1.
Oban
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Oban is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William, during the tourist season, the town can play host to up to 25,000 people. Oban occupies a setting in the Firth of Lorn, the bay is a near perfect horseshoe, protected by the island of Kerrera, and beyond Kerrera, the Isle of Mull. To the north, is the long low island of Lismore, the site where Oban now stands has been used by humans since at least mesolithic times, as evidenced by archaeological remains of cave dwellers found in the town. Just outside the town stands Dunollie Castle, on a site that overlooks the entrance to the bay and has been fortified since the Bronze age. Prior to the 19th century, the town itself supported very few households, sustaining only minor fishing, trading, shipbuilding and quarrying industries, and a few hardy tourists. The Renfrew trading company established a storehouse there in about 1714 as an outlet for its merchandise. The modern town of Oban grew up around the distillery, which was founded there in 1794, the town was raised to a burgh of barony in 1811 by royal charter. Sir Walter Scott visited the area in 1814, the year in which he published his poem The Lord of the Isles, the arrival of the railways in the 1880s brought further prosperity, revitalising local industry and giving new energy to tourism. Shortly thereafter, McCaigs Tower, a folly and prominent local landmark, was constructed, during World War II, Oban was used by Merchant and Royal Navy ships and was an important base in the Battle of the Atlantic. The Royal Navy had a station near Ganavan, and an anti-submarine indicator loop station. There was a minefield in the Sound of Kerrera, which was operated from a building near the caravan site at Gallanach. There was also a Royal Air Force flying boat base at Ganavan and on Kerrera, a Sector Operations Room was built near the airfield, after the war, this was extended to become the Royal Observer Corps Group HQ. Oban was also important during the Cold War because the first Transatlantic Telephone Cable came ashore at Gallanach Bay and this carried the Hot Line between the US and USSR presidents. Since the 1950s, the industry has remained tourism, though the town is also an important ferry port. As with the rest of the British Isles, Oban experiences a climate with cool summers. The nearest official Met Office weather station for which records are available is Dunstaffnage. Rainfall is high, but thanks to the Gulf stream the temperature falls below zero
2.
Scottish Gaelic
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Scottish Gaelic or Scots Gaelic, sometimes also referred to as Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish. The 2011 census of Scotland showed that a total of 57,375 people in Scotland could speak Gaelic at that time, the census results indicate a decline of 1,275 Gaelic speakers from 2001. A total of 87,056 people in 2011 reported having some facility with Gaelic compared to 93,282 people in 2001, only about half of speakers were fully literate in the language. Nevertheless, revival efforts exist and the number of speakers of the language under age 20 has increased, Scottish Gaelic is neither an official language of the European Union nor the United Kingdom. Outside Scotland, a group of dialects collectively known as Canadian Gaelic are spoken in parts of Atlantic Canada, mainly Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In the 2011 census, there were 7,195 total speakers of Gaelic languages in Canada, with 1,365 in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island where the responses mainly refer to Scottish Gaelic. About 2,320 Canadians in 2011 also claimed Gaelic languages as their mother tongue, with over 300 in Nova Scotia, aside from Scottish Gaelic, the language may also be referred to simply as Gaelic. In Scotland, the word Gaelic in reference to Scottish Gaelic specifically is pronounced, outside Ireland and Great Britain, Gaelic may refer to the Irish language. Scottish Gaelic should not be confused with Scots, the Middle English-derived language varieties which had come to be spoken in most of the Lowlands of Scotland by the modern era. Prior to the 15th century, these dialects were known as Inglis by its own speakers, from the late 15th century, however, it became increasingly common for such speakers to refer to Scottish Gaelic as Erse and the Lowland vernacular as Scottis. Today, Scottish Gaelic is recognised as a language from Irish. Gaelic in Scotland was mostly confined to Dál Riata until the 8th century, when it began expanding into Pictish areas north of the Firth of Forth, by 900, Pictish appears to have become extinct, completely replaced by Gaelic. An exception might be made for the Northern Isles, however, however, though the Pictish language did not disappear suddenly, a process of Gaelicisation was clearly underway during the reigns of Caustantín and his successors. By a certain point, probably during the 11th century, all the inhabitants of Alba had become fully Gaelicised Scots, by the 10th century, Gaelic had become the dominant language throughout northern and western Scotland, the Gaelo-Pictic Kingdom of Alba. Its spread to southern Scotland, was even and totalizing. Place name analysis suggests dense usage of Gaelic in Galloway and adjoining areas to the north and west as well as in West Lothian, less dense usage is suggested for north Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, the Clyde Valley and eastern Dumfriesshire. In south-eastern Scotland, there is no evidence that Gaelic was ever widely spoken, the area shifted from Cumbric to Old English during its long incorporation into the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria
3.
