The must-visit villages if you are interested in ancient Scotland

Today’s selection of villages fall into the category of places that have more or less stayed the same size in terms of population throughout their existence and I will explain why. This is the penultimate column of five about villages and, sorry, but I cannot take any more suggestions.

As I have explained, there is no absolute definition of what comprises a village but I have used criteria taught to me by a fine geography teacher – that it should be in a rural location, have a population of under 3000, and be the site or past site of a centre of worship or some other form of meeting place.

All the 19 villages I have chosen meet that definition, and also comply with my criteria that they must have existed for a couple of centuries at least; should have some claim to fame in the context of Scotland’s history; and there must have been some historical research carried out about them. I am also only writing about places I have visited.

An apology first.

Last week I wrote about Glencoe and the infamous massacre perpetrated by King William’s troops commanded by Robert Campbell of Glenlyon. I named him as a colonel but in fact he was a mere captain when he led his men into infamy. Thanks to those who wrote to correct me and if you think I have made a mistake, please let me know by emailing nationalhamish@gmail.com

Kilmartin in Argyll and Bute is a real gem of Scottish history and pre-history – and a puzzle, too. At one time it was heavily linked to nearby Dunadd fort and the area was effectively the capital of the kingdom of Dalriada, or Dál Riata in Gaelic.

Yet its importance and population diminished over the centuries and it now has a smaller number of residents than it did in the 1700s.

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Dalriada, the Kingdom of the Gaels, stretched from modern-day Argyll into their original home of Northern Ireland, the people having been given the name “Scoti” by the Romans.

Dalriada reached the greatest extent of its power in from the fifth to the early seventh century, but the Kilmartin area was settled long, long before then. We know that to be the case because the village and its environs are a Scottish treasure trove in archaeological terms.

It is estimated that – including the extraordinary Kilmartin Glen – there are between 600 and 800 ancient monuments within a six-mile radius of the village, which lies north of Lochgilphead.

Some of these monuments are very ancient indeed: the Nether Largie standing stones just a mile south of Kilmartin date back to earlier than 1000 BCE. Kilmartin Glen itself has a host of monuments and ruins dating from the late Neolithic and Bronze Ages, and even older is the stone circle (below) at Temple Wood just up the road.

The brilliant Kilmartin Museum, which has reopened after a refurbishment, states on its website: “At Temple Wood there are actually two circles to visit. The first circle to the north (Temple Wood North Circle) is the smaller of the two and construction began around 5000 years ago and was originally made out of timber, with stone being added later to replace the timber posts.

“Some archaeologists believe that this timber circle was used for ceremonies or as a meeting place. The timber posts and the later stones are no longer in place apart from the stone setting in the centre, but you will find round and rectangular concrete markers identifying the places where the posts and stones were once placed.”

It’s a must-visit for anyone interested in ancient Scotland, as are all the ancient monuments in Kilmartin Glen, which includes standing stones, henges, stone burial places known as cists, a linear cemetery comprising five burial cairns, and a host of exposed rocks with cup and ring carvings that date back to before Dalriada existed. The Kilmartin Glassary is the most noted area of this prehistoric rock art, reckoned by experts to be the finest collection of such work in Europe.

Just south of the glen is the Dunadd hill fort, headquarters of the Scoti of Dalriada, where legend has it the Stone of Destiny rested for many decades before it was taken to Scone when the Picts and Scots united under Kenneth MacAlpin in 843 CE.

It is surely no coincidence that Dunadd and Kilmartin Glen’s treasures are so close together as they fed off each other for centuries.

Historic Environment Scotland is in no doubt about Dunadd’s importance, stating that it is one of the “most important early mediaeval power centres in Scotland” and adding that Dunadd had, among other facilities, “one of the most significant early medieval metal-working workshops in Europe”.

As with so many of our ancient towns and villages, Kilmartin developed alongside a Christian settlement – its name means church or cell of St Martain, the Gaelic form of Martin. He was much venerated by followers of St Columba on Iona, some of whom probably moved to Kilmartin Glen as the area gained importance.

Though the prehistoric monuments rightly take precedence, there are plenty of reminders of how this area developed as a centre of Christianity. They include the Kilmartin Stones, an extraordinary collection of gravestones dating from an 800-year period from the end of the first millennium onwards, with the buried people all unknown but though to be mainly local lairds.

