On this day: Highland clearances began

[figheadair]

Here's but one example of the many empty glens to be found throughout the Highlands today.



This is the head of Glen Banchor taken on Tuesday after a great day in the hills. Some people were evicted, others moved out in search of a better life. Either way the result is the same, the glens are empty and we can but wonder what it must have been like when the Gaelic culture was at it's height. It's very easy to romanticise the clan era but like most peasant economies of the time life was hard for many and conditions were tough. A visit to the reconstructed township at the Highland Folk Museum in Kingussie is a really good insight to the living conditions c1700 and I thoroughly recommend it. Here's one of the typical Black Houses.