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Old Castle Lachlan’s Last Chief

Once an impressive home, Old Castle Lachlan now stands as a lonely ruin, hidden away on the quiet side of Loch Fyne, part of Argyll’s secret coast. Built in the 15th century but with roots going back at least 200 more years, the history of this stone tower is intertwined with the fortunes of Clan Maclachlan.

Like their Clan Campbell neighbours further up Loch Fyne, the Maclachlans were fiercely loyal to the Scottish crown. After the Campbell chief became the Earl of Argyll, the Maclachlans stayed true friends, even fighting on Argyll’s behalf. That all began to change towards the end of the 17th century and the start of the Jacobite risings.

While the Campbells followed the new regime, the Maclachlans stayed loyal to the deposed Stuart Kings. They fought at Killiecrankie, welcomed the Old Pretender to Scotland and fought directly against Argyll at Sheriffmuir. Even though they continually supported the losing side, they successfully held onto their lands as well as Old Castle Lachlan.

When Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in Scotland in 1745 and attempted to rouse the Highland clans, many of them wavered. Lachlan Maclachlan, the 17th chief, decided to ask the advice of the wisest person he knew, a mysterious Brownie that lived in the depths of Old Castle Lachlan.

Known as Master Harry, this small, supernatural creature was clearly distressed when Lachlan found him. The Brownie explained that he had seen a stranger arrive in the north and nothing good would come of it. He was adamant that this stranger would lead the chief of Clan Maclachlan to his death.

It was a depressing vision for Lachlan, the Brownie was fiercely loyal and rarely wrong. However, he knew what his clan expected of him and even though it may spell his own doom, he answered the prince’s call. Gathering over a hundred Maclachlan men, the chief marched away from Old Castle Lachlan to join the Jacobite Army.

Passing the chapel of Kilmorie, worried about what lay in store, Lachlan stopped to pray while surrounded by his ancestors. As he remounted his horse, it shuffled uneasily and turned around three times anti-clockwise, a terrible omen that the chief would never return to his home. Still, the Maclachlans joined the rising, following from Prestonpans to England and all the way back north to Culloden.

During the carnage of that final battle, Lachlan Maclachlan was leading his regiment of men forward on horseback when a cannonball plucked him from his saddle. The first sign of the tragedy to reach those who had remained at home was their chief’s riderless horse. It was said to have found its own way home, swimming across the loch to reach Old Castle Lachlan alone.

Soon after the end of the Jacobite rising, a government warship sailed up Loch Fyne to bombard the castle, reducing it to ruin. While no Maclachlan would ever live inside those walls again, the old chief’s horse refused to leave. It spent the rest of its days pining away in the old stable, no doubt being consoled by Master Harry the ever-faithful Brownie.

Article by Graeme Johncock Photographs Sam Rogers

Portree's Lump Trail

Isle of Skye

Perched atop Portree’s scenic coastline, The Lump offers visitors an arresting panorama that seamlessly melds the charms of the harbour with the majesty of Loch Portree. Ascend its winding paths for a breathtaking view encompassing The Storr to the north and The Cuillins to the south. But a word to the wise: while one path promises a smooth journey, the other promises a tale of mirth and mischief. Venture forth from Bank Street and let Skye’s rugged beauty unfurl before you, with historical tidbits waiting to be uncovered around every twist and turn.

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Abbot House

Fife

Noted as the oldest building in Fife, Abbot House is a slice of history in the middle of Dunfermline. It survived the Great Fire of 1624 and was largely believed to have been used for religious activities throughout the Scottish Reformation. It was even a Naval Officer’s Base during the Second World War

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Clava Cairns

Inverness-shire

Named after a group of 3 Balnuaran of Clava cairns east of Inverness, the Clava Cairns are an example of Bronze Age chamber tomb cairns in a circular pattern. Free to visit and open all year to visitors, this ancient cemetery is a mysterious and fascinating sight. Beautifully preserved, it enables visitors to get a taste of 4,000 years of Scottish history.

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Discovering Scotland’s Wild Medicine: An Interview with Medical Herbalist, Forager and Author, Clare Holohan

Join us as we chat with Clare Holohan, a passionate medical herbalist and forager who shares her journey of creating the book “Scotland’s Wild Medicine.” From her personal background and motivation to the process of writing, our chat sheds light on businesses, collaboration, and the profound connection between nature and wellness. Learn about her insight into herbal medicine, foraging, and the transformative power of reconnecting with nature for better health.

