Cultural

Highland Games in the communities have been part of life since early Clan Gatherings, when  Chieftains aspired to set warrior against warrior in a boast to prove the worthiness of his Clan, be that Mackay, Macleod, Mackenzie, Sinclair, Gunn or Sutherland.  The Durness and Halkirk Games attract world-class athletes with entertainment fit for any visitor who wants a snap-shot of a culture that also gives you many memorable County Shows, each a rival to the renowned Black Isle Show, with agricultural prowess as fascinating as are displays of horsemanship.  Watch breathtaking gatherings of massed pipe bands or drink in the story of the Highland Dance. 

But there is more to the culture of the Northern Highlands than shows and games.    The Arts play a vital role in the social structure of town and country life.  Many of today’s poets, singers and writers in the north take their inspiration from the bardic traditions of their past.  Music and Gaelic language is taught through the medium of organisations such as Fèis air an Oir and Fèis Rois.  Seek out one of their Ceilidhs and be charmed by young entertainers as they learn the language and music of their forebears.  Speak to the tutors and organisers who keep such traditions alive and experience the joy a Highlander takes in tossing into the melting pot of today’s youth, a breath of pure magic from their past. www.ambaile.org.uk/en/index.jsp

You may prefer a more classical performance and there is plenty to chose from.  The North Sutherland and Caithness Childrens Choir is as much a joy to listen to – performing in English and at times Caithness dialetct – as are the award winning Gaelic Choirs based in Dingwall, Lairg and Melvich.  Attend the Ullapool Festival and many others to be enthralled by the variety of talent from far and wide who entertain. 

The crofting system of the past is so vital to the survival of the North Highlands, it sets its seal upon the villages you visit and opt to stay in today.  Learn of a way of life that is embedded into much of today’s culture as you walk through crofting land in the village of Skerray in Sutherland with its interesting local museum, or visit the Laidhay Preservation Trust and Mary Anne’s Cottage in Caithness as well as visitor centres in Assynt in the north-west or follow the Pitctish Trail in Easter Ross. 

Strathnaver Museum in Bettyhill tells more of how a people were torn from the fertile Straths and river valleys to earn their living on the shorelines that saw heartbreak in the many drownings of entire families as they learned the new trade of fishing in order to survive.  A memorial garden in Portskerra tells of one such disaster.  A flavour of some crofting skills can be witnessed at any sheep-dog trial, or follow the craft of the herring-fishing lassies at the Wick Heritage Centre when they plied their trade along the coastline where the people learned to live and die by the fruits of the sea.  

There is a background of culture in the native people, enhanced by the input from those who chose to come and live in this unique part of the word.  Come and experience a blend of the past, willing to embrace all that is good of the present, so the future can be shared with those who have the desire to come and experience this culture for themselves.  You will be welcome, hospitality being as much part of the culture as breathing in the fresh clear air of the Highlands.

©  Joan Campbell