The Vikings are back in the North of Scotland

A huge number of vessels from Sweden,Norway, the Baltic States and the old Viking area have been spotted North of Fort William.

It has been 735 years, almost to the month since the last Vikings raided Scotland in anger.

Then they were driven off Scotland for ever, with the help of a massive storm breaking up their ships. This was a huge change in Scotland's fortunes, after all the Vikings had dominated the West and East coasts for the previous 400 years. They raided, they killed, they took slaves, and later they settled, married the local women and raised local families, often defending their adopted hosts against other Viking raiders.

Their DNA can be found in the Scottish highland families even to-day. Viking DNA dominates in Orkney people.

But to-days Vikings come in peace. Norwegian, and Swedish ships account for most of the extra third in shipping in to-days Caledonian Canal. The huge geological fault called the Great Glen was formed over 400 million years ago to divide North-west and North-east Scotland. The lochs which were formed were joined up by canals around the 1800's by Thomas Telford.

Loch Ness itself is the deepest and longest loch in Scotland. The canal means that a big distance in very bad waters is taken out of the East coast to West coast shipping route. The cliffs in the far North of Scotland and the islands there are very dangerous. Scapa Flow divides the Orkneys from the mainland and there are hundreds of wrecks buried there from the 2nd world war. The canal starts just a bit North of Fort William, overlooked by the North ridge of Ben Nevis, cuts out all these hazards.

The canal is getting more popular. 20 tall ships came down the canal this year to Liverpool before returning through the canal to Norway. There has been a concerted marketing effort to get more of the Nordic countries shipping through the canal and it seems to have been paying off.

Let us hope we can see more big shipping moving up and down Loch Linnhe, outside Kentallen bay.

John

Here are some historical pages, covering this region.


Glencoe, one of the official Wonders of Scotland
Walk up and down Ben Nevis in a day
Touring around the Highlands
Local history in the West coast
Ancient trackways of the Highlands still in use to-day
The real truth about the Massacre of Glencoe
Appin is the land of the Stewart Kings
The Vikings in Glencoe, was there a big battle?
The Scottish highlands millions of years ago
Robert the Bruce and the Ardchattan priory parliament
The Knights Templar in Argyll
The battle of Bannockburn and the role of the MacDonalds and Campbells
Help for holidaymakers finding good cottage properties
Self catering properties available for Christmas and the New Year
Scottish tourist board - all Scotland's information in just one page
Scottish Weather misconceptions
Rain in Scotland - the truth

Sorry only one short holiday break left in Glencoe

March 17th until 21st is the only time we can offer for a short Winter break. Don't know what has happened this year. We have been indundated with early bookings - even into October.

Not complaining, it is rather exciting. Thank you everyone.

I want to put in a link to the viking page we've just done on the web site. This is purely for Google to find it more easily.

The Vikings in Glencoe, the Terror, the Glencoe Battle

Here is the page showing our availability for the rest of the year.

Glencoe cottage availability, self catering cottage

John

This is officially the coldest place in the North

I've never had e-mails like it. This one from Justin, came in about three hours after Sue's e-mail about cold weather. I don't know him, but apparently he travels in Russia and would not like to spend time in a Gulag. Personally, I'm still going to give my vote for the hardiest person to Craig, who has to lecture to the Inuit in mid winter. There is not a lot of joy in that.

Ps, it is about time we had a cold photo. This was taken on the top of Ben Nevis on Castle Ridge by Cassio Cassio. See his photos on Flickr.com How cold was it? Very, very. John

Neither of you are even warm yet, when it comes to coldest.

Oymyakon, in Eastern Siberia, has an average winter temperature of -96F The little village is home to 900 permanent residents, who endure winter for nine months out of the year, and considered −30 F "balmy"

This area is in the East Siberian taiga (northern coniferous forest) and is so cold because it is located near the eastern end of the world's largest land mass and blocked by mountain ranges from moderating oceanic influences.

Even in the middle of winter, places right around the ocean, even though they are much farther north, don't grow as cold as those farther from the ocean.

The Russian Vostok Station in Antarctica holds the record for the coldest official temperature on Earth, -129 F, recorded on July 21, 1983. The average low for August there is -103 F. This station is on the Antarctic Plateau, where the South Pole is located, but even farther from an ocean than the Pole.

2,000 years ago Scotland was almost tropical. It was still pretty warm when the Vikings were invading the North West Coast.

John

Lochside cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland

The Vikings in Glencoe, the Terror, the Glencoe Battle

SO YOU THINK THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS ARE COLD?

Not everything is snow covered. Here is our Camellia, on February 1st. Spring is not far away.

So you think its been cold? Don’t go there boys and girls – we don’t know how lucky we are with our weather even in Winter. I’ve made pals by e-mail with Craig Bowman who is coming to stay with his wife at the cottage for a week later in the year. They are from Canada.