Hi Clare, thanks so much for chatting with us. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and introduce us to the book.

I’m a medical herbalist and forager. My first love will always be food. I became interested in food politics and ethical food production in my teens. When I left school, I trained as a chef but found the hospitality industry stressful, competitive, male dominated, hierarchical, and generally unfulfilling. After travelling and having some first-hand experience of herbal medicine in other cultures I decided to retrain as a medical herbalist in 2007. My mother had been a patient at the student clinic that I decided to train at, and I saw what a difference herbal medicine made to her health over the years. My background in cooking and interest in nutrition led me to the foraging side of plant work, and a desire to make many of my own medicines that I use in my clinics for my patients today. I’m passionate about bringing this knowledge to people, and this led me to want to teach and eventually to co-author Scotland’s Wild Medicine with Lilia Sinclair.

The book contains information about different ways we can connect with nature for wellness. It covers basic information on breathwork, sunlight, circadian rhythms, cold water immersion, food and nutrition and a comprehensive guide to common and familiar wild plants which can be used for food and medicine, with information on how to make them into remedies and some simple recipes. It is essentially a guide to preventative health care and all the ways you can use nature for wellbeing. 

Eilidh Cameron’s beautiful photographs bring the book to life and give a real taste of Scotland.

What was it that made you want to write Scotland’s Wild Medicine?

Lilia came on one of my foraging workshops back in 2017, I think she was blown away by the realisation that all this food and medicine was growing all around her and she had never known about it before. We kept in touch and Lilia asked me to come and teach for a weekend on a 12-week healing community she was running at Barmolloch in Summer 2019. Over the course of the weekend, we got to chatting about Scotland’s general picture of poor health and what we could do to try and change that. We talked about creating a handbook for keeping well, remedies, recipes and connecting with nature. Then we went back to our busy lives until COVID locked us down and Lilia rallied the team together to create the book.

Tell us a bit about what you do outside of writing the book.

I own a business called West Highland Herbal. Along with my partner we run a smallholding together where we raise livestock naturally, grow food and medicinal herbs for use in my clinic. I live on the Morvern peninsula which is a hidden gem on Scotland’s rugged West Coast. Our smallholding and house looks onto the Sound of Mull and beyond to the Isle of Mull. I love Scotland’s raw rugged beauty, the diversity of our country despite its small size and the friendly Scottish culture.

Can you tell us a bit about the process of writing the book, and your favourite part.

Most of my writing was done over lockdown, so it was great to have a focus and a project to be working on at that unprecedented time. I carved out slices of time early in the morning and at weekends to work on the book. I really enjoyed the creative process of writing as well as really connecting with the plants on a deep level again. I felt blessed to be working with a group of talented and inspirational women with a diverse range of skills. It meant that we could all bring our own passions and strengths to the project and create this beautiful book that we are all proud of.

What advice would you give someone who wants to reconnect with nature?

There are so many distractions in modern life to keep us disconnected, not to mention illness. I think the best thing to remember here is that we as humans are nature, we are not something separate from it. Even though we try to wrap our lives in plastic and artificial creations, we are essentially of the earth, and coming back to that realisation is fundamental. Just start with something simple like slowing down, focusing on your breath, being in a nearby natural space, maybe a local park, or connect with a plant growing out a crack in the pavement. Nature is everywhere. It’s not something we are separated from, and if nurtured, it will flourish.

What are your favourite things to forage from each season and how do you use them?

This is a tough question! It’s like asking what your favourite food/song/movie is! I always maintain that diversity is key and use different plants for different situations, moods and illnesses. What I will say is that I always come back to my local friends, the common ‘weeds’ that are so useful and grow all around me like nettles and other fresh spring greens in the spring, which I use for food and medicine. In summer, the flowers are in abundance, and I love to forage rose petals which I dry for making tea or infusing in honey. Autumn probably has to be the wide array of fungi at our fingertips, which I use for food and immune system medicine. In winter pickings are slimmer however there is usually some seaweed to forage or in mild years, some greens around. Check out our monthly sections in the book for more info.

Can you share any other independent Scottish makers that you’d recommend checking out?

All about Willow on the Isle of Eigg, Catherine and Pascal grow organic willow and weave sturdy baskets on their croft. Because you can never have too many foraging baskets…

Check out Heather Shields Woven Textiles, doing fab things with weaving.

Buck and Birch Foraged spirits and liquors are delicious and make great gifts.

