heilan query

[dowofbuchanan]

so the buchanan clan held the lands to the northeast of loch lomond and the island of innich i believe ... and loch lomond is the last of the highlands. so my question is if the lands where north of loch lomond and lomond is highland ... why is buchanan listed as a lowland clan in several places. vote is on boys am i a heilan laddy or should i sell the kilts?

[Jock Scot]

Loch Lomond is on the Southern side of the highlands and I am not sure of the exact position of the Buchanan lands.Anyway, there is a geological fault line that runs more or less diagonally across the Loch about a quarter of the way up the loch(which runs, roughly North to South). I know this all sounds rather vague, but if you look at a map of Scotland and run a straight line from the West coast so that the line runs through the loch a quarter of the way up and continue that line so it goes through Perth and then straight on to the East coast, that is more or less the dividing line between the highlands and lowlands. Although in the old days I doubt that the clans were too bothered about all that.I suspect they drew a line that suited them at any given time and I suspect an East West line just North of Edinburgh and Glasgow would have suited most clans better.Hope this helps.

[Phil]

Buchanan lands ran just north of Glasgow and to the south-east of Loch Lomond. Google maps for Buchanan smithy and it will take you to the heart of them. Drymen and Killearn are towns in Buchanan country and there is, in fact, a Buchanan monument in Killearn, the birthplace of George Buchanan, tutor to James VI. The last Buchanan chief lived at Craigend castle, just a mile or two north of Milngavie (try pronouncing that!) just adjacent to Mugdock castle which was a Graham stronghold. When I lived in Glasgow I lived in Buchanan Drive, right next door to the Buchanan Retreat, a one-time refuge for needy clan members, now the Council Offices. The whole area from Loch Lomond eastwards to Stirling is known as The Lennox from the clan who originally controlled it. This whole Highlands/Lowlands thing is not just cut and dried by the height of the mountains round about you. There are no real mountains until you reach the north end of Loch lomond. The fact that the Buchanans didn't leap from peak to peak doesn't make them any less of a (originally) Gaelic clan so I would hang onto your kilt for the time being.