Shieldaig ( gd, Sìldeag; on,
síld-
vík, lit=
herring bay)
[W. J. Watson]
''Place-names of Ross and Cromarty''
1904, p. 208. is a village in
Wester Ross
Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to t ...
in the
Northwest Highlands
The Northwest Highlands are located in the northern third of Scotland that is separated from the Grampian Mountains by the Great Glen (Glen More). The region comprises Wester Ross, Assynt, Sutherland and part of Caithness. The Caledonian Canal, ...
and is in the
Scottish council area of
Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
.
Geography and history
The village was founded in 1800
Shieldaig
Undiscovered Scotland with a view to training up seamen for war against Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. After his (initial) defeat and exile to Elba
Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...
, the community found itself a new role as a fishing village. The small island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
just offshore never had its tall pines harvested to rig warships, and has now become a nature sanctuary.
The name of the village is derived from the Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
'' síld- vík'', meaning ' herring bay'.[
Shieldaig is a community of around 85 people,]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 t ...
or explorers of the Torridon Hills
The Torridon Hills surround Torridon village in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The name is usually applied to the mountains to the north of Glen Torridon. They are among the most dramatic and spectacular peaks in the British Isles and made ...
, which are a few miles around the coast.
Shieldaig holds a community fete in the second weekend of August.
Another Shieldaig
to the north lies another Shieldaig
Shieldaig ( gd, Sìldeag; on, síld- vík, lit=herring bay)W. J. Watson''Place-names of Ross and Cromarty'' 1904, p. 208. is a village in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland.
Geography a ...
.
See also
*Shieling
A shieling is a hut or collection of huts on a seasonal pasture high in the hills, once common in wild or sparsely populated places in Scotland. Usually rectangular with a doorway on the south side and few or no windows, they were often cons ...
References
External links
{{Commons category-inline, Shieldaig, Torridon, Shieldaig
Populated places in Ross and Cromarty
Torridon