No 10 - BACK TO THE OUTER HEBRIDES ISLES
After leaving Tomatin near Inverness we headed to Ullapool over on the west coast of Scotland. After an over night here we took the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. Caledonia is the latin name the Romans gave to Scotland. MacBrayne have been operating ferries for many years.
Between Inverness and Ullapool we drove through some more higher peaks. The snow of the previous week had started to melt.
Another snow lined loch just before we descended down to the coast and Ullapool.
The Boat Inn right on the water front is where we stayed in Ullapool.
Christmas lights - Ullapool style. Being on the coast one of Ullapool's main industries is fishing..... including crayfish. So ...... having plenty of cray pots around, what would you make a Christmas tree out of?
A close up of the Christmas tree reveals 100's of cray pots.
The next morning the wind had pickup as we departed - Ullapool is disappearing in the distance.
Nancy relaxing ...... well no not really. The weather forecast for the passage was for strong winds so she was a little apprehensive.
During the passage the cloud base lowered and the wind increased with some rain. These modern vessels are equiped with stabilisers which made for a reasonably comfortable passage. We observed the weather from behind double gazed windows and a heated cabin. There was hot food available, children and adult entertainment areas etc. A far cry from what the original 'boat people', I mean our ancestors, arriving in Australia in the 1800s would have had to endure.
The next day we drove to the very northern tip of the Isle of Lewis, named the Butt of Lewis. Beyond the lighthouse is the Atlantic Ocean and the next land is Greenland and then Canada. The wind here was such that we had to be careful not to open two car doors at the same time.
This stretch of coastline is pounded by the elements.
Grazing on these windy cliffs are these sturdy sheep. The wool from these sheep is what is made into the now famous Harris Tweed.
Researched had shown that Bryan's great great grandmother an Isabella MacKay's family came from a place called Reef (Riof), in Uig and area on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. More about Reef later. Anyway, we believed that an uncle of Isabella, Donald MacKay ended up in Cros in northern Lewis. See map below.
In recent years across the Outer Hebrides Isles there has been a strong move to record history and reinvigorate the Gaelic language. A foundation of this move has been to establish a network of museums. We dropped into the local museum and were quickly talking with Annie Macsween the local genealogist. In a matter of minutes she had worked out that there were direct descendants of Donald MacKay still living in Cros. A phone call was made and before we knew we were greeting John Mackay (below).
Annie Macsween the local genealogist is also cousin of John's.
Back to Reef in Uig, pronounced, 'oo-ig'.
For some time in my research I was unable to find Reef. On the old Gaelic map below just to the right of the centre on north side of Loch Rog is Riof, which translates from Gaelic to Reef/Reeff in English. Reef has a sad history - the Land Clearances (cleared of people not trees).
In the period before the clearances, crofts had been established. These were small farms which families would rent from the landlord. They were not large enough to support a family however the crofters could work in the kelp industry to supplement their income. This worked well until the kelp market collapsed. Around this same time the potato fungi that effected potato crops in Ireland the 1840s also had similar devastating impact in these Scottish Isles.
In 1849 the Reef area was cleared of people by the landlord, a man named James Matherson to make way for large sheep farmers as this would provide more income for him. At this time Donald MacKay was moved to Cros in north Lewis. Others went to Canada. Donald's brother Murdo had moved south to North Uist. His family were cleared from the North Uist area in 1852 to Australia. This was a time of great distress and major upheaval in these Isles.
John and Mary Ann Macivor at the Uig Museum were very helpful and arranged for us to meet a Donald Morrison who had lived in Reef all his life.
Donald Morrison and Bryan at the An Suileachan (pronounced an-sool- ee-han) memorial in Reef. This memorial is located on a hill which overlooks the Reef area where the MacKays came from.
From the memorial looking south east towards Loch Rog (now spelt Roag) is where the main part of Reef village stood. From the loch the land rises to rocky hills. There are few trees. The 'Song of the Sea' is how the locals refer to the the relentless noise of the wind and waves pounding the Atlantic coast just a short distance away.
Looking west more rocky hills with small grass areas in between.
Looking north from the memorial are the lower mors (lower flood prone areas) and mach airs (coastal plains) areas of Reef. A crofter would have had a house in the village plus some acres down on the moors.
The memorial is made from rocks gathered from the remains of old dwellings. It is made in the shape of the old 'black houses'.
Since Reef was cleared in 1849 there have been numerous moves to allow people to return to their ancestral properties. The authorities held an enquiry and then made numerous promises to give the crofters a better deal. By 1913 none of these promises had been acted on so local people began to agitate. They broke down fences and moved sheep off the landlord's estate. Some ended up in prison. The Suileachan Memorial commemorates these people. Four of the names below are Mackays. In the early 1920s this land was finally handed back to the local people.
The An Suileachan story in more detail.
Below are some old remains of old houses that once stood in Reef.
On the way south, Reef from the south side of Loch Roag looking north.
Our time in these islands is coming to an end. Starting our journey south we stopped at Tarbet on the Isle of Harris. Below is the East Loch at Tarbet.
We write this blog to you on Christmas Eve from Onich (near Glencoe). We drove through this area about 2 1/2 weeks ago with Laura. There was a good covering of snow. The temperature got up to 12 degrees yesterday. This has resulted in most of the snow having melted. Yesterday Bryan had a man complaining about the hot weather. It was 11 degrees at the time. There is more colder weather coming.
Blessings to you all. Have a Happy Christmas.
On Thursday we leave here and drive to Wales. Nancy has a second cousin there she has never met, but has made arrangements to meet up with her and her husband just after New Year.
Travel well and stay safe.
Bryan and Nancy
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