Streets o' Sonder

Isla Goldie - Photographer

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St Cyrus Formerly Ecclesgreig, St Cyrus or Saint Cyrus is a coastal village lying 36 miles south of Aberdeen in Scotland.  The pure golden beach with imposing volcanic cliffs and windswept dunes runs for 3 miles, from the small village of St Cyrus to the mouth of the North Esk River. The nature reserve on the St Cyrus beach is part of Montrose Bay and is home to a diverse set of plant life (over 300 different species) and wildlife including whales, dolphins, seals and a host of birdlife too (over 70 different species of bird having been recorded here), some of these living at their most northerly point in Scotland. St Cyrus is home to the story of the ghost of the blind piper and his dog whose pipes and dogs barking are said to still echo through the beaches caves where they disappeared a long long time ago. Who was Saint Cyrus? Cyrus lived in Alexandria, Egypt during the 3rd and 4th Century AD. He practiced the art of medicine in a workshop which would go on to became a church, administering his healing free of charge and turning many a Pagan to Christianity by saying “Whoever wishes to avoid being ill should refrain from sin, for sin is often the cause of bodily illness.” Later in his life he abandoned medicine to live a life of asceticism, giving up sensual pleasure. During the Diocletianic or Great Persecution in the year 303 AD, (the last and most severe persecution of the Christians during the Roman Empire), three holy virgins named Theoctista (15 years old), Theodora (13 years old) and Theodossia (11 years old) were arrested and Cyrus and his ally Wonderworking Unmercenary John, went to the girls to give them strength them to keep the faith and go for martyrdom. History says Cyrus and John were caught in this act and so beheaded on the 31st January, the date the Copts celebrate the martyrs with a feast. The bodies of the two martyrs were placed in the church of St. Mark the Evangelist in Alexandria. However, the former name for the area was Ecclesgreig, scots for Church of Greig. Greig, otherwise known as Grig was a 9th century Pict leader and is widely credited with establishing a church here. He is also known as Ciric, which is where St Cyrus is derived.

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Gardenstown lies eight miles east of Banff in Aberdeenshire in northeast Scotland and gets its name from Alexander Garden, who founded the fishing village in 1720. In 1875 the parish church was built separating it from the Gamrie parish in 1885. Built in 1513, the remains of the Church of St John the Evangelist are visible from most parts of Gardenstown up on the hill to its west. This church celebrates the defeat of the Danes in the Battle of the Bloody Pits in 1004. By the 1920s the area housed 250 fishermen and 50 fishing boats, this number declined largely over the years due to larger and more effective vessels being used from other ports. In 1953 the path between neighbouring Crovie and Gardenstown was washed away in a storm, along with sea defences and two houses.. In May 2007, a TV series titled The Baron was filmed in and around the village.

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Portsoy (Scottish Gaelic: Port Saoidh) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The original name may come from Port Saoithe, meaning "saithe harbour". Saithe is a type of fish in the pollock family. Portsoy, located on the Moray Firth coast of Aberdeenshire, Scotland is one of the areas oldest ports: rebuilt entirely of stone in 1692, much of it remains. Portsoy marble/serpentine is a green or red stone that was mined from a vein that runs through the hills to the west of the harbour. The stone was used in the construction of two chimney pieces in the Palace of Versailles and is still worked locally today, a range of products being on view in one of the warehouses overlooking the harbour.

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Cullen (Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Cuilinn) "Atween Coedlich and the sea, There lies Kings' sons three." Between the rocks and the sea, there lies kings' sons three. The rocks referred to are the three huge protruding parts of the Cullen Bays Quartzite which was formed some 541+ million years ago. One story tells that three kings were buried here: a Scots, a Danish and a Norwegian. History tells of one Indulf, king of Alba dying near here during the battle of the Bauds 962 AD. The three kings are said to represent the three kings of the nativity story with the burgh deriving its name from the resemblance between the name of Cullen in medieval Scots (Culane) and Cologne, the famed site of the relics of the Three Kings in the middle ages, so they became "the Three Kings of Cologne". When Ptolemy (100-170 AD) wrote his ‘Geographia’, he provided coordinates of the geographic features of more than 8,000 places including a mention of River Celnius in the North East of Scotland, which has been notably identified as the Cullen Burn. Robert the Bruce was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329 and one of Scotlands most famous warriors who lead Scotland into their First War of Scottish Independence (1296-1328). Robert the Bruce founded the church in Cullen and also burried his wife here.

