Standing at the head of Loch Broom in Ross and S Cromarty, I am watching a magnificent white-tailed eagle hunt for prey. Nearby is the road north to Ullapool; to the south-east the bare summit of Beinn Dearg looming over a deserted interior of high lochs and barren land punctuated by remote rivers and glens. Immediately in front of me is the dark outline of Inverlael Glen, densely planted with conifers in the 1930s.
It is a tranquil spot. You might hear the piping of oystercatchers or, in summer, the howling calls of mating red- and blackthroated divers. Today, the glen is devoid of people.
Rewind around 200 years and this would have been a vastly different scene. With widely spaced deciduous trees, this glen was home to around 77 multi-generational families and upwards of 600 Gaelic-speaking inhabitants. Their centuries-old lifestyle came to an abrupt end with the Highland Clearances of 1819-20, when they were brutally evicted and their homes destroyed.
There the story of Inverlael might end were it not for the curiosity and passion of Duncan Mackenzie - a former policeman, one-time guesthouse owner and lifelong stalker. He speaks of "a sophisticated people with a thriving economy". The evictions were the work of an unrelated Mackenzie - George Steuart Mackenzie of Coul - the laird who lived 40 miles south at Contin. To Duncan, he's "a toff set on improving land, rather than people". A landowner who could get six times more rent from sheep farming. "My grandfather rarely swore," says Duncan, "yet he summed up the landlord and his people in two words: 'the bastards"."
Some of those evicted went to other parts of the Highlands - 50 miles over the hill to Tain, south to Inverness or Dingwall. Others walked barefoot to ports to board boats bound for Tasmania and Nova Scotia, never to return. "It was just: 'Go... and don't come back!' They weren't even allowed to lift their potatoes."
Denne historien er fra September 2022-utgaven av BBC Countryfile Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra September 2022-utgaven av BBC Countryfile Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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We Are an Island Nation - So Let's Protect Our Seas - Living in the UK makes us islanders and personally I'm proud of that definition - not in any political or jingoistic sense, but simply because I love the sea and in this country we are totally surrounded by it.
Living in the UK makes us islanders and personally I'm proud of that definition - not in any political or jingoistic sense, but simply because I love the sea and in this country we are totally surrounded by it. We live inside thousands of miles of coastline, in a nation whose borders were created by nature and made us what we are.
Discover Jurassic Coast - With its towering cliffs, sweeping beaches and pretty seaside towns, the shoreline of Dorset and east Devon is spectacular.
With its towering cliffs, sweeping beaches and pretty seaside towns, the shoreline of Dorset and east Devon is spectacular. Jo Caird fossicks for fossils and dramatic rock formations. It's an auspicious start to my journey along the Jurassic Coast. This 95-mile stretch of shore mostly in Dorset, but nudging just into east Devon - is blessed with awe-inspiring geological formations and fossil deposits that have garnered it recognition as England's only natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. Snaking east from Orcombe Point near Exmouth to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage, it's studded with monumental rock arches, seemingly endless shingle beaches and fossil beds from which treasures were prised that altered our understanding of prehistory.
Viking shores
We picture Vikings marauding coastal settlements, looting and raiding. But what was life really like in the Viking Age? Historian Eleanor Barraclough reveals what the ancient artefacts found on Britain's shores tell us about our formidable forebears
Sea horses
On Cornwall's coastal clifftops, Melanie O'Shea meets the hardy grazing ponies that are helping to restore the land, so nature can flourish once more
A wing and a prayer
From their desks at Boulmer, 1,000 RAF personnel watch the skies for airborne threats to the country. Yet beyond the concrete of the base, vulnerable birdlife flourishes - thanks to the hard work of a small team
Cast in bone
Cuttlefish bones washed up on our shores have been used to make jewellery since ancient times. Jo Caird meets a craftswoman who's keeping the art alive on the Kent coast
EDIBLE SEAWEEDS
An ancient food harvested by humans for millennia, seaweeds bring an intense and rich flavour of the sea to a wide range of dishes, as well as essential mind-and-body-boosting nutrients
Spines and sulky faces
Watch where you put your feet at the beach - a weever fish could be lurking
Sea stars
The playful performances of Britain's bottlenose dolphins attract avid fans - but they deserve personal space
Harris's wildly beautiful beach
Cornwall may pull in the crowds, but one Hebridean strand stuns visitors