Hut
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A hut is a primitive dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. A hut is a shape of a lower quality than a house, huts exist in practically all nomadic cultures. Some huts are transportable and can stand most conditions of weather, the designs in tropical and sub-tropical areas favour high airflow configurations built from non-conducting materials, which allow heat dissipation. The term house or home is considered by some to be more appropriate, in the Western world the word hut is often used for a wooden shed. The term has also adopted by climbers and backpackers to refer to a more solid. These vary from simple bothies – which are more than very basic shelters – to mountain huts that are far more luxurious. Apparently first in English as a military word, old Saxon hutta, Danish hytte, Swedish hytta, Frisian and Middle Dutch hutte, Dutch hut are from High German. Huts are used by shepherds when moving livestock between seasonal grazing areas such as mountainous and lowland pastures and they are also commonly used by backpackers and other travelers in rural areas. Some displaced populations of people use throughout the world during a diaspora. For example, temporary collectors in the agricultural workers at plantations in the Amazon jungle. Huts have been built for other than as a dwelling such as storage, workshops. Balok – A Siberian wilderness hut made of logs, usually communal, used by hunters, fishermen, some baloks are mobile and mounted on sleds. Bothy – Originally a one-room hut for men farm workers in the United Kingdom, burdei or bordei – a dugout or pit-house with a sod roof in Ukraine, Canada Cabana – an open shelter Chozo also spelled chozo – Spanish for hut, term also used in Mexico. Designed 1940 for barrack accommodation Lodge is a term for a hut or cabin such as a log cabin or cottage. Lodge is used to refer to a tipi, sweat lodge, and hunting, fishing, skiing, and safari lodge. Mitato – A small, dry stone hut in Greece Orri – A French dry stone, rondavel – Central and South Africa Sheiling – Originally a temporary shelter or hut for shepherds, now may be a stone building. Sod house – A pioneer house type on the American Plains where wood was scarce, construction often does not require specialized tools or knowledge. Hut is used to name commercial stores, companies, and concepts, the name implies a small, casual venue, often with a fun and friendly atmosphere
4.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
5.
Transhumance
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Transhumance is a type of nomadism or pastoralism, a seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions, it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower valleys in winter, herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Generally only the travel, with a certain number of people necessary to tend them. In contrast, horizontal transhumance is more susceptible to being disrupted by climatic, economic or political change, traditional or fixed transhumance occurs or has occurred throughout the inhabited world, particularly Europe and western Asia. It is often of importance to pastoralist societies, as the dairy products of transhumance flocks. In many languages there are words for the summer pastures. The term transhumance is also used in correlation with nomadic pastoralism – the regular migration of people. The word transhumance comes from French and derives from the Latin words trans across, transhumance developed on every inhabited continent. Although there are cultural and technological variations, the underlying practices for taking advantage of remote seasonal pastures are similar. Transhumance is a form of pastoralism or nomadism, in the Balkans, the Sarakatsani, Aromanian and Yörük peoples traditionally spent summer months in the mountains and returned to lower plains in the winter. When the area was part of the Austro-Hungary and Ottoman empires, in summer, some groups went as far north as the Balkan Mountains, and they would spend the winter on warmer plains in the vicinity of the Aegean Sea. The Morlach were a population of Vlach shepherds who lived in the Dinaric Alps, but as national states appeared in the area of the former Ottoman Empire, new state borders were developed that divided the summer and winter habitats of many of the pastoral groups. These prevented easy movement across borders, particularly at times of war, in most parts of Wales, farm workers and sometimes the farmer would spend the summer months at a hillside summer house, or hafod, where the livestock would graze. During the late autumn the farm family and workers would drive the flocks down to the valleys, both Hafod and Hendref survive in Wales as place names and house names. Today, cattle and sheep that summer on many farms are still transported to lowland winter pastures. In many hilly and mountainous areas of Scotland, agricultural workers spent summer months in bothies or shielings, major drovers roads in the eastern part of Scotland include the Cairnamounth, Elsick Mounth and Causey Mounth. This practice has died out, but was practised within living memory in the Hebridean Islands. Today much transhumance is carried out by truck, with upland flocks being transported under agistment to lower-lying pasture during winter, in southern England, where the climate is mild and the hills low, transhumance historically took the opposite form to more mountainous areas
6.
