presumably, in use. In the background in this picture are the Millburn and the Sanna turn. The map shows that there was once a footbridge which crossed the Millburn and joined this house to the present road.

Looking south across the house, one can see the low stone walls of another, quite large enclosure. The OS map doesn't call this a sheepfold, so it may have been a kale yard used for growing vegetables. On its south side was a small roofed building.

The modern road to Portuairk and Sanna follows the route of the track which, in those days, ran along the east side of the Millburn, but in 1897 there was also a track running along the west side. This joined the Portuairk road to Ormsaigmore. The picture shows the track at '3', where it crosses the burn that drains the area called Lag a' Choire.

But here's a slightly earlier version of the map, the 6" scale surveyed in 1872, and it shows another sheepfold (4), just to the west of the croft house, which we've never noticed. Ah well, it's a beautiful place to go for another walk.