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Near Boor on the western shore of Loch Ewe there are concrete foundations close to the side of the single track road that runs through there and on northwards to it's end at Cove. These foundations were made at the start of World War II when Loch Ewe became an important naval base. On the foundations were placed anti aircraft guns, part of a comprehensive series of defences that ringed this loch to protect the naval fleet and merchant ships based here.
These foundations made a good, if uncertain, vantage point for this view. Uncertain due to the covering of thick smooth ice which forced me to move very carefully both to protect me, and more importantly, my equipment!
This was ideal winter weather, low sun, perfect clarity, snow covered mountains, and blue skies with white wispy clouds. In the foreground are the Boor Rocks which were crowded with cormorants and seagulls doing nothing in particular, perhaps just enjoying the day as I was.
Starting at the left is a peninsula of the National Trust's Inverewe Gardens beyond which is the long ridge of Beinn a' Chàisgein Mór, which as it slopes down at its southern end terminates in the massive rock structure called Carn Mor. Beyond Carn Mor, in the centre of this picture is seen the pyramidal peak Ruadh Stac Mor, and finally to it's left is A' Mhaighdean, more commonly referred to by it's English name, The Maiden.
I was once asked by a lady if I knew why it was called The Maiden to which I replied "No, I don't know". She claimed it is called that because it is inaccessable, a nice story that perhaps was true at one time, but certainly not now as it is a popular if demanding climb for the fit and strong.
Beneath A' Mhaighdean and running to the right of this picture the cluster of houses that is Poolewe village can just be seen.
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.
A’ Mhaighdean; A mountain in Wester Ross; the name translates as ‘the maiden’. Why it’s called the maiden is not explained by any of my sources. It is however reckoned to be the most inaccessible of Scotland’s mountains due to the 2-3 backpacking in required in order to climb it. A lady friend did say to me that it is called the maiden because it is inaccessible, I have not been able to verify this!
Beinn a' Chàisgein Mór; Listed by Dixon as Beinn a Chaisgean which may be a corruption of caisg; Easter. Apamapa translates the name as ‘the big mountain of Cashken’. Watson lists the mountain but offers no explanation of the meaning of the name. I have not been able to source any other explanations.
Boor; A small settlement on the western shore of Loch Ewe. Both Watson and the Scottish Parliament propose it is derived from a Norse word búr-á meaning ‘bower stream. J H Dixon offers two explanations, that it is from a word containing the root boor, meaning ‘roaring’ because stags used to roar here. The other explanation is that it is from the Gaelic word buradh, meaning a ‘bursting forth of blood’.
There is a story in Dixon’s ‘Gairloch & Guide to Loch Maree’ regarding Dixon’s latter explanation. Before McLeod’s got possession of the Gairloch area (of which Boor is part) it was held by a tribe of Macbeths. On one encounter between the Lord of Kintail’s men and the MacBeaths one of the MacBeaths was shot by an arrow which pierced him “in the thickest of his flesh”. In making an escape, running with the arrow still in him, he ran down the brae to a place which is called Boora to this day. When he pulled the arrow out, a buradh, or bursting forth of blood came after it. A nice story, but as Watson is the pre-eminent scholar in the field of place names it is more likely that his less romantic explanation is the correct one.
Carn Mór; Gaelic for ‘Big Cairn’, in this case referring to a large outcrop of rock.
Cove; Gaelic, an Uaghaidh; the north part of Cove is Achadh na h-Uaghach meaning ‘Place of the Cave’ and ‘Field of the Cave’ respectively.
Inverewe; In Gaelic it is Inbhiriu, meaning the ‘mouth of the Ewe’, referring to where the River Ewe enters Loch Ewe.
Loch Ewe; Professor Watson said “that he had taken iu, with hesitation, from the Irish eo, thus ‘Loch of the yew tree’; the fact that Tobar na h-Iu in Nigg showed the article is practically decisive in favour of iu being there at least a Gaelic word. No Pictish name is accompanied by the Gaelic article. But the Ewe may be a Pictish name derived from the same root, or from a totally different one.”
Poolewe; Gaelic Poll-iù, ‘the pool on the Ewe river’; Professor Watson states that the village was called by the natives in his time Abhainn Iù, Ewe River. He also said that Ewe, Gaelic iu, he had taken, with hesitation, from Irish eo, ‘Yew Tree’, but concedes that it may in fact be a Pictish name.
Rhuadh Stac; Listed by Professor Watson and J H Dixon as Ruadh stac, meaning ‘steep hill’ or ‘red peak’.
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