Laggan, Badenoch
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Laggan is a village in Badenoch, in the Highland region of Scotland. It is beside the River Spey, about 10 km west of Newtonmore, the A86 road passes through the village and crosses the river on a nearby bridge. It is notable as being the region in Badenoch where the Gaelic language survived the longest, nearby Visitor attractions include, Ruins of the Pictish fort of Dun da Lamh near Strathmashie, Laggan. The Laggan Wolftrax, a mountain biking centre located in the nearby Strathmashie Forest and this facility, owned by the Forestry Commission, features over 17 kilometres of purpose-built trails. Pottery Coffee Shop and Bunkhouse, on the A889 road between Dalwhinnie and Laggan offers Homely Bunkhouse and Great Home-baked cafe, http, //www. laggan. com/ Laggan website Map sources for Laggan, Badenoch
7.
Calluna
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Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is the dominant plant in most heathland and moorland in Europe and it is tolerant of grazing and regenerates following occasional burning, and is often managed in nature reserves and grouse moors by sheep or cattle grazing, and also by light burning. The specific epithet vulgaris is Latin for common, Calluna is differentiated from Erica by its corolla and calyx each being in four parts instead of five. Calluna has small scale-leaves borne in opposite and decussate pairs, whereas those of Erica are generally larger and in whorls of 3-4, the flowers emerge in late summer, in wild plants these are normally mauve, but white-flowered plants also occur occasionally. They are terminal in racemes with sepal-like bracts at the base with a superior ovary, unlike Erica, Calluna sometimes sports double flowers. Calluna is sometimes referred to as Summer heather to distinguish it from winter or spring flowering species of Erica, Calluna is native to Europe, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the Azores. It has been introduced many other places worldwide with suitable climates, including North America, Australia, New Zealand. Despised until the 19th century for its associations with the most rugged rural poverty and it is a very popular ornamental plant in gardens and for landscaping, in lime-free areas where it will thrive, but has defeated many a gardener on less acid soil. There are many named cultivars, selected for variation in colour and for different foliage colour. Different cultivars have flower colours ranging from white, through pink and a range of purples. The flowering season with different cultivars extends from late July to November in the northern hemisphere, the flowers may turn brown but still remain on the plants over winter, and this can lead to interesting decorative effects. Cultivars with ornamental foliage are usually selected for reddish and golden leaf colour, a few forms can be silvery grey. Many of the ornamental foliage forms change colour with the onset of winter weather, some forms are grown for distinctive young spring foliage. Cultivars include ‘Beoley Crimson’, ‘Boskoop’, ‘Cuprea’, Firefly, ‘Long White’, willow Grouse and Red Grouse feed on the young shoots and seeds of this plant. Both adult and larva of the Heather Beetle Lochmaea suturalis feed on it, the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species also feed on the plant, notably the small emperor moth Saturnia pavonia. Formerly heather was used to dye wool yellow and to tan leather, with malt, heather is an ingredient in gruit, a mixture of flavourings used in the brewing of heather-beer during the Middle Ages before the use of hops. The use of heather in the brewing of modern heather beer is carefully regulated, by law, the heather must be cleaned carefully before brewing, as the undersides of the leaves may contain a dusting of an ergot-like fungus, which is a hallucinogenic intoxicant. From time immemorial heather has been used for making besoms, a practice recorded in Buy Broom Buzzems a song written by William Purvis from Newcastle-upon-Tyne
8.
Moorland
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Moorland nowadays generally means uncultivated hill land, but includes low-lying wetlands. It is closely related to heath although experts disagree on precisely what distinguishes the types of vegetation, generally, moor refers to highland, high rainfall zones, whereas heath refers to lowland zones which are more likely to be the result of human activity. Most of the worlds moorlands are very diverse ecosystems, in the extensive moorlands of the tropics biodiversity can be extremely high. Moorland also bears a relationship to tundra, appearing as the tundra retreats, the boundary between tundra and moorland constantly shifts with climate change. Heathland and moorland are the most extensive areas of vegetation in the British Isles. The eastern British moorlands are similar to heaths but are differentiated by having a covering of peat, on western moors the peat layer may be several metres thick. There is uncertainty about how many moors were created by human activity, how much the deforestation was caused by climatic changes and how much by human activity is uncertain. A variety of habitat types are found in different world regions of moorland. The wildlife and vegetation forms often lead to high endemism because of the severe soil, for example, in Englands Exmoor is found the rare horse breed the Exmoor Pony, which has adapted to the harsh conditions of that environment. In Europe, the fauna consists of bird species such as red grouse, hen harrier, merlin, golden plover, curlew, skylark, meadow pipit, whinchat, ring ouzel. Other species dominate in moorlands elsewhere, reptiles are few due to the cooler conditions. In Europe, only the common viper is frequent, though in other regions moorlands are commonly home to dozens of reptile species, amphibians such as frogs are well represented in moorlands. When moorland is overgrazed, woody vegetation is often lost, being replaced by coarse, unpalatable grasses and bracken, some hill sheep breeds, such as Scottish Blackface and the Lonk, thrive on the austere conditions of heather moors. Burning of moorland has been practised for a number of reasons and this is recorded in Britain in the fourteenth century. Uncontrolled burning frequently caused problems, and was forbidden by statute in 1607, with the rise of sheep and grouse management in the nineteenth century it again became common practice. Heather is burnt at about 10 or 12 years old when it will regenerate easily, left longer, the woodier stems will burn more aggressively and will hinder regrowth. Burning of moorland vegetation needs to be carefully controlled as the peat itself can catch fire. In addition, uncontrolled burning of heather can promote alternative bracken, as a result, burning is now a controversial practice, Rackham calls it second-best land management
9.
