I was involved in an interesting project this spring with Fiona Waddell, the Gaelic Development Officer at Perth and Kinross Council, and Nicky MacCrimmon of Boraraig Consultancy. We joined forces to run three “Gaelic in the Landscape” walks, learning about the history and folklore of the area and discovering that there were many Gaelic names in the countryside around us. All three walks were well attended – some people could speak Gaelic or were just starting to learn about the language but most were there simply out of an interest in the language and the landscape.

The first walk was in April and we wandered up Moncreiffe Hill, to the SE of Perth. The summit is a great viewpoint and is the site of two hillforts dating back 2,000 years to the Iron Age. From the summit you can see the southern Grampians, Ochils and a good view along the Tay towards Dundee. Nicky and Fiona introduced us to the Gaelic language – which was used by many people in Perthshire for centuries. Although some locational names have been anglicised over the last 200 years or so, if you look at the OS maps for Perthshire you can see lots of Gaelic place names. These names are usually very descriptive and conjure up the rich history and stories of the area.

Our second walk, in May, was at the Spittal of Glenshee – many thanks to Rhiedorrach and Invercauld estates for their local advice on sheep and lambs, cattle and ground nesting birds! Nicky evocatively told lots of interesting Gaelic stories and place names connected to the landscape, including ruined shielings and Diarmid’s tomb below Ben Gulabin.

The third walk was on a bright and breezy day at the Dùn Coillich community woodland near Aberfeldy. We were joined by Heather Hamilton, project manager, who described the work being done and the extent of regeneration. We couldn’t walk to the summit because of a hen harrier nest being near the path, but the reward was a sighting of a hen harrier in the sky. The tree regeneration that is taking place is impressive. The site has great views of Schiehallion and there are lots of interesting Gaelic stories and place names connected to the landscape.

The idea of taking people on a guided walk and interpreting the landscape in Gaelic is an excellent one. I learned a lot and it also helped with some of my pronunciation of Gaelic place names and the words for some trees and other flora and fauna. Walks like this help to bring the landscape alive to people in a way that isn’t possible through a book or online. It also helps a huge amount to have a great storyteller like Nicky who can tell excellent stories and put real meaning into it. I’m planning to write some further blogs that will pick up on some of the themes and stories.

The three walks were funded by a grant from the Bòrd na Gàidhlig, so many thanks to them for making it happen.