The Kilmartin area also has two 16th century castles: Carnasserie, just over a mile north of the village, and Kilmartin Castle itself. The former was a 15th century tower house built for the Earl of Argyll and rebuilt in the 1560s for the cleric John Carswell, later the Bishop of the Isles and best known for publishing the works of John Knox in the first printed Gaelic book.

On his death it passed back to the Campbell clan, but they only held it until the 1680s when it was burned down. Kilmartin Castle was also largely a Carswell creation. This Z-plan tower house fell into ruination but has been lovingly restored as a luxury guest house. You could do a lot worse than stay there for a trip to Kilmartin and environs.

At the other end of the country, visitors passing through Dunbeath on the North Coast 500 might think of it just as an attractive village full of 19th century cottages, but I suggest they should stop off at the Dunbeath Heritage Museum in the Old Schoolhouse in the village and acquaint themselves with the long history of this area, for Dunbeath – which lies south of Wick – has been settled by humans for millennia as is shown by the numerous brochs in the area.

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A broch is a fortified round house that was commonly and uniquely built across Scotland – the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland recognises more than 800 actual and candidate broch sites – from the fourth century BCE onwards, though most date from the first century BCE and first century CE.

The truth is we still do not know why they were built, but after decades of argument, archaeologists now mostly agree they were the invention of our Scottish ancestors and not imported by immigrants or invaders.

There are nine brochs in the immediate area of Dunbeath and it doesn’t need a master of strategy to see why this area of Caithness was chosen as a site for settlement, as it lies on a route on the Dunbeath Water near Dunbeath Bay which was known from Neolithic times.

Although it could derive from the Gaelic for “ford of birches” I prefer the usually accepted derivation that Dunbeath means the “fort or settlement of Beth or Beath”, an unknown chieftain who made this place his home.

Perhaps it was he who built the chief broch of the area, the Dun Beath broch which was one of the first to be excavated in the mid 19th century. Unfortunately those early archaeologists were rough and ready, and while a good account was kept of findings, some stones and contents of the broch were discarded, so we do not have a full picture of who lived there.

We do know a lot more about Dunbeath Castle, which stands in a magnificent location on a rocky peninsula near the village. It is thought that some sort of fortification was erected on the site in the 13th century, but the existence of a castle is first recorded in written history in 1428 when it was owned by the Earl or perhaps Countess of Caithness.

The first laird in written history was Alexander Sutherland, whose daughter married William Sinclair, who was the first Sinclair Earl of Caithness. Except for a brief period, the castle remained in Sinclair hands for the next 325 years, being so extensively rebuilt in the 17th and 19th centuries that the modern castle, now in private hands, bears no resemblance to the original tower.

The most famous incident in its history came in 1650 when the royalist forces of James Graham, the Marquis of Montrose, briefly laid siege to it before Lady Catherine Sinclair surrendered to Sir John Urry (or Hurry), her husband Sir John Sinclair having ridden south to warn of Montrose’s incursion.

Just weeks later, Montrose and his army were defeated at the Battle of Carbisdale, and eventually he and Urry were executed for treason in Edinburgh, the castle safely back in Sinclair hands. Dunbeath would later become a thriving fishing port, and it was the birthplace of the great Scottish writer Neil M Gunn whose work was hugely influenced by the area.

From the far north to the far west, one of the last villages to be found before you reach the Atlantic Ocean is Castlebay on Barra in the Outer Hebrides.

Famous nowadays as the location for the filming of Ealing comedy Whisky Galore!, Castlebay owes its name to its long association with Kisimul Castle, which is sited in the middle of the bay and was the seat of Clan MacNeil for centuries. Kisimul itself is a Norse word meaning “castle island”, evidence of Barra being long a part of the dominions of Norway.

Just 100 yards or so from the castle in the bay, the village became the de facto port of Barra after Kisimul Castle was built in the 15th century, most probably by Gill-Adamhnain, then chief of the Clan MacNeil.

The earliest written evidence about Kisimul was provided by the Dean of the Isles, Donald Munro, in 1549: “Within the south-west end of this isle, ther enters a salt water loche, verey narrow in the entrey, and round and braide within. Into the middis of the saide loche there is ane ile, upon ane strenthey craige, callit Kiselnin, perteining to M’Kneil of Barray.”

As far as I know, there is no other village in Scotland where you had to ferry back and forth to the local castle by boat, which makes Castlebay unique in my view.