Fallow Deer

One of the best places to see fallow deer is around the edges of the Beinn nan Losgann forestry which lies on the right of the road out of Kilchoan, as it climbs towards the Kilmory turn. These two were grazing in the valley of the Allt nan Gabhar, the stream of the goat, and, because we walk quietly....

....they weren't aware of our approach, becoming at one point more concerned with something further up the glen.

Even when they did see us, by which time we were standing very still, they weren't too bothered, but there always seems to be a trigger with deer when they suddenly decide we're unfriendly and....

....make off, clearing any obstacles with graceful ease.

Sunday Lunch

There was a time when Sunday lunch was a family affair and always included a roast and a bottle of red wine. These days, we tend to take a long walk on a Sunday morning, and always carry a picnic with us, in the pink container. It's pretty basic - a drink, a muesli bar, a packet of cashew nuts and a chocolate bar - but it enables us to enjoy Sunday lunch looking out over wonderful views, in this case the entrance to Camas nan Geall.

April Snow

Diane Todd has sent me some more of her super photos taken after the sudden dump of snow almost a month ago on April 28th, which melted away quickly enough at low level on Ardnamurchan but left us with some stunning distant views of snow-capped mountains. This picture shows Ardnamurchan Point lighthouse and the snow-free island of Muck with, behind it, the rugged mountains of Rum.

This picture looks from the banks of the Allt Grigadale across the weir and Loch Grigadale to the snows on Ben Hiant.

From the hills to the north of Sanna, this view looks north across Rubha an Duin Bhain to, from left to right, Muck, Rum and Eigg, while....

....this one shows a slightly different perspective of Muck and Rum, but with Canna visible on the horizon to the left.

Many thanks to Diane for allowing me to use her photographs.

The Allt nan Gabhar

The Allt nan Gabhar, the stream of the goat, is such a favourite burn that we've wandered its banks many times.

It drains the west side of the forestry which clothes the slopes of Beinn nan Losgann. Its meandering has cut a series of steep bluffs between which lie sheltered, grassy terracettes; and, as one climbs upstream, there are constantly changing views of Ben Hiant and the ridge of Beinn na h-Urchrach.

This is the view downstream, with Beinn an Leahtaid to the right and Meall nan Con in the left distance. The road in to Kilchoan passes close to the corner of the forestry.

It's an area rich in archaeology. This is a very special site, one of our earliest archaeological discoveries, a stone circle which may be a Bronze or Iron Age hut circle but is more likely to be a rather older kerb cairn.

Fallow deer leave the cover of the forestry to come out to graze along its banks, while....

....the twisting nature of the glen means that we often come very close to red deer before they see us.

In places, the burn tumbles down a series of waterfalls, the tops of which....

....make ideal places to sit for a cup of coffee.

Sadly, the headwaters of the burn lie buried in the forestry, but if one continues up the hill one is treated to a panoramic view westwards. Mingary Castle is at bottom left, Kilchoan Bay in the middle distance at right, and the houses of Ormsaigbeg are strung out along the far side of the bay.

Plocaig

Plocaig is one of several abandoned settlements dotted around West Ardnamurchan. It's sometimes described as a 'cleared' township, but it was never cleared. In fact, along with its neighbour Sanna, it was a creation of the clearances.

Bald's map of 1806 showed all the clachans and their boundaries. Sanna, which he called Saune and which only had one building, was part of Achosnich's arable land, while the future site of Plocaig belonged to Achnaha. The 1841 census doesn't mention either settlement.

However, by the time the first OS map was published, both Upper and Lower Sanna are well developed, and Plocaig has four buildings. Both settlements came into existence in the 1840s or 1850s, when clachans to the east, such as the Swordles, were being cleared, and the landlord had to find somewhere to dump those of his tenants who wished to stay rather than emigrate.

The maps that the OS was publishing by the end of the century showed that Plocaig had almost as many buildings as Sanna, and that, if a track is an indicator of importance, it had one, running through Achnaha to the southeast, direct to Kilchoan.

What Plocaig lacked even more than Sanna was good arable land. This Bing satellite picture has Plocaig arrowed, while Sanna occupies the bottom left hand corner. Sanna's fields are extensive but, on the other side of the Allt Sanna, Plocaig is miserably endowed. At least Plocaig had a sheltered port, though it was small and, in rough weather, useless.

This photograph looks towards Plocaig from the south-southeast, across its fields, with the Allt Sanna  to the left. Even by Ardnamurchan standards, these are poor fields.

But it was not the miserable fields which finally destroyed Plocaig. In 1921 the decision was made to complete the road beyond Achnaha - not to Plocaig, where the old track had run, but to Sanna because by that time Sanna had twenty crofts, each grazing two cows, while Plocaig had only four crofts, each grazing three cows, a pony and a few sheep. No doubt the decision was helped by the fact that MEM Donaldson lived at Sanna and fought on its behalf.

This picture shows Plocaig in the 1930s, soon after it had been abandoned but with many of its houses still roofed.

Plocaig is gradually merging back into the landscape, but its fields are still used: a crofter grazes sheep across them, and visitors stop to sit by its houses and imagine what it must have been like to live in such an idyllic setting. It can't have been idyllic: life must have been extremely hard.