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This is one of my favourite viewpoints, Achtercairn Hill in the village of Gairloch, looking over Loch Gairloch and out to the Isle of Skye lying of the Scottish west coast.
This typifies the drama that can result from changing weather conditions in the West Highlands. In this case heavy cloud coming from the south eventually blotting out a fine day. The transition however was wonderful to watch as I photographed the sunbeams flickering in and out over the Isle of Skye.
People return again and again to the North-west Highlands to enjoy such spectacular lighting displays amongst magnificent scenery.
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.
Achtercairn; Gaelic is Achd-a’-chàrn meaning ‘Field of the Cairn’.
Gairloch; Gaelic An Gearr-loch, the short loch.
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.
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