The people behind COAST

A surprise for me:

During my time gathering stories in the area (2012- present), it never ceased to surprise me how little regard the elders of the area had for their own knowledge, it having been relegated to a state of uselessness in the modern world.  Many people with whom I spoke claimed to have no knowledge of Gaelic whatsoever, only to surprise themselves with latent vocabulary from their early childhood when gently coaxed.

My memorable story:

When recording the now late Alasdair Mac a’ Bheathain (MacVean) of Dalvore, I had guided him to a place of recall with regards Gaelic language, words for weather, animals, body parts and fire utensils and the like coming back to his mind.  This turned out to be a profoundly emotional experience for Alasdair, having not spoken the language of his ancestors since before he first went to school, and the tears flowed down his cheeks.  This kind of profound cultural loss is the price of British colonialism in Gaelic Scotland.

A place I was inspired to visit:

I had a pre-existing archive of recordings dating from the period 2012-2017 and therefore did not undertake any fresh fieldwork for this project.

A surprise for me:

Some parts of the island have done very little in collecting their own local stories. Hopefully projects like this will inspire more to be done in the future.

My memorable story:

A poignant one. I had a story very well told by a retired local vet and his incident with a helicopter and a cow. He just recently passed away.

A place I was inspired to visit:

From the workshops with other story gatherers I am particularly inspired to visit Gigha and Colonsay as I have never been before.

A surprise for me:

I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed revisiting the old stories and how I want to continue gathering stories even though the official COAST part is over. It was a pity that meeting up in person was greatly restricted during lockdowns but I think COAST adapted well , transferring online to enable the project to continue.

My memorable story:

One story I wish I hadn’t been told that I can’t get out of my mind now. A local man in his 80s whom I usually love listening to his memories , telling me of visiting an older man living in a Black House on the coast in his youth. Whilst sitting talking he had been intrigued by a rustling and movement within a bag hanging from the wall which the older gent ignored. Eventually unable to contain his curiosity he had enquired what on earth was in the bag. It turned out it was an otter. The old man did not want to shoot or club it for fear of spoiling the fur so presumably it was left there to starve to death. When I expressed dismay, the teller looked surprised saying, “ Ah but you see you could get paid  £5 a pelt and that was a lot of money in those days !” This would be in times where ladies proudly wore fur round their necks. I was left wishing I could go back in time through the decades to have been there to give him the £5 myself and let the poor otter go  free.

A place I was inspired to visit:

Until now, mainly revisiting local locations , especially the sites of old village clearances.

Prompted by the unfortunate otter story , I have enjoyed a recent visit to Sandaig by Arnisdale and Glenelg where Gavin Maxwell lived with his pet otters and where there is a family connection. Have now watched the old Ring of Bright Water film and ordered an old copy of the book..

Looking forward to reading and hearing more stories collected by the other COAST Story Gatherers which should give me a greater understanding of their areas.

A surprise for me:

I really enjoyed discovering more about places that I may pass on my trips to the mainland without knowing much about them: it added a real depth to my experience of my area.

My memorable story:

I particularly loved all the West Coast’ pirates stories, and also the stories commemorating the fight of people for their land: i really enjoyed editing those, and finally I learnt so much about archeology. One story that springs to mind is the site on Islay that was found to be dating to the arrival of the first people in Scotland, back in the Upper Palaeolithic!

A place I was inspired to visit:

As soon as I was able to travel to the mainland, which was only very recently, I made sure to visit Loch nan Eala in Arisaig, so now I know where the crannog can be found, and I will return with welly boots, as the place where it is situated is quite boggy!

And when I go to Knoydart, I will look for the silver cutlery thrown into the sea by Lord Brocket’s wife!

A surprise for me:

One thing for me (with me having an overview) was to see the huge variety and everything from really big and significant stories that really did shape the world to the much smaller tales that give such a magical quality to the local area – and immediately anchor you in that place. Like the Starlings nesting in the postbox in Jura and how the community responded.

My memorable story:

The folklore story from Loch Sunart of the prince whose mother would not let him marry a local girl.  She casts a spell turning her into a swan.  The devastated prince goes hunting one day and on seeing a magnificent swan kills it with his bow –  the swan morphs back into his love and he realises he has accidentally taken her life.  He then takes his own life.  To this day swans are not seen on Loch Sunart. 

A place I was inspired to visit:

I was very intrigued by the Sheilings story on Lewis that we heard during the workshops we ran – and I had no idea the story behind them where people literally moved to them in the summer and took furniture with them – the photos Catriona shared were amazing.  I have a real sense of wanting to go back to the Outer Hebrides and search out  these sheilings in the really remote places and spend time contemplating that way of life.

