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Bourblaige

  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Heritage Ardnamurchan signage for Bourblaige
  • Heritage Ardnamurchan signage for Bourblaige
  • Heritage Ardnamurchan signage for Bourblaige
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • sundew in the damp grassland at Bourblaige
  • orchid rich grassland at Bourblaige
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Bourblaige cleared settlment on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula
  • Old houses on the beach below Bourblaige
  • Old houses on the beach below Bourblaige
  • Bourblaich to the east of McLean's Nose

Details

The settlement of Bourblaige is one of the best preserved cleared settlements on the Ardnamurchan peninsula. The settlement is located on the south-east flank of Ben Hiant, between Camus nan geall and Maclean's Nose.

The village consists of approximately 36 unroofed buildings of drystone construction (dwelling houses, barns, byres), with the remaining walls between 1 and 2 metres high, scattered across an area of 400m x 300m. There are also two enclosures, a field system and a head dyke. The buildings are mostly oblong with rounded corners, with the largest building measuring 12m by 6m.

It is believed that the settlement was home to about seven families which is reflected in the small group distribution of the buildings. Kale yards (walled areas which were used to grow vegetables) can be seen next to many of the buildings. The isolated buildings in the settlement may have been owned by cottars (landless individuals). There are also traces of rig cultivation on the arable ground surrounding the township, as well as common grazing.

The inhabitants of the village would have paid rents in kind to the clan chief at Mingary Castle as well as providing fighting men on request.

Settlement on the site may date back to 800 AD or earlier. The settlement may even be the site of the Battle of Muirbulg which was fought in 731 between the Picts and the Dalriadic Scots.

In 1828, the settlement was brutally cleared by the Riddell Family, owners of the Ardnamurchan Estate. The lands of Bourblaige and the nearby Tornamona were combined and given over to sheep farming. Of the evicted inhabitants, it believed that some took refuge in the Swordle clachans, only later to be evicted in 1853, whilst others went to Acharacle or Glasgow, and others took the perilous journey to the New World to start afresh.

Location

starting grid ref: 

NM546623

Links to useful information

  • Walk to Bourblaige Cleared Settlement
  • Heritage Ardnamurchan - Bourblaige
  • Canmore - Bourblaige
  • Kilchoan Diary - The Story of Bourblaige

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