Ardtalla ( gd, 'Àird Talla'Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003

(pdf) Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 23 March 2007.) is a place name and estate in the southeast coastal area of

Islay Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The isl ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The name derives from Gaelic ''Àird'', a "point", and ''talla'', a now obsolete word for ''rock'', not "high grave" as suggested by some. A well-defined track emanates from the Ardtalla Estate encountering coastal scenery and an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

fort.

Historical perspective

According to Roger Redfern,

Saint Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...

landed nearby at Ardmore Point on his historic journey from Ireland around the

Hebrides The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrid ...

. In Redfern's book, ''Walking in the Hebrides'', he details scenic and historic elements in and around the Ardtalla Estate. Recorded mention of Ardtalla traces back at least as far as the latter 18th century. As early as during the 18th century, the literature notes that local people on Islay did not consider Ardtalla a remote location, ostensibly due to the level of improvement of the coastal access road connecting Ardtalla to

Port Ellen Port Ellen ( gd, Port Ìlein) is a small town on the island of Islay, in Argyll, Scotland. The town is named after the wife of its founder, Walter Frederick Campbell. Its previous name, ''Leòdamas'', is derived from Old Norse meaning "Leòd's Ha ...

In music

Ardtalla has been the subject of musical compositions, notably including James MacMillan's composition ''The Road to Ardtalla'' composed for

chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations *Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics *Debate chamber, the space or room that houses deliber ...

sextet A sextet (or hexad) is a formation containing exactly six members. The former term is commonly associated with vocal ensembles (e.g. The King's Singers, Affabre Concinui) or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six ...

in 1983 and premiered at the Manchester University Concert Hall at the Manchester University on 6 October 1987.James MacMillan. 1983

Line notes

References

* Daniel Campbell and Freda Ramsay. 1991. ''The day book of Daniel Campbell of Shawfield: 1767 : with relevant papers'', 304 pages * Frank Fraser Darling. 1955. ''West Highland survey: an essay in human ecology'', 438 pages * Colin MacGilp MacDonald. 1961. ''The county of Argyll'', p. 344 of 396 pages * James MacMillan. 1983. http://www.boosey.com/cr/music/James-MacMillan-The-Road-to-Ardtalla/242 ''The Road to Ardtalla'' Musical score * Norman S. Newton. 1995. ''Islay'', page 104 of 112 pages * Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. 1984. ''Argyll: Islay, Jura, Colonsay & Oronsay'', 373 pages * John McLean. 1887. ''Translations of the names of places contained in the deeds of entail of the Breadbane Estates'' * Roger Redfern. 1998. ''Walking in the Hebrides'', 192 pages Villages in Islay Highland Estates {{Scotland-geo-stub

Historical perspective

In music

See also

Line notes

References