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Scourie
Scourie ( gd, Sgobhairigh), historically spelled "Scoury", is a village on the north west coast of Scotland, about halfway between Ullapool and Durness. The name comes from the Gaelic word Sheiling or shed, a stone-built place of shelter used during the summer months. It is in the traditional county of Sutherland, now part of the Highland (council area), Highland council area; the 2011 Census classified Scourie as 'Very remote rural' with an adult population of 132. Until the 19th century, Clan Mackay was the predominant family in the area with a junior branch of the family owning Scourie itself; in 1640, it was the birthplace of Hugh Mackay (general), Hugh Mackay, a Scottish general who settled in the Netherlands and commanded the forces of William III of England, William III at Battle of Killiecrankie, Killiecrankie in July 1689. The last of the Mackays' Scottish estates including Scourie were sold in 1829, although the name is still common in the area. The nearby island of Han ...
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Scourie F
Scourie ( gd, Sgobhairigh), historically spelled "Scoury", is a village on the north west coast of Scotland, about halfway between Ullapool and Durness. The name comes from the Gaelic word Sheiling or shed, a stone-built place of shelter used during the summer months. It is in the traditional county of Sutherland, now part of the Highland council area; the 2011 Census classified Scourie as 'Very remote rural' with an adult population of 132. Until the 19th century, Clan Mackay was the predominant family in the area with a junior branch of the family owning Scourie itself; in 1640, it was the birthplace of Hugh Mackay, a Scottish general who settled in the Netherlands and commanded the forces of William III at Killiecrankie in July 1689. The last of the Mackays' Scottish estates including Scourie were sold in 1829, although the name is still common in the area. The nearby island of Handa is a nature reserve and the site of a large seabird colony, including puffins, skuas, guill ...
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Clan Mackay
Clan Mackay ( ; gd, Clann Mhic Aoidh ) is an ancient and once-powerful Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan from the far North of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old Mormaer of Moray, Kingdom of Moray. They supported Robert I of Scotland, Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century. In the centuries that followed they were anti-Jacobitism, Jacobite. The territory of the Clan Mackay consisted of the parishes of Farr, Sutherland, Farr, Tongue, Highland, Tongue, Durness and Eddrachillis, and was known as Strathnaver, in the north-west of the county of Sutherland. However, it was not until 1829 that Strathnaver was considered part of Sutherland when the chief sold his lands to the Earl of Sutherland, Earls of Sutherland and the Highland Clearances then had dire consequences for the clan. In the 17th century the Mackay chief's territory had extended to the east to include the parish of Reay in the west of the neighbouring county of ...
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Hugh Mackay (general)
Hugh Mackay (c. 1640 – 24 July 1692) was a Scottish military officer who settled in the Netherlands, and spent most of his career in the service of William of Orange (later William III of England). In 1660, Mackay was commissioned into Dumbarton's Regiment, spending the next few years in England and France, then volunteered to fight for the Republic of Venice in the Fifth Ottoman-Venetian War. He rejoined Dumbarton's in 1672 on the outbreak of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, before transferring to the Scots Brigade in 1673. A long established mercenary unit of the Dutch army, Mackay served with the Brigade for the rest of his career. Mackay led the Brigade during the Glorious Revolution and was military commander in Scotland from 1689 to 1690. Despite defeat at Killiecrankie in July 1689, the Highlands had largely been brought under control by the end of 1690 and Mackay was reassigned to Ireland for the 1691 campaign. He returned to the Netherlands in October 1691 after the Tre ...
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Handa, Scotland
Handa Island ( gd, Eilean Shannda) or simply Handa is an island off the west coast of Sutherland, Scotland. It is and at its highest point. The island is of national importance for its birdlife and maritime vegetation, and is a Scottish Wildlife Trust nature reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and a Special Protection Area (SPA). Handa also forms part of the North-West Sutherland national scenic area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland. A small ferry sails to Handa from Tarbet on the mainland and boat trips operate to it from Fanagmore. The island receives five thousand visitors per annum. Geography and geology Handa is composed of Torridonian red sandstone and surrounded by cliffs covered with birds. In the north is a hill with two peaks, with the south and east being lower lying. The north and west have cliffs, and there are beaches in the south and east. The Sound of Handa separates it from the mainland and smaller islands around Handa include ...
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North Caledonian Football Association
The North Caledonian Football Association is a football association operating throughout the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and is a recognised body of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and as such has its senior football competitions officially registered with the SFA. History The formation of the Inverness Junior Football Association on 31 January 1888 saw the introduction of the Inverness Junior Cup. After the final in 1888 the association was renamed the North of Scotland Junior Football Association and the competition the North of Scotland Junior Cup. The Association's league competition was later introduced in 1896 as the "North of Scotland Junior League" with the initial aim of providing a league format for its junior members and predominantly the "2nd XI" teams from senior Highland Football League clubs. Upon its formation these teams mostly came from the Inverness area. By 1906 though, the Association had welcomed several new member teams from outside the In ...
