Image Details
Limited Edition Print
Crossing the high plain known as the Fain along 'Destitution Road' followed by the descent down the long hill leading ultimately to Braemore Junction soon reveals wonderful views of the Fannich Hills. Throughout the year these hills take on a variety of constantly changing moods. In this image the hill on the left is Sgurr Breac, the summit of which is over 980 metres high.
It was a summer's evening and I was returning home from a trip to Sutherland. Following a bright and sunny day heavy and dramatic cloud was starting to form over the hills casting attractive light and shade. The scene was very high contrast and getting the exposure spot on was critical for this image.
I have searched for a definitive explanation for the meaning of Fannich but most sources which list Gaelic place names and their meanings have nothing to say about Fannich. The one exception is Professor W J Watson's book "Place Names of Ross and Cromarty" but even he states that it is an obscure and difficult word.
One of the possible explanations Professor Watson gives is derived by comparing it with the Welsh word 'gwaneg', a surge, or 'gwanegu', to rise in waves. Here he is referring to the effect of stormy winds from Strathcrombie and Cabuie meeting at Loch Fannich and the tremendous waves that can arise on the loch.
However looking at the shapes of the Fannich hills in this image I like to think they resemble waves....
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.
Braemore; Gaelic am Bràigh’ Mór, ‘the big upper part’.
Fain; Gaelic na Fèithean meaning ‘the bog channels’.
Fannich; Fannich Hills, named from the loch of that name. Gaelic Fainich the meaning of which is uncertain. Watson has this to say:- In spite of its Gaelic ring Fainaich is rather an obscure and difficult word. Assuming that the ‘f’ is radical and does not represent an aspirated ‘p’ we may compare it with Welsh gwaneg a surge, gwanegu, to rise in waves, Welsh gw corresponding to Gaelic f, as in Welsh gwern, Gaelic fearn, alder. Another step backward would lead us to an early Celtic van- or ven-, which suggests a comparison with the Gaulish Lacus Ven-etus, now Lake of Constance, and the two Gaulish tribes of Veneti, both maritime. But the name is one in which it is unsafe to be positive.
Sgurr Breac; Gaelic Sgùrr Breac; meaning ‘spotted peak’.
Sutherland; From the Norse Suðerland, that is ‘South Land’. It may seem odd that the far north of Scotland should have a name which means ‘South Land’, but if you were on Viking raiding party from Norway it would have been an obvious name to choose.
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.