Achnaha

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Brief History

Achnaha - meaning 'the field of the ford', or perhaps, 'the field of the kiln' - sits around a mile inland from Sanna. The settlement goes back much further than crofting times, with evidence of farming going back to medieval times. Some have suggested that there are even earlier remains, but there is no archaeological evidence of this as yet. The long establishment of the settlement is probably because it has better quality farmland than in other places on the peninsula.

Unlike more recently established crofting townships, Achnaha's older dwellings are situated close together, as they would have been in the time of the clans. Remains of several 'blackhouses' - traditional croft houses with thatched roofs and earth floors - can still be seen here. Today Achnaha continues to be a predominantly crofting settlement, as it has been for generations.

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Cottages at Achnaha, 1920s-1930s

© MEM Donaldson Collection, Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, High Life Highland

Photograph by MEM Donaldson

Cottages at Achnaha

Photo courtesy of Mary Khan, with thanks to Ardnamurchan residents

Cottages and Byres at Achnaha

© MEM Donaldson Collection, Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, High Life Highland

Photograph by MEM Donaldson

Achnaha thumbnail

Cottages at Achnaha, 1920s-1930s

© MEM Donaldson Collection, Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, High Life Highland

Photograph by MEM Donaldson

Cottages at Achnaha

Photo courtesy of Mary Khan, with thanks to Ardnamurchan residents

Cottages and Byres at Achnaha

© MEM Donaldson Collection, Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, High Life Highland

Photograph by MEM Donaldson

Achnaha thumbnail

Dig into layers of history.

Settlement organisation

The positioning of the buildings in Achnaha reflects its long existence. You can still see how townships were organised during times of clans.

Areas of good arable fields were divided into ridges (rigs) with uncultivated (runs) between, a system known as runrig. Under the runrig system, these strips were re-allocated to families on a regular timetable, sometimes by the drawing of lots. This allowed the land to be shared fairly.

Map Key

Infield arable fields

Which were taxed by the ʻtacksmanʼ, on behalf of the clan chief and rotated between tenants.

Common grazing areas or Outfield areas

Each family living here had a right to graze a fixed number of animals.

Dyke (a stone or peat wall)

Outfield areas which were fertilised by animals, separated from the infield areas by a dyke.

Houses were arranged close together, usually on the poorest ground.

Explore how Achnaha has changed through time.

21st Century

2023

'Of Hearth and Home', the restoration of two traditional Achnaha buildings took place.

Click the characters to read their stories

Achnaha is in the middle of an extinct 65 million year old volcano. To the north, you can see the edges of what is left of the crater. Achnaha has been a crofting community for generations, and the land continues to be crofted today.

Crofting and Fishing

1960s

Achnaha contuinues to be a strong crofting community, as it has been for generations.

There's a strong sense of community in Ahnaha, and people often help each other out with farming work. Perhaps this is a throwback to the older style of farming in pre-crofting days, back when people often shared the work on each other's land.

Eviction and Emigration

1860s

Population decreased: people moved to new crofting townships.

1830s, 40s and 50s

Population increased: people evicted from the east of the peninsula came to Achnaha.

The population here in Achnaha has changed a lot over the years. Some of us that were evicted from our homes in townships further east on the peninsula (like Swordle and Achateny) came to Achnaha. The population swelled in the 1830s, 40s and 50s only to shrink back from the 1860s when people moved out to the new crofting townships of Sanna, Plocaig and Portuairk.

During this time period, parishes sometimes made payments to support those in great financial need. In 1789, the Kirk Sessions recorded one payment awarded to 'a changeling' and their grandmother. At the time, this antiquated term was used to describe a disabled child, and it suggests that the child had been stolen by fairies and replaced with a different child or being - sometimes the fairie’s own child. These kinds of stories were a way for people to make sense of behaviours or differences that they didn’t understand. This record highlights how social attitudes have changed vastly over time.

Time of the Clans

1715

Folk from several different clans lived in Achnaha and fought in the Jacobite uprising.

1720s-30s

Land drainage scheme was installed by Alexander Murray. The rig and furrow patterns are still visible today.

In the 1720s-30s, the estate owner put in a land drainage scheme in Achnaha and neighbouring Glendrian. You'll still be able to see the patterns of rig and furrow if you keep an eye out.

We build our houses clustered together, weaving the walls from freshly cut wood (like a basket) and lining them with turf, under a thatched roof. We live alongside rival clans and some of us fought on different sides of the Jacobite Uprising in 1715. You know what they say - keep your friends close and your enemies closer!

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