The Highland Clearances is one of the most emotive episodes in Scottish history. From the beginning of the eighteenth century tens of thousands of Highlanders were forcibly removed from land on which their families had lived for generations. Often evicted in the most autocratic and brutal manner, they were moved to marginal and unworkable areas, often on the coast, while the land from which they were wrenched was given over to large-scale sheep farming. Many were forced to make new lives for themselves in the Lowlands or colonies after their subsequent failure to make any kind of living on such unproductive soil - a dismal situation which was compounded by the potato famine of 1846.
Stunning colour photographs depict the townships as they are today and the landscapes from which so many were banished, each conveying not only the natural beauty and colour of some of Scotland’s most spectacular scenery, but also capturing the spirit of these places that witnessed such traumatic and shattering events.
David Paterson is a well-known landscape photographer who runs the Wildcountry Photolibrary in Glencoe. He has taken on assignments throughout the world and has published a number of photography books, including Border Landscape and London: City on a River (both in collaboration with Sir Julian Critchley), and two books of mountain photography The Way to Cold Mountain and Heart of the Himalaya.
David Craig is author of the best-selling On the Crofters’ Trail.
|
View cart