A surprise for me:

It is sometimes hard to remember that while some people today still think of the Highlands and Islands as ‘remote’, we have always been intimately connected to the wider world.

My memorable story:

The stories of people, rather than of myths and legends, tell us so much, and remind us to take pride in our Gaelic heritage, and in the heritage of other cultures and languages that have shaped our coast’s communities.

A place I was inspired to visit:

To look more widely at the stories from other gatherers, to see the connections and sometimes the similarities of tradition.

A surprise for me

I enjoyed the wide range of stories that people told. From really personal stories to much broader. The mythical and folklore stories are definitely my favourite.

A memorable story

The story of the shielings for me is still one of the most interesting pieces. The fact that we used to be a nomadic people and had a much closer relationship with the landscape is something we have clearly lost.

A place I was inspired to visit

I really enjoyed the stories from Wester Ross and am keen to go and visit that more over the coming months and years.

A surprise for me:

The importance of the area and the many connections with the world and history.

My memorable story:

The Dunoon Hostel was built for school children who lived too far away to travel each day.  They would stay in the hostel from Monday to Thursday and go home for the weekends.  One lady described the emptiness in Tighnabruaich when all the children were away – no-one playing in the streets – it was like the pied piper had come and suddenly taken them all away!

A surprise for me:

Revisiting the old stories and getting friends and colleagues to write them out for me was a treat. 

I found the project gave me a great excuse to catch up with many friends that I hadn’t spoken to for a while and it was great to meet some new friends who helped with stories, poems and songs.

My memorable story:

I loved the story about the guy who used his cat to help rewire his cottage.  He lifted the floorboards and attached a string to his cat’s tail and sent it down the hatch..  The cat promptly ran under the floor and popped back up in the other room unaware that it had solved a problem on how to get an electric cable from one room to another.  He then did this around the rest of the house, I hope he gave the cat a reward at the end of the day :).

A place I was inspired to visit:

I headed down to the Second Waters which was a place frequented by the Coasters who were subject of one of the stories that was submitted.  It reminded me of how much I love visiting the coastline and stopping off to have a picnic and spend some time with my family there.

A surprise for me:

It was initially quite difficult to find people to speak to in my area.  Although, having said that, those who came forward were keen to participate and help the project.  I am, however,  indebted to my mother, who came up with lots of suggestions of people to reach out to.  But it felt quite sad when people would tell me that many of the folks who had great stories in this area, and some great characters too, are no longer with us.

My memorable story:

A story told by Neil MacKinnon of Heaste about Boreraig. On the day the village was cleared in 1853, a mother of twins was asked by the factor for a bowl of cold water.  She got a bowl and went to fill it from the wooden pail outside.  But before she could fill it, she was ordered to go and collect fresh water from the well.  She walked to the well and when she was half way home she saw the flames of her house on fire.  She had left her twin boys in a cradle inside.  But, thankfully, they had taken the cradle out of the house.

I was aware that Boreraig had been brutally cleared, having visited on a history field trip in S1 and many times since, but to hear a personal story like this felt very hard hitting.

A place I was inspired to visit:

I felt (and still feel) inspired to visit most of the places I heard stories about.  In particular, I wanted to spend time in some of the cleared villages, such as Boreraig, to imagine the stories I heard taking place and the life that was once there.
I also walked to Boreraig with my accordion and played some music to pay my respects to the people who lived there.

A surprise for me:

Of course – but to learn those stories, you’ll have to visit the place yourself.

My memorable story:

The stories that stirred me  most were ones that highlighted the resourcefulness of people, and ones that gave you a sense of how connected people were to the land, sky and seas surrounding them.

A place I was inspired to visit:

With such a wealth of information within the app, I really believe it will encourage slow tourism, prompting people to take their time in and to listen and learn about the places they visit.   I think I’m just looking forward to doing the same – getting to know all the unique attributes and intricacies of each featured area, and learning about the wider (and often unknown) impacts these places had.

A surprise for me:

I always knew that Oban and the surrounding areas were important to the war effort, but I never really imagined what impact it had on the lives of local people.

My memorable story:

Two hundred galleys and twenty thousand men based in Oban Bay! This was in the mid 1200s and was a Norse fleet under King Haakon IV.

A place I was inspired to visit:

I went up to Pulpit Hill to get a view across the entire bay and over to kerrera to try and imagine the Norse fleet.

A surprise for me:

The realisation that there are stories all around you, in things you walk past every day but don’t question. I loved learning about all the little things about my town that people forget or never knew.

