Image Details
As you travel along the western coast of the Applecross peninsula, about 25 kilometres by the twisting single trach road, the entire route provides an ever changing panorama of views with huge skies over the Inner Sound and the islands of the Inner Hebrides.
Within these huge sweeping views can be seen the islands of Rona, to the north, and to the south the Isle of Raasay. Beyond both these islands is the much larger Isle of Skye.
Settlements are few and far between along this entire route and usually just consist of a house or two as in the above view. On the Ordnance Survey map this settlement is called 'Lonbain' but in Professor Watson's Gaelic place names book it is called 'Lonban'.
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.
Applecross; For a full explanation of the origin of this name the reader is referred to Professor Watson’s excellent book – click ‘North-west Highland Place Names’ in the main menu for further information. Summing up his comments it appears that the name means the ‘estuary of the Crosan’ which is the river (Abhain Crosan) that flows into Applecross Bay. The word Crosan is of uncertain origin but is assumed to be Pictish, meaning unknown.
Hebrides; The following etymology is quoted from the Wikipedia article on the Hebrides. The first reference to a name similar to the modern Hebrides is by Ptolemy, who called the islands Αἱβοῦδαι = Haiboudai in Ancient Greek. Later texts in classical Latin, by writers such as Solinus, use the forms Hebudes and Hæbudes. The old Old Norse name, during the Viking occupation, was Suðreyjar, which means ‘Southern Isles’. It was given in contradistinction to Norðreyjar, or the ‘Northern Isles’, i.e. Orkney and Shetland.
Ironically, given the status of the Western Isles as the last Gàidhlig speaking stronghold in Scotland, the Gaelic language name for the islands - Innse Gall - means "isles of the foreigners" which has roots in the time when they were under Norse occupation and colonisation, and in reference to the Norse-Gaels, known in Gaelic as the Gall-Ghaidhil (meaning Foreign Gaels).
Inner Sound; This is the sound between the Applecross peninsula and the Isle of Raasay. It has caused me some difficulty in that the sources I rely on for place names have nothing to say about this. A number of web sites give its Gaelic name as An Lighe Rathairseach but they are not authoritative. Assuming they are right the next difficulty is in determining the meaning, Rathairseach refers to the Isle of Raasay so that seems reasonable but An Lighe presents a problem. On page 26 of Professor Watson’s book he refers to An Lighe in another context and ascribes the meaning ‘physician’. However some of my Gaelic dictionaries ascribe the meaning ‘spate’ or ‘flood’ to An Lighe which seems more reasonable. Perhaps some kind etymologist will settle this discussion and provide the answer?
Lonbain; Listed as Lonban by Professor Watson. The name Lonban is derived from the Gaelic An Lòn Bàn meaning the 'white damp meadow'.
Raasay; In Gaelic Raasay is Ratharsair or Ratharsaigh from the old Norse words Raa-s-oy, Ross-oy, Rásey or Hrossey meaning ‘roe deer island’. In Gaelic the island is also known as Eilean nam Fear Móra, ‘the island of the great men.
Rona; Island off the east coast of Skye. The name Rona is from the old Norse hraun-ey meaning ‘rough isle’.
Skye; Skye's history includes the influence of Gaelic, Norse and English speaking peoples and the relationships between their names for the island are not straightforward. The Gaelic name for the "Isle of Skye" is An t-Eilean Sgitheanach (or Sgiathanach, a more recent and less common spelling). The meaning of this name is not clear. Various explanations have been proposed, such as the ‘winged isle’ or ‘the notched isle’ but no definitive solution has been found to date.
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.