Some of the temperatures he talks about are also experienced within a mile of our cottage. If you climb up 3,000 feet to the peak above us, Beinn a Bheithir, in mid-winter in a howling gale, you will not survive long with the wind chill temperatures easily below -20. But his experience of these temperatures at sea level is awesome.

Here is his latest e-mail.

I'm writing you from La Ronge SK today, about 5 hours' drive north of Saskatoon. It is currently -41 C with windchills below -50, and only 7 of the 20 or so people who were supposed to come to my talk came today. I blame the weather. My hotel here has some rooms that face the outdoors (not mine thank goodness) and two teenage girls were frozen (by that I mean the door wouldn't open) inside this morning. The hotel guy had to get a space heater on the door, then took a ladder to get inside from the window, and then pushed his way out from the inside. Many hijinks ensued.

-30 is truly bad but unfortunately common at this time of year. At the extreme, we get down to about -45 once or twice per winter, and the wind can feel like it's taking an extra -20 off. When it gets like that, you avoid going outside, but life goes on, so we have some coping strategies. First, you need to have an electric block heater in the car, and preferably a remote-control starter as well so you can take the edge off before venturing out.

At those temperatures, exposed skin can freeze in less than a minute, so the key is layering & coverage - you know those facemasks you see thieves wearing on TV? People here wear them while walking the dog. Underneath a hat and scarf. And the dog wears little
socks.

Your tears are a saline solution, so the eyeballs do not freeze up unless you're already dying of hypothermia, which happens a few times a year to drunk people walking home from the pub or stranded motorists going for help. The eyes aren't the big problem - it's fingers, toes & ears, which can freeze through and then develop gangrene. It all sounds worse than it is; the great majority of people prepare before the go out and are ready for it. Fortunately, the deep freeze in Canada really only lasts from late November to late March, and it the worst never lasts too long - tomorrow is getting up to -7!

Craig

Lochside cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland

Autumn Breaks October November December Glencoe

Winter breaks January February March in Glencoe

Spring breaks, March April May Glencoe

The Vikings in Scotland, the Terror, the Battles, Vikings in Glencoe

last minute, self catering holiday breaks scotland

excellent Scottish holiday properties offering short breaks and special prices

New page about the Viking terror around the Highlands

Lots of interesting stories about the Vikings in West Scotland - from 790 odd until 1263.

Where can you see Vikings to-day? - well, try all the clansmen originating in the Isles and on the West Coast. They are mostly Vikings according to their DNA . On the Islands probably more Viking than Scots.

Inland, not so much.

Initially they were just money grubbing thieving pirates. Aiming at the churches - particularly Iona, but also the Bishpric in Lismore near us, they were after the jewels and valuables. They sold them on in markets around the world.

If there was no church, then they hit the settlements aiming for women and young men to hold as slaves. They sold the slaves initially in the Orkneys and from there they traded them to the East and Middle East. Slaves meant good money. Slaves were traded in the same way as animals, in markets.

Around the 9th century they had another trick. The Scots had stopped building churches, and certainly kept no valuables in them. Vikings had a lot of internal battles in their homelands, and saw the land of the Scots as offering a better living better. A bit like our own people emigrating to Canada, the USA, South Africa, the Vikings thought why don't we offer the locals a deal?

We'll offer to protect the settlements from these terrible invaders so long as they give us land in exchange and some financial help. Sounds like a good deal. And if the locals don't agree? Well, we'll kill them anyway and behead the chiefs and burn the houses to make the next lot agree.

I believe that Glencoe, and Loch Leven started to feature in their plans around the 10th century. There had been many raids on Lismore. Mull, Morven and Sktye were colonised already.

There are Viking signs in Glencoe, no signs of settlements, just graves and legends about a huge battle in Glencoe, plus a Saga story about a Viking Prince. But no Viking place names, meaning no long term settlements.

That's it then. They were probably defeated in Glencoe, around the 12th century and their decline began.

How? Well, you'll have to read the web site to find out. It is a good story. Not really told properly, in context, before.

The Vikings in Scotland, the Terror, the Battles, Vikings in Glencoe

John
ps We have availability for short breaks from January to the end of March but no dates in April are left. Our availability tables on the website are always kept up to date, by the way.

pps. If you want a jazz band to play at your daughter's wedding, just click on the site below. Oh what the hell, in this life if you don't ask you don't get. So its a long shot.

Lochside cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland. The main site

Winter breaks January February March in Glencoe

Spring breaks, March April May Glencoe

Help for holiday home owners for their Web sites

Scotland how to find your ideal holiday property

last minute, self catering holiday breaks scotland

excellent Scottish holiday properties offering short breaks and special prices

Virtual tour of the cottage near Glencoe

Some other sites I run for folks interested in playing jazz.

Blog site for Jazz players in the South of England
Busy site, packed with music information for jazz players
The Smugglers Jazz band for weddings and functions in the South of England
The weekly Jazz workshop for players and amateurs