My memorable story:

The story of Elizabeth Tait being the first woman to record a time to run Ben Nevis in 1903. The newspaper clipping of her advertising an eczema pill she was prescribed by a local doctor as the reason for her good strength and health amused me.

A place I was inspired to visit:

In search of the Jacobite gold at Loch Arkaig! I’ve spent many hours there wandering the glens and lochside imagining where it might have been hidden.

A surprise for me:

I was pleasantly surprised by the overwhelmingly positive response to story sharing across the west coast, as I got to read each of the vast number of stories submitted.

My memorable story:

Learning about ‘Operation Cauldron’ off the coast of Lewis was fascinating, and something I knew nothing about before. There was a novel written about it by D.S Murray in 2021, so I’m intrigued to find out more behind the story.

A place I was inspired to visit:

So many places! There was so much rich content that inspired me, I’m not sure where to start… I did find the talk on Scarp really fascinating, an island off Harris which is somewhere I’ve never been before, and would definitely appreciate in a different way now.

A surprise for me:

I had not appreciated how active the waters were around Arran in past centuries.  It was normal for people to catch a ferry to travel to other villages on the island as the tracks were so poor.  It seems that the island was so much better served with transport to the mainland and in particular the route between Blackwaterfoot and Campbeltown was very popular.   One particular revelation has stuck with me: that a girl living in Lochranza was more familiar with Campbeltown than she was with Brodick (the main village on Arran) because the route to Brodick was so poor – but she would pop across the water to Campbeltown most weeks.

My memorable story:

I was intrigued and entertained by all of the stories that described the antics that whole communities adopted to escape or trick the exciseman.  Arran Water (illicit Whisky) was especially sought after because of the quality of the water on the island and as such was a valuable commodity, hence many families would have their own illicit still, and communities worked together to get their illicit produce to the mainland.  Some stories told of success and the fun of tricking the exciseman, some ended in tragedy and many ended in a prison sentence!  Every story demonstrated the spirit of the people of Arran!

A place I was inspired to visit:

I headed straight to Kildonan to track down the dinosaur footprint – which I found!

A surprise for me:

The willingness of folk wanting to share their stories and desire to save them for future generations. Also how hardy the folk were and are on the West Coast – dealing with the remoteness and sometimes the hard and difficult times in which they lived.

My memorable story:

The Story of Miss M E M Donaldson – the first ethnographer to record and photograph the traditional way of life on the West Coast, building her home in Sanna back in 1925. One story that a local recounted about Miss Donaldson and her life in Sanna. “One of the stories was about my mother and her 7 siblings being invited to a Christmas party at Sanna Bheag with their cousins and other local children. They were all very excited that their parents allowed them to go. However, when they were being collected at the end of the party, the adults were horrified to see the children dancing round a Christmas tree! In those days, in free church families, that was considered a heathen way to behave”

A place I was inspired to visit:

Camas Nan Geall – a sacred site – the neolithic chambered cairn and Bronze Age Standing stone.

A surprise for me:

The oral history that our older generations hold never ceases to amaze me.

My memorable story:

The strong handshake of James Robertson, the minister of Clachan at Lochbroom. In 1746, he travelled to London to plead for the release of his Jacobite parishioners (though not a Jacobite himself), who were destined for exile or execution. He became known as the “Strong Minister” due to his physical strength and the firmness of his handshake is said to have been enough to influence the decision to have the mean returned home.

A place I was inspired to visit:

It isn’t just the number of places to see after collecting the stories, it is the inspiration to continue talking to people, wherever they come from, to listen to their stories and tales!

A surprise for me:

I was surprised that many younger people on the island weren’t aware of many of the stories about the island.

My memorable story:

I cannot decide between two favourites. Blàr Traigh Gruinneart brings back old memories of my mother’s aunt pointing out to me the very tree from which Dubh Sith fire his arrow at Maclean. As it would have to have been about 600 years old it was obviously a story.  But you don’t realise this when you only 4 years old. The other one is the fact that the Round Church was built round so that the devil couldn’t lurk in any corners.

A place I was inspired to visit:

I visited a number of the sites again   It was a great feeling to reconnect with an older time.

A surprise for me:

I think for me it was just how much fun was had in the community.

My memorable story:

The story of the local girl who accidentally hit a wild wallaby when driving home, phoning her dad to come and help. They took the Wallaby home overnight and released it the next day back into the wild.

A place I was inspired to visit:

I want to explore the places where some of the stories came from and talk to more locals about other stories they might have.