Ballachulish

The Mysterious Ballachulish Goddess

Ballachulish means village of the narrows. There has always been a settlement here at the narrows as far back as Neolithic times as the soil was fertile from the deposits brought down after the last ice-age and it was the most likely place to cross. There is evidence of Crannog constructions in the backfield behind the hotel that was once a fresh water pond. These early buildings were constructed