Does Remote Loch an Tachdaidh Contain a Crannog?

by Roland Spencer-Jones

This remote loch is far from any normal vehicular access. The boundary between Attadale and Pait estates runs roughly SW-NE through the middle of the loch. Approach routes to the loch are from Pait on Loch Monar to the NE, Attadale towards the head of Loch Carron in the W, and Killilan via Strath Duilleach and the Iron Lodge to the SW. There are three islands in the loch, two of which are of interest.

OS maps showing location of Loch Tachdaidh

Historic Environment Scotland’s Canmore (ID 12075) and Highland Council Historic Environment Record (MHG44808 [Causeway] & MHG7444 [the island itself]) both describe the same features of a possibly artificial island in the southern part of Loch an Cladaidh. It is linked to a promontory on the south shore by two causeways to the SW and the NE.

The two historical references to this possible crannog are:

Odo Blundell’s 1913 paper: Further Notes on the Artificial Islands in the Highland Area. PSAS, vol XLVII, p 281:

The Gead Loch. He quotes correspondence with a local minister, the Rev. D. Mackay, Marydale, Strathglass who reports: “In this loch, which is just across the boundary between Ross-shire and Inverness-shire there are two entirely artificial islands, one of them with an evident causeway to the shore”.

Ordnance Survey visit by (NKB) 24th October 1966:

There are no crannogs on An Gead Loch, but at NH 0955 3797 about 15.0m from the S shore of Loch an Tachdaidh, there is a natural island 40.0 by 26.0m and 2.0m high, connected to the mainland by a well-defined causeway 3.5m. wide and protruding about 0.2m above the surface. There are no structures on the island.

As described above, Blundell recorded local knowledge of two crannogs in 1913 in An Gead Loch, which the OS names as the loch just to the north-east of Loch an Tachdaich, separated from it by a short river.  However, local tradition calls all three lochs here “The Gead Lochs”. There are no potential crannogs in the OS’s An Gead Loch, so it is fair to assume that the islands in Loch an Tachdaidh are the ones to which Blundell refers. 

The 1966 OS survey report states that the island 15m from the south-east shore is natural but the causeway to it is man made. After investigating it, that is our conclusion too. The island towards the SE shore of the loch is centred at NH 09580 37988, with two causeways:

• Southwest Causeway – NW end: NH 09572 37970, SE end: NH 09585 37958
• Eastern Causeway – NW end: NH 09595 37987, SE end: NH 09612 37978

Looking NW across Loch an Tachdaidh from the shoreline track. Note the proximal island we investigated. Of the two distal islands, the other potential crannog is on the R (Glenn Wilks).