It has been our intention for several years to record local place names in our area, especially those Gaelic ones which have never been recorded before. The use of the Gaelic language in the Loch Torridon area has diminished greatly, with fewer and fewer people using it on a daily basis. Consequently Gaelic names which were once commonplace and well known locally, are now being forgotten, remembered only by a few residents.
Landscape changes over the decades, and one aspect of these changes which is particularly noticeable in parts of our area, is the increase in the growth of trees and vegetation, mainly as a result of the reduction in the number of animals grazing. Other changes have occurred through coastal erosion, road- building, changes in agriculture methods, forestry and flooding to mention a few.
In past years the names in this locality would have originally been in Gaelic, the common language of the time. Nowadays English is prevalent. with the result that some original Gaelic names have been anglicised, while others have changed completely.
Place names can also hold a lot of information and clues to past historical events. They may describe the landscape, give indication of ownership, identify features which no longer exist and even indicate how old the names are depending on their roots, eg. English, Gaelic, Norse, or even Pictish.
As with all maps, many names are indicative of large areas and features. Where specific features are identified we have been as accurate as the information we were given allowed. It is our intention to put photographs of as many of the place names as we can on this website. This will be an ongoing process, as will the addition of any newly acquired names.
We are currently entering links to many of the names on the website. This will allow users to hear how these names are pronounced locally.
This is a work in progress , and eventually we hope to have a link on every name on the site
If visitors to this site have any further information on names, stories etc, we would be delighted to hear these. Response can be made by sending an email from the contact page.