Interview by Eryn Inglis

Escape with Helen Lear-Grant

Explore some of Scotland’s most beautiful locations and hidden gems in our Escape With series where we ask people about their connection to a favourite place.

Disability travel blogger and vlogger Helen Lear-Grant is used to sharing favourite places around Scotland through her blog Wheely Braw where she writes about wheelchair accessible locations, accommodation and adventures. Recent experiences have taken Helen 2,000ft up the Nevis Range on the Nevis Range Mountain Gondola; on a canoeing and bushcraft weekend at Loch Lomond with Anyone Can; and on the Three Bridges speedboat tour at South Queensferry with Wetwheels - you can read Helen’s blog post here.

Recently, Helen and her wife Kirsty launched Accessible Holidays Scotland, a website showcasing everything from accommodation and days out to cafes and restaurants. As Helen says: “We’re building a database of accessible and wheelchair-friendly things to do in Scotland. I guess the dream is that one day you’ll be able to head to our website and plan your accessible holiday itinerary. A one stop shop, so to speak.” Having experienced so much of Scotland, how do you select one place? For Helen, her choice has a personal connection and takes us to the Outer Hebrides.

Tell us about your favourite place - where is it?

My favourite place is Loch Eynort, a sea loch on the eastern coast of South Uist.

Why does this place mean so much to you?

Loch Eynort, and South Uist in general, will always mean so much to me because it was part of a Hebridean adventure we embarked on for my wife Kirsty’s 50th birthday celebration. It was done, as most of our trips are, entirely on the cheap. That didn’t stop it being utterly incredible. Every day had one of those moments where you have to centre yourself for a moment and just breathe it all in.

Do you have a first memory of visiting this place?

We first found the sea loch entirely by accident, by which I mean, we were lost. Getting lost is a running theme on our adventures. We’ve learned to embrace it and often find the most incredible places when we do. We were actually looking for Loch Sgioport because I’d heard about the gorgeous, friendly ponies that wander around there. Knowing we’d taken a wrong turn we continued anyway and found ourselves sat by Loch Eynort, breathing in that salty, mulchy seaweed smell and feeling the sun prickle our skin. I felt so at peace. Then we heard an almighty snort, honk, and splash. It was a seal! The more we looked the more we saw. There were perhaps twenty of them in total who had all been laying silently until the joker gave them away. After that they started swimming and playing around, just being themselves. It was beautiful, and such a privilege to be the only people to see.

Has this place changed over the time that you’ve visited?

I haven’t had the opportunity to return yet, but I’m heading to Uist in September and I will absolutely be carving out some time to spend there again. Whatever the weather, I don’t care. I’ll sit there with a flask of tea and soak it all up.

How does this place inspire you?

I’m inspired by the peace of it all. The combination of the quiet, the smells, the stillness, the untouched beauty; it just comes together and helps my soul simmer down. My head can be incredibly busy, especially when on a trip. I often have a lot of access issues to contend with so spend a lot of time planning everything to the nth degree. Getting lost and having these incredible adventures reminds me to let go a little. It’ll be okay. Those deviations from ‘the plan’ truly wake me up and bring me right to the present moment. That’s what Loch Eynort did.

If someone was thinking of visiting this place, what’s the one thing they should know?

Sit down, settle in, and enjoy whatever arises. In a quick five-minute stop, you might not think much of it, just another sea loch! But give it time and the true beauty of Loch Eynort will reveal itself. We just found a patch of grass and had a cup of tea. There are a few residential properties nearby, so it’s important to be respectful to the humans as well as the animals; don’t park in passing places, don’t leave anything behind.

What’s the place you’d most like to explore in Scotland, that you haven’t yet?

As a Gaelic learner I often feel myself being pulled to the west. Hearing the language being used casually in a local shop or cafe is something that makes my heart sing. Speaking it is another matter entirely, but I love the phrase “Is fheàrr Gàidhlig bhriste na Gàidhlig sa chiste” – better broken Gaelic than Gaelic in the coffin. A few of the Hebridean islands have beach wheelchairs now, such as Tiree, Barra, and Harris. I think it’s incredible that small communities like those put so much effort into fundraising to make their beaches more accessible for disabled people. Perhaps a tour of Scotland’s beach wheelchairs is on the cards!

Read about Helen’s adventures and reviews on her blog Wheely Braw, or follow on YouTube and Instagram. Follow Accessible Holidays Scotland on Instagram.

Interview By Fiona Reid

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