Loch Langavat
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Loch Langavat is the name of several freshwater lochs in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The name is a Gaelic rendition of Old Norse lang long and vatn, most of these lochs are on the island of Lewis and Harris Loch Langavat is a loch in the Ness district of Lewis. It lies midway between the Butt of Lewis and Tolsta Head,12 miles northeast of Stornoway, Loch Langabhat is the biggest freshwater loch on Lewis. It is over 7 miles long and at the head of the Grimersta system, with scenery and frequent sightings of golden eagles. The loch is fished for salmon and brown trout, the loch lies at 33 metres above sea level, its total area is 906.5 hectares and its maximum depth 30 metres. Loch Langabhat is a small north of Carlabhagh, Lewis. Loch Langabhat is a small loch northwest of Gress, Lewis, Loch Langabhat is a loch about 700 m long west of Amhuinnsuidhe, Harris. Loch Langabhat in central Harris is in a valley and more than 4 kilometres long. There is another Loch Langabhat on Benbecula at NF827490, which is over 4 kilometres long, according to Sinclair, John Macaulay, known as Iain Ruadh MacDhughaill, was celebrated as a hunter. He was drowned in Loch Langabhat whilst swimming to an Island in the middle of that lake, a large stone marks the spot on which his body was laid after it was taken out of the water. His bereaved mother used to visit this spot on almost every Wednesday of the year and he was born about the year 1600. It is not clear which of the Loch Langavats this incident refers to, murray, Sir John and Pullar, Laurence Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897-1909. Sinclair, Alexander Maclean The Gaelic bards, from 1411 to 1517 Edinburgh, J. Thin
10.
Lewis
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Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides. The total area of Lewis is 683 square miles, Lewis is, in general, the lower-lying part of the island, the other part, Harris, is more mountainous. Due to its flatter, more land, Lewis contains three-quarters of the population of the Western Isles. The islands diverse habitats are home to an assortment of flora and fauna, such as the eagle, red deer and seal. Lewis has a Presbyterian tradition and a rich history and it was once part of the Norse Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. Today, life is different from elsewhere in Scotland, with Sabbath observance. Lewis has a cultural heritage as can be seen from its myths and legends as well as the local literary. The Gaelic name Leòdhas may be derived from Norse Ljoðahús, although other origins have been suggested – most notably the Gaelic leogach and it is probably the place referred to as Limnu by Ptolemy, which also means marshy. It is also known as the Isle of Lewis, another name usually used in a cultural or poetic context is Eilean an Fhraoich. Although this refers to the whole of the island of Lewis and Harris, the earliest archaeological remains date from about 5,000 years ago. At that time, people began to settle in permanent farms rather than following their herds, the small houses of these people have been found throughout the Western Isles, in particular, at Dail Mhor, Carloway. The more striking great monuments of this period are the temples, about 500 BC, island society moved into the Iron Age. The buildings became larger and more prominent, culminating in the brochs – circular, the best remaining example of a broch in Lewis is at Dùn Chàrlabhaigh. The Scots arrived during the first centuries AD, bringing the Gaelic language with them, as Christianity began to spread through the islands in the 6th and later centuries, following Columban missionaries, Lewis was inhabited by the Picts. In the 9th century AD, the Vikings began to settle on Lewis, the Norse invaders intermarried with local people and abandoned their pagan beliefs. At that time, rectangular buildings began to round ones. Lewis became part of the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, the Lewis chessmen, found on the island in 1831, date from the time of Viking rule. The people were called the Norse Gaels or Gall-Ghàidheil, reflecting their mixed Scandinavian/Gaelic background, the Norse language persists in many island placenames and some personal names to this day, although the latter are fairly evenly spread across the Gàidhealtachd