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Sutherland
Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later combined into Ross and Cromarty) to the south and the Atlantic to the north and west. Like its southern neighbour Ross-shire, Sutherland has some of the most dramatic scenery in Europe, especially on its western fringe where the mountains meet the sea. These include high sea cliffs, and very old mountains composed of Precambrian and Cambrian rocks. The name ''Sutherland'' dates from the era of Norwegian Viking rule and settlement over much of the Highlands and Islands, under the rule of the jarl of Orkney. Although it contains some of the northernmost land in the island of Great Britain, it was called ' ("southern land") from the standpoint of Orkney and Caithness. In Gaelic, the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: ' ...
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North Coast 500
The North Coast 500 is a scenic route around the north coast of Scotland, starting and ending at Inverness Castle. The route is also known as the NC500 and was launched in 2015, linking many features in the north Highlands of Scotland in one touring route. The route has increased visitor numbers to parts of the north of Scotland, which has brought economic benefits to some areas. The increase in traffic has also led to more instances of bad and dangerous driving, as well as damage to the roads and concerns about the environmental impact. Route The route runs through the traditional counties of Inverness-shire, Ross and Cromarty, Sutherland and Caithness. Working clockwise, the route starts at Inverness and runs via Muir of Ord, Applecross (including the Bealach na Bà), Gairloch, Ullapool, Scourie, Durness, Castle of Mey, Thurso, John o' Groats, Wick, Dunrobin Castle, Dingwall then back to Muir of Ord and Inverness. The route of the North Coast 500 takes in many areas ...
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Jean Balfour
Jean Balfour (née Drew, born 4 November 1927) is a Scottish professional forester, landowner and conservationist. Early life and education Balfour was born on 4 November 1927 to Major General James Syme Drew and his wife Victoria. She earned her B.S. with honours from the University of Edinburgh in 1949. She married John Charles Balfour in 1950. Career and research Balfour is a partner/owner of Balbirnie Home Farms and Balbirnie Dairy Farm. The Scourie estate is also owned by her. Balfour is interested in arctic-alpine vegetation and has taken part in many botanical expeditions including Greenland, Ellsemere Island, Spitzbergen, Franz Joseph Land, Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya, and arctic Siberia to collect field data. Her data has been used in collaboration with other professors on papers involving population dynamics and the impact of changing climate conditions. In 1984 she wrote ''A New Look at the Northern Ireland Countryside (1984)'' which listed many recom ...
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Shinty
Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, and was even played in northern England into the second half of the 20th century and other areas in the world where Scottish Highlanders migrated. While comparisons are often made with field hockey the two games have several important differences. In shinty a player is allowed to play the ball in the air and is allowed to use both sides of the stick, called a ''caman'', which is wooden and slanted on both sides. The stick may also be used to block and to tackle, although a player may not come down on an opponent's stick, a practice called hacking. Players may also tackle using the body as long as it is shoulder-to-shoulder. The game was derived from the same root as the Irish game of hurling and the Welsh game of bando, but has developed un ...
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Brown Trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morpha ''fario'', a lacustrine ecotype, ''S. trutta'' morpha ''lacustris'', also called the lake trout, and anadromous forms known as the sea trout, ''S. trutta'' morpha ''trutta''. The latter migrates to the oceans for much of its life and returns to fresh water only to spawn. Sea trout in Ireland and Britain have many regional names: sewin in Wales, finnock in Scotland, peal in the West Country, mort in North West England, and white trout in Ireland. The lacustrine morph of brown trout is most usually potamodromous, migrating from lakes into rivers or streams to spawn, although evidence indicates some stocks spawn on wind-swept shorelines of lakes. ''S. trutta'' morpha ''fario'' forms stream-resident populations, typically in alpine stre ...
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Loch
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots language, Scots and Irish language, Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is Cognate, cognate with the Manx language, Manx lough, Cornish language, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh language, Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the Anglicisation, anglicised spelling lough is commonly found in place names; in Lowland Scots and Scottish English, the spelling "loch" is always used. Many loughs are connected to stories of lake-bursts, signifying their mythical origin. Sea-inlet lochs are often called sea lochs or sea loughs. Some such bodies of water could also be called firths, fjords, estuary, estuaries, straits or bays. Background This name for a body of water is Insular Celtic languages, Insular CelticThe current form has currency in the following languages: Scottish Gaelic, Irish language, Irish, Manx language, Manx, and has been borrowed into Scots language, Lowland Scots, Scottish English, Iri ...
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Razorbill
The razorbill, razor-billed auk, or lesser auk (''Alca torda'') is a colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus '' Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinis impennis''). Wild populations live in the subarctic waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Razorbills are primarily black with a white underside. The male and female are identical in plumage; however, males are generally larger than females. This agile bird, which is capable of both flight and diving, has a predominantly aquatic lifestyle and only comes to land in order to breed. It is monogamous, choosing one partner for life. Females lay one egg per year. Razorbills nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed crevices. The parents spend equal amounts of time incubating, and once the chick has hatched, they take turns foraging for their young. In 1918, the razorbill was protected in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Pr ...
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