A History of the Road between Dingwall and Poolewe

From the written evidence of secondary sources and maps on the maps.nls and Scotlandspeople websites

by Meryl Marshall

Background

In the years before the 18^th Century the Highlands were regarded as a hostile backward country, travelling was difficult, there were few visitors and many journeys were made by boat. In 1793 George Brown reported that,

The most necessary and useful line of road betwixt East and West Sea through the four Northern Counties of Scotland […] is a line across the county of Ross from the town of Dingwall on the head of the Cromarty Firth, to Poolewe on the west coast by Contin, Strath Garve, Kanloch Laygart, Strath Brain and Caimsey to the junction of the river of Ew with the sea. Here the Lewis packet boat passes and it is the great line of communication to Inverness, Dingwall and […] that part of the coast which abounds with valuable fishing lochs. At a place called Auchnasheen a branch should break off and go westwards to Loch Carron and at Kenloch Ew another branch should turn off to Loch Torridon.

General Report H R & B 1803

In 1772, Pennant writes that Poolewe “is the station of a government packet that sails regularly from hence to Stornoway in Lewis […]This is a spot of much concourse; for here terminates the military road which crosses from the east to the west sea” (1998 p333). Over the years this route has seen many changes. Today the area around Gairloch and Poolewe is well known for its outstanding scenery and is frequented by a multitude of holiday visitors, some even choosing to spend their retirement here. This account explores the checkered history of the route.

Poolewe to Achnasheen – Johnson 1834

Haldane writes that there are “authentic records of a regular post to Lewis in 1756” (Haldane 1971 p175) and Dixon has “the post runner came from Dingwall by Strath Braan and Glen Dochartie to the head of Loch Maree then along the east (north) side of the loch via Letterewe to Poolewe”, coming “to Poolewe on Wednesdays and Saturdays walking “through the Rock” ie Bull Rock” (Dixon 1886 p147-148).

In 1786 John Knox reports that he had sailed from Stornoway to Poolewe in a small unseaworthy vessel used for the transport of cattle (Haldane 1997 p107). From the early 18^th century the export of cattle was important to the Highland economy. The beasts reared in the Outer Isles of Lewis and Harris were shipped from Stornoway to Poolewe before being “driven” south to the markets of Crieff and Falkirk. The New Statistical Account of 1845 for Stornoway records that near the town, “there is a square mile of moor enclosed for a cattle tryst where several thousand head are exposed for sale and at least 2,000 change hands in 2 days; from 20 to 30 drovers come from the Mainland and some from England”.

The First Road

Following the risings of 1715 and 1719 the Government undertook the construction of a network of roads to facilitate communications throughout the Highlands and suppress the Highland rebels. The project was supervised initially by General Wade and then until 1767 by Major William Caulfeild. The labour force was provided at first by the military and in later years, when the budget was reduced, by unskilled labourers (Haldane 1962 p8-9). The Dingwall/Poolewe road, built c1763-1768, was one of the later roads. The course of the road is marked on maps of 1793 and 1811 ( RHP11597, RHP11674 and RHP11675) and annotated “old road” (see Scotlandspeople website).

RHP11674  Plan of proposed road between Achnasheen and Loch Maree 1811

Sarclet Harbour, Caithness

by Anne Coombs

Figure 1: Looking out to sea

Caithness at the end of the 18^th century was an exciting place to be.  While maybe not the centre of the world, it was home to some of the big names of the time.  Sir John Sinclair, ‘Agricultural’ Sir John, of Ulbster is a name we should all know.  He instigated the Old Statistical Accounts of Scotland, an amazing resource which is often the first place we look for details of life in the 1780s and 90s.  His name appears in many of the forward-thinking documents of the time, not just the OSA, he was author of the General View of the Agriculture of the Northern Counties.  He was a member of the British Fisheries Society and a Trustee of the Board for the Improvement of Fisheries and Manufactures along with his near neighbours in Sutherland, George Dempster of Dunnichen, founder of Spinningdale mill, and Lord Gower, later the Marquise of Stafford and then the Duke of Sutherland. 

This group instigated several moneymaking (Improvement) schemes, one of the most successful was the development of the herring fishing industry off the coast of Caithness during the 19^th century.  The British Fisheries Society was responsible for building Pultneytown immediately south of the Wick River.  It was laid out by Thomas Telford in 1786 and was so successful it became known as ‘Herringopolis’ with the harbour so full of fishing boats which meant you could walk across it without touching water.  But Pultneytown was just one of many harbours developed along the coast of Caithness during this period.

Figure 2: Storehouse, well and track to top of cliff

Experimental Archaeology: Learning about Technologies in the Past

by Susan Kruse (ARCH and NOSAS)

Thanks to funding from Historic Environment Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund, ARCH launched an exciting project ‘Experimental Archaeology: Learning about Technologies in the Past’ in October 2017. The project had three main strands. In the first year, 13 experimental archaeology days and 10 school visits took place where craftspeople demonstrated and explained different technologies used in the past. The workshops were filmed and the edited videos and blogs for each workshop can be accessed on the ARCH website.

Jim Glazzard at the Viking ring silver workshop

In the second year, the objects resulting from these workshops will then be used to create loans boxes which will be freely available to borrow. Our workshop leaders often generously provided more than one object. An archaeologist and teacher will now work together to create learning materials, so that the loans box and videos of the experimental sessions can be used in schools and other groups. The project already has attracted a wide and diverse audience, and we hope that the loans boxes will also contribute to this legacy.

The idea for the project emerged from North Kessock & District Local History Society’s Feats of Clay project, where ARCH helped facilitate a visit by Neil Burridge who demonstrated Bronze Age metalworking. Everyone in the audience was caught up in the excitement of the day, and learned so much about how objects were made, what raw materials were needed, and how craftsmen in the past managed without gauges and modern equipment.

Neil Burridge at the Bronze Metaworking workshop

In the first year 13 workshops took place, one a month, each showcasing a skill from the past, spanning from earliest settlers to more recent times. The workshops were exciting to attend, but were also filmed.