Nestling on the south coast of the rugged Knoydart peninsula, the village of Inverie gives us an insight into coastal highland life before the advent of the motor car. In other words, it’s easily accessible by sea, but reaching the outside world on land requires a long trek over the unforgiving mountains of the Knoydart peninsula. Unless you fancy the difficult 15km hike, to reach Inverie you need to board the small Western Isles passenger ferry at the fishing port of Mallaig. The voyage around the headland and into Loch Nevis takes between 30 and 45 minutes. Mallaig was linked to the rest of the world by both road and rail in the early 20th century. By contrast the UK road network has never reached Inverie or the other tiny hamlets of Knoydart. There's little traffic, but since a community buy-out in 1999 Knoydart has been far from quiet.
At the end of the 18th century over 1000 people lived on Knoydart. Most of that population was evicted by the landowner Josephine MacDonnell. Further evictions terrorised the remaining tenants. The cairn in the centre of Inverie commemorates the seven men of Knoydart who made a famous land raid in 1948. They lost their case against the establishment but the cause was eventually won by the community buy-out in 1999. A victory that can be celebrated in Inverie’s famous pub, the Forge, the most remote in mainland Britain and now also community owned.
Thank you to Lorna, Kira and Terra for kindly participating in this short film.
Jonathan Wheeler
Filmed May 2024
‪@eyescotland‬
(Sister channel to Travel Obscurer)
Music licensed through Artlist.
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