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Bow Fiddle Rock was given its name from its appearance being likened to the tip of a bow protruding from the Portknockie waters of the North Sea. The rock is part of a larger mass of quartzite which runs from Buckpool, the west end of Buckie, to Logie Head, the main headland east of Cullen. Quartzite is a metamorphic rock, which means that it has been altered in nature by heat or by pressure. In this case layers of sandstone, grit and sediment piled upon each other creating immense pressure to create the much denser rock that is there today. Ancient continents Laurentia and Avalonia collided crumpling the strata/rock here, producing the rocks downward slope which can be seen in bigger proportions by looking at the larger area.

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Also known as the Applecross Pass, the Bealach na Bà (‘historically Bealach nam Bò’ meaning Pass of the Cattle) is a single track road with passing places that runs through the mountains of the Applecross peninsula and upwards 626 meters from sea level at its highest point, making it the 3rd highest mountain in the United Kingdom. The gradient of the climb is the steepest in the UK: learner drivers and motor home users are encouraged to take an alternative route as the drive through the pass can be challenging and frankly, nerve-wracking. The road is often closed during the winter season as the pass can be clear at sea level and have six foot snow drifts at the treacherous hairpin turns at the top. The route was a simple track through the glen around 2000 years ago that was used by the Irish monk St Maelrubha , who win the year 1673, with his missionaries founded a christian settlement on the land between the river and Beinn A'Chlachain. Monk Maelrubha declared the surrounding area a Sanctuary, and even today, Applecross is known as A'Chomraich - the sanctuary. During the late 18th century through to the early 19th century most of the land between Lewis and Fortrose was owned by Mackenzie of Gairloch and Mackenzie of Applecross and they had a major say in the building of new roads in the Highlands at this time. For them the pass was to be used for droving cattle that serviced the movement of stock to markets at Muir of Ord, Falkirk and London. There was trouble finding a contractor to take on the job of building this road as many refused. Apparently, the first contractor only lasted 3 months as history states that the task of building the road had driven him insane due to all the rocks and stones falling down on his task. Eventually completed in 1898 by Edinburgh contractors John Reid & Son, an 1898 roads guide described the Bealach na Bà as: "Although the road has been engineered by a series of zig zags to ease the gradient as much as possible, nevertheless it is terribly steep, and the surface is wretched." Improvements have been made over the years; widening at the hairpins close to the summit, better and more frequent passing places and the roads are now tarmacked, however, taking on this road and it’s challenging gradient is still considered by many, as a right of passage. To reach the summit is a beautiful relief.

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Kyleakin (in Gaelic ‘Caol Àcain’) gets its name from the strait of Kyle Akin: a stretch of water at the entrance of Loch Alsh. Kyle means a narrow, strait of water. The name Akin likely comes from Acain, deriving from the name Haakon after King Haakon the IV of Norway who, supported by Gaelic forces from the Western Isles, anchored his fleet in Kyleakin prior to the battle fought against the Scottish King Alexander III, at Largs in 1263 AD. Another possible origin of Acain is that it is derived from Acunn, a Celtic mythological figure who’s legend has it that he, and his brother Riadh lived happily alongside each other in two towers, then one cold day Riadh stole a burning peat from Acunn’s tower to warm up his own. Acunn and Riadh had a terrible fight resulting in them scattering stones all over the bay of Glenelg. Castle Moil, now a ruin, was a fortress built in the late 15th century allegedly for a Norwegian princess known as 'Saucy Mary'. Princess Mary had imposed a toll for boats crossing the site and used a chain slung from the castle to the mainland to ensure their adherence. Once the crew had paid their toll, the princess would bare her breasts (maybe even give them a jiggle), hence the nickname 'Saucy Mary'.

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Carbost (Càrrabost in Gaelic) means copse or brushwood farm. Carbost is a small village on the south shore of Loch Harport in the parish of Bracadale on the Isle of Skye. Talisket (Gaelic talamh sgeir or talaisgeir) means Land of the Cliff or Sloping Rock. The Talisker distillery at Carbost was founded in 1830 by Hugh and Kenneth MacAskill, and built in 1831 at Carbost after they acquired the lease of Talisker House, traditionally the home of the second sons of the chiefs of Clan MacLeod. The distillery was rebuilt 1880–87 and extended in 1900 and the distillery remains the only whisky distillery on Skye.

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Glen Brittle or (Gleann Breadail in Gaelic) was likely given it’s name from the old Norse of Bred Dal which means broad valley. Glen Brittle is a large glen on the south coast of Skye. During the year of 1601, the Battle of Coire na Creiche was fought between the Clan MacLeod of Dunvegan and the Clan MacDonald of Sleat with the MacDonalds taking victory on these northern slopes of the Cuillin hills. This was the last clan battle documented on Skye. Many families were turfed out of their homes here to make way for sheep during the highland clearances. The ruined homes can still be seen. The waterfalls and pools that run here are affectionately named the Fairy Pools, maybe as one the MacLeod chiefs was said to have had a fairy wife and to have named the pools for her or maybe they are named after the little people who are said to live there. Glen Brittle is nestled alongside the Black Cuillin ridge. Around 60,000,000 years ago, the Black Cuillin Ridge was formed of rough gabbro rock and a smooth basalt ridge after the collapse of an enormous magma chamber created by a huge volcano.

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The name “Mallaig” was potentially composed of the Gaelic component Mol or Mal which means ‘shingly’ (covered in small pebbles) and Vik which is Norse for ‘bay’ or it could simply be Norse for “Bay of the Seabirds”. it’s Gaelic name is “Acarsaid na Coille Mor” which means “Harbour of the Big Wood”. Mallaig has been a harbour for long enough to have been used by the Vikings when they came to plunder the Scottish shores but it wasn’t until the last couple decades of the 19th century that the area started taking on the appearance of a fishing port. This was after Lord Lovat had the road to the pier extended and a barrel and salt store built. Around this time, Mallaig became famous for its massive hauls of herring, then a very important industry on the west coast of Scotland. The Fort William to Mallaig Railway Line or the “Mallaig Extension” as it is known today was completed in 1901 and one of the most popular railway lines for tourists visiting the UK.

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Driving by the banks of Loch Linnhe, passing St. Brides Church, Onich, a beautiful picnic area and upon reaching Fort William, I stopped for a look at the fishing pier at the West End car park overlooking Loch Leven.

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The name Eilean Donan, or the Island of Donan was likely named after the Irish Saint, Bishop Donan, who came to Scotland circa 580 AD and likely set up a small community there. The small tidal island where three sea lochs meet (Loch Duic,Loch Long and Loch Alsh), was first fortified to withstand the Vikings in the thirteenth century. The site grew into a large castle, covering the whole of the island but at the end of the fourteenth century, the castle was reduced to about a fifth of this size. Eileen Donan’s part in the Jacobite risings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ultimately lead to its demise, and for nigh on the next two hundred years, the castle lay in ruins. In 1911, Lt. Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap bought the island, rebuilding the castle using earlier plans and completing the building in 1932.

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Glencoe the Village is known by locals in it’s Gaelic name as ‘A’ Chàrnaich’ meaning "the place of cairns”. Glen Coe, the ‘glen of weeping’, is located in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands and hosts Scotland’s most infamous glen with a terrible history of inter-clan hostility and murder. The most well known being the Massacre of Glencoe. On February 13th, 1692, acting on behalf of the government of King William III following the Glorious Revolution, Captain Campbell lead his soldiers to enact the treacherous slaughter of the Clan MacDonald at Glencoe. Some clansmen escaped but their chief, 33 other men, 2 women, and 2 children were slaughtered from their sleep. Glen Coe cradles evidence of a series of volcanic eruptions and an ancient caldera collapse. For geologists, this is where the idea of ‘cauldron subsidence’, now called ‘caldera collapse’, was born over 100 years ago. A caldera is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber/reservoir in a volcanic eruption. The ground surface then collapses downward into the emptied magma chamber, leaving a sometimes massive depression at the surface. In the glen you might glimpse sheep, wild mountain goats, or even a red deer stag. Diversity of bird life here is rich, from water-loving dippers to whooper swans.

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A smile and a wave and he’s away.

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Aberdeen’s festival of light, SPECTRA. A fantastic weekend of light-based art to brighten up these dark winter days, unfortunately, this year the show was cut short due to gale force winds.

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Streets o' Sonder turned 5 today!

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St Cyrus at Sunrise