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Travelling north beyond the Kylesku bridge through the wilds of Sutherland the junction at Laxford Bridge is eventually reached. Here one can turn right onto the A838 single track which runs through wonderful landscapes as it meanders its way to Lairg.
Not far down the road from the junction at Laxford Bridge one encounters this superb view of Loch Stack and the grey scree slopes of Arkle, a complete wilderness had it not been for the old croft house at the northern limit of Loch Stack. This image was taken on my first visit to this area and the scene just cries out to be captured.
For those of you with an interest in horse racing you will no doubt know that one of the most famous thoroughbred horses in the history of racing was named Arkle after this mountain. Owned by Anne Grosvenor, the Duchess of Westminster who has an estate in the North-west Highlands, Arkle was the first racehorse in Britain to capture public attention outside racing circles and is regarded as the greatest steeplechaser of all time.
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.
Arkle; There is doubt about the meaning of this name and I have come across four definitions. The transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness Volume XVI 1889-90 claim the name is derived from Gaelic earrgheal, a white tailed falcon or eagle, thus it could be ‘the mountain of the white tailed eagle’. Another possibility is given by the Scottish Outdoors website which states the name may derive from the Norse ark-fjall meaning the hill of the level or flat top. Finally Alex MacBain’s ‘Place names Highlands and Islands of Scotland’ published in 1922 suggests the name may derive from arg-fell meaning ‘Shieling’s Fell’ or from Arkfell meaning ‘ark like’.
Ben Stack; I have been unable to find a translation in any of my references of the mountain name but I feel fairly confident that this is a hybrid Gaelic/Norse name. In Gaelic it is Beinn Stack. I believe Stack is derived from the Norse stakkr meaning ‘precipitous rock’, an apt description for this extremely steep sided pyramidal mountain.
Kylesku; Gaelic Caolas Cumhang meaning ‘the narrow strait’.
Lairg; From the Scottish Parliament website; In Gaelic it is An Luirg meaning ‘shank’.
Laxford; In Sutherland. Norse, derived from Lax meaning ‘salmon’ and fjörðr meaning ‘fjiord’. According to the ‘Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness Vol. XVI (1889-90)’ its Gaelic name is Luis-ard from the Gaelic luis ‘herbs’ and ard ‘height’, that is the ‘height of the herbs’.
Loch Stack; Named after Ben Stack which see.
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.
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