Family history is a passion. Usually, I restrict the researching of it till winter months, but given my recent extended stay in the Inverness area, it was entirely appropriate to frequent places that until now have only been names on a certificate or record.
I loved being in this part of Scotland and certainly felt a connection to it. I identified with the light and airiness of the countryside, and delighted in my many walks through tall pine woods. I sensed the deep links that people here have with the land, and marvelled at the arable nature of the extensive farmlands. No wonder so many of my Chisholm ancestors were farmers and ploughmen and in more recent times were gardeners. Working on the land is hard but immensely rewarding. It offers insight into the cycle of life that we are only a tiny part of. I had arrived in the lands of my forefathers with little knowledge of this wonderful place and would leave better acquainted and keen to return.

Names of parishes and townships, villages and farms became real to me as I saw them appear on signs, noted their closeness to one another and began to place them geographically. I searched out a few graveyards, visited Ardersier, Croy, and Inshes. We were living within the Parish of Petty, yet another point of contact with the past. I had yet to discover Kilmorack, Kirkhill and Kiltarlity. It was time to make the journey into Chisholm territory, Strathglass.

I was up early one morning and set off on my own to find Beauly and then trace its river, The Beauly, and then The River Glass into the valleys of Strathglass, the name chosen by my dad for our house in Bearsden. He chose it because of its association with The Chisholms. I found it to be one of the most beautiful places I’d ever been in Scotland.
I drove to Kilmorack and found the original church which has now become a gallery. I wandered through the graveyard and was disappointed to discover that all of the stones were very recent. I had not noticed that there was another bigger and older graveyard on the other side of the road. It will certainly be a place to visit again.

I was however successful in finding a place that appeared on my 4x great grandfather Kenneth’s death certificate. He had died in Breakachy. It may well have been a farm, cottage or croft. That is something for me to confirm through records. I drove off the main road, past a little school and onto a single track road that wound its way up into the hills. As I recorded my little movie footage, I was struck by the intensity of the peacefulness of the place. It will be a place to return to and spend more time soaking in the feel of it. Until then I can look at this little movie and remember.

I ventured further into Strathglass and found Erchless Estate, and Erchless Castle,the original seat of The Chisholm of Chisholms. From the road it looked like it had been quite a sizeable estate with high walled gardens and numerous outbuildings. I might have considered passing the private signs and feigning ignorance of their presence, but my time was short. I’d been away for too long and we had friends coming for wine and cheese, both of which had still to be bought! Once again, I noted the need to return, the need to find out more about this huge estate’s history and how that impacted on the lives of my own particular line of the clan

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