Tag Archives: Gaelic in the landscape

Flora Scotica and Highland Dyes

Posted on September 1, 2023 by NatureScot

Many plants used for the dyeing of yarn are referenced in Lightfoot’s Flora Scotica (1777). Continue reading →

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Stones of Inverness

Posted on June 16, 2021 by NatureScot

Stones with special names and stories – in and around the Highland capital – are among the treasures highlighted in a new book published by NatureScot. Leugh ann an Gàidhlig As the author of the recently published ‘Place-Names of Inverness and … Continue reading →

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An Calltainn – Craobh ar n-Annsachd

Posted on April 30, 2021 by NatureScot

Tha àite sònraichte aig a’ chraoibh-challtainn ann an saoghal traidiseanta nan Gàidheal. Read in English Tha an calltainn (Corylus avellana) na craoibh shònraichte do na Gàidheil mar a tha e do shlòigh air feadh na Roinn Eòrpa agus taobh an … Continue reading →

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The Beloved Hazel

Posted on April 30, 2021 by NatureScot

Gaelic tradition affords the craobh-challtainn – the hazel tree – a special place in people’s affections. Leugh ann an Gàidhlig The hazel tree (Corylus avellana) is a special plant to the Gaels, as it is to many of the peoples … Continue reading →

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The Robin ‘Redbreast’ – but which ‘red’?

Posted on March 30, 2021 by NatureScot

Which Gaelic word for ‘red’ is more appropriate when naming the robin? Leugh ann an Gàidhlig What sort of ‘red’ colours the breast of one of our favourite birds – the European robin (Erithacus rubecula)? Perhaps the question is redundant … Continue reading →

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Bearing Down on Ursid Toponyms

Posted on February 19, 2021 by NatureScot

Wild bears have long gone from Scotland’s landscape but echoes of them remain in our place-names … Read in Gaelic It’s far from clear when European brown bears became extinct in Scotland, but it wasn’t yesterday, and it is therefore … Continue reading →

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Mac-talla a’ Mhathain air Tìr

Posted on February 19, 2021 by NatureScot

ʼS fhada on a dh’fhalbh na mathain fhiadhaich mu dheireadh, ach tha na creutairean seo a’ nochdadh – an siud ʼs an seo – nar n-ainmean-àite fhathast … Read in English Chan eil e soilleir cuin a bhàsaich am mathan … Continue reading →

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Soilleireachadh ‘dubhair’ air mapaichean / Shedding light on toponymic ‘darkness’

Posted on January 21, 2021 by NatureScot

Airson ainmean-àite le ‘dubh’ a thuigsinn, ʼs dòcha gum feumar coimhead air slighe na grèine / To interpret place-names with the descriptor ‘dubh’ you may need to look at the path of the sun … Soilleireachadh ‘dubhair’ air mapaichean Is … Continue reading →

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Ten Gaelic place name facts

Posted on November 8, 2016 by NatureScot

Many of Scotland’s place names have Gaelic origins, some with fascinating stories and some very surprising. Here we’ve chosen our top ten. The Cairngorms get their English name from the Gaelic An Càrn Gorm ‘the blue mountain’ (the location of … Continue reading →

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