Image Details
It had been a number of years since I visited Badachro with the intent of photographing it. I decided to make my way to the viewpoint I had used before to see how things looked now. This view, taken from the hill behind the village, shows part of the village and the waters of Caolas Bad a’ Chròtha beyond.
A considerable number of new houses had been built. I can understand why people want to live in the West Highlands but the continued building of new houses all over the west coast is gradually destroying that which makes it an attractive place to stay. I am not picking out Badachro as a particularly bad example of the seemingly unstoppable new build, it is happening elsewhere.
Badachro reputedly has a high number of 'holiday' homes contributing to assertions by some that it has become a ghost village with a reduced sense of community. This accusation has been made in a book entitled 'White settlers: The Impact of Rural Repopulation in Scotland' by M. Charles Jȩdrej and Mark Nuttall published by Harwood Academic Publishers GmbH in 1996.
I write this in 2009 and am unable to say to what extent the assertions made in this book apply today, but I do know there is an unrelenting pressure on land in our National Scenic Areas for new homes. Our Planning system makes some provision by way of policies to protect scenic beauty but in my experience they are paid lip service by councils, other public agencies, and by developers whose only interest is in making a profit.
Badachro still remains a beautiful place, lets hope it remains so.
North-west Highland Place Names
The landscape of the North-west Highlands and the Gaelic language are intimately connected. Other languages have contributed to the richness of our place names, notably Norse, but the North-west Highlands have for centuries been a Gaelic landscape. In listing the meanings of place names I have relied on authoritative sources wherever possible. For further information about sources please refer to North-west Highland Place Names in the main menu.
Badachro; from the Gaelic Bad a Chrotha which is defined by Professor Watson as the clump of the fold. Dixon’s Gairloch defines it as grove of the cruive, from bad, a grove; chro, possessive of cro, a cruive, a fank.
Caolas Bad a’ Chròtha; This is the sound between Badachro village and the nearby islands. The sound (Gaelic Caolas) is named after the village of Badachro, refer to Badachro for further information.
Images; Copyright © Gordon C Harrison All Rights Reserved. No reproduction without permission.
Moral rights asserted in all countries and under any acts that may require such assertion.