Saturday, May 23rd, 2009
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Left, Mairead Macdonald (8 Kneep) and right, her sister Chirsty Ann (Ciorstaidh Anna a'Phurpois) at the shieling at Gearraidh Thodail. The shieling is at NB095290, between Suainebhal and Direadh Beinn, and the Comann Eachdraidh visited it last summer - see pictures.
Chirsty Ann was born in 1912 and so this was ...
Posted in crofting, history | 2 Comments »
Sunday, September 21st, 2008
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The Morgail Beehives (NB 131199), a group of corbelled huts of unknown date, are described thus by Historic Scotland:
Group of corbelled "bee-hive" type shielings, built in remote moorland close to a stream, above Abhainn a Loin. Only one cell had roof intact at time of inspection (1989). Building date not ...
Posted in archaeology, history | No Comments »
Sunday, September 7th, 2008
From an article in Uig News by Dave Roberts.
It appears that shielings were constructed so that one airigh could easily be seen from another, but it is said that very often the girls from a number of shielings would sleep in one building for company. The ancient shieling grounds for Brenish, ...
Posted in tales | No Comments »
Friday, August 8th, 2008
From left, Emily Macdonald Gisla, Effie Maclennan 36 Cliff, and two visitors, visiting a shieling.
From Emily's Twenty Years of Hebridean Memories (1939) - observing from Gisla Lodge the girls going to the shielings at Airigh an Fhorsa and Bo Nighean Mhuirich. The ones Emily mentioned visiting near Loch Coirgeabhat may ...
Posted in archive photos, history | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
Click to show shieling grounds. Map and area in acres from Uig, a Hebridean Parish (1960).
Valtos (36 tenants)
149 inbye
1482 adjacent pastures
3905 detached/shielings
Kneep (18 tenants)
155 inbye
459 adjacent
1806 detached/shielings
Reef (14 tenants)
94 inbye
207 adjacent
101 machair
770 detached
Total (68 tenants, 14 absent)
398 inbye
2249 adjacent/machair
6481 detached/shielings
Posted in history, land issues | No Comments »
Monday, August 4th, 2008
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From a piece by Dave Roberts for Uig News.
At the north end of Mealisval there is a valley called Tealasdale. The floor of the valley is a chaos of enormous boulders. Beneath some of the gigantic rocks are crevices and hollows into which a person could crawl. Blocking the gaps ...
Posted in history, tales | No Comments »
Sunday, July 27th, 2008
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Posted in history | No Comments »
Saturday, July 26th, 2008
Valtos men at Gisla, returning from the shielings (both Airigh an Fhorsa NB117226 and Airigh Bo Nighean Mhuirich NB 105224 - thanks Calum) with creels of butter, crowdie and cheese. Murdo Smith 30 Valtos (Murchadh Gobha), Calum Buchanan 7 Valtos (Calum a'Bhodaich), Donald Mackay 15 Valtos (Dòmhnall a'Chreagain) and Norman Buchanan ...
Posted in archive photos | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
Our next àirigh outing is on 26 July to Àirigh Taoireag and Àirigh Smuddaidh, behind Flodrasgairbh to the back of Ardroil (roughly NB047290). Taoireag is an old shieling in use before the villages around Traigh Uig were cleared in the 1830s, and after Ardroil was resettled it was rebuilt by ...
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Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
New photos from Mairi Peigi Maclennan at Cliff. Àirigh an Fhorsa (NB118227, behind Coduinn) was used by Valtos and Cliff, including for just two seasons after WW2. In the pictures are William Maclennan 36 Cliff, Ann Matheson (Anna a'Bheiceir) and her brother Calum 39 Cliff and Chirsty Smith 21 Valtos.
Posted in archive photos | No Comments »
Saturday, June 28th, 2008
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CE Uig walked out to the shielings at Gearraidh an Uisge and Gearraidh Thodail, both used turn-about by Kneep until just before the war. At Gearraidh an Uisge (NB106272) there are the two substantial structures (the later built by Baxter in the 1930s), at least one older one nearby and ...
Posted in CEU, archaeology | No Comments »
Stornoway, UNITED KINGDOM