Belladrum (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

: ''Baile an Druim'', meaning "Farm of the Ridge") is a small settlement in the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

council area of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is about 0.9 miles (1.4 km) east of the village of Kiltarlity, and 9 miles (14.5 km west) of

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

. Belladrum is synonymous with the Belladrum Estate, a large area of land once owned by

Clan Fraser of Lovat Clan Fraser of Lovat ( ) is a Highland Scottish clan and the principal branch of Clan Fraser. The Frasers of Lovat are strongly associated with Inverness and the surrounding area since the Clan's founder gained lands there in the 13th century. ...

, before being sold to the Gibbs' family in 1857. In the early 16th century, Belladrum was one of two

davoch The davoch, davach or daugh is an ancient Scottish land measurement. All of these terms are cognate with modern Scottish Gaelic '' dabhach''. The word ''dabh'' or '' damh'' means an " ox" (cf. oxgang, ''damh-imir''), but ''dabhach'' can also refer ...

s of Moy, under rulership of the Barony of

the Aird The Aird (from Scottish Gaelic ''An Àird'', "the high place") is a district of Inverness-shire lying on the south side of the Beauly Firth, between the rivers Beauly and Ness. It includes the villages of Kirkhill, Kiltarlity, Lentran and ...

. It was confirmed by

King James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...

to the Haliburton family (an offshoot of

Clan Chisholm Clan Chisholm ( ; , ) is a Highland Scottish clan. History Origins According to Alexander Mackenzie (historian), Alexander Mackenzie, the Clan Chisholm is of Normans, Norman and Anglo-Saxons, Saxon origin. Tradition stating that the Chisholms w ...

) in the year 1512 Nowadays, Belladrum is better-known for its

Tartan Heart Festival The Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival is an annual music and arts festival, held on the Belladrum Estate in Kiltarlity, Scotland. The festival was founded in 2004. In 2022 it attracted 20,000 attendees. Background information The festival is ...

, a rapidly-growing music and arts festival that has in recent years seen acts like

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

Jess Glynne Jessica Hannah Glynne (born 20 October 1989) is a British singer. She rose to prominence in 2014 as a featured artist on the singles " Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and " My Love" by Route 94, both of which reached number one on the UK Singles C ...

, and

Lewis Capaldi Lewis Marc Capaldi (born 7 October 1996) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. In March 2019, his single "Someone You Loved" (2018) topped the UK Singles Chart where it remained for seven weeks, and in November 2019, it reached number ...

. The Belladrum Estate is also a popular site for weddings, held within an octagonal "temple" on the estate grounds. Outside of the festival, Belladrum is chiefly concerned with sheep farming and forestry. Belladrum Forest is a popular destination for both bikers and walkers, climbing to a

radio mast Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antenna (radio), antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the ...

atop Phoineas Hill. The hill was the site of an ancient Pictish fort, though its remains are no longer visible. There is also a pony club located on the estate. In 2016, the Belladrum Estate registered its own tartan with the

Scottish Register of Tartans The Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT) is Scotland's official non-ministerial government department for the recording and registration of tartan designs, operating since 5 February 2009. As a governmental body, SRT is headquartered at General ...

, said to represent the estate's "ancient green forests and native lichens ... coupled with a contrasting russet red, a colour that signifies the passion and pride many generations have had for the Belladrum Estate." File:Belladrum Chapel - geograph.org.uk - 147041.jpg, Belladrum Chapel (or "Temple"), a popular site for local weddings File:Summit of Phoineas Hill - geograph.org.uk - 218320.jpg, Summit of Phoineas Hill, located within Belladrum Forest 170m above sea level File:Belladrum Tartan Heart Rock Festival - geograph.org.uk - 218314.jpg, The Garden Stage at the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival

References

{{reflist Villages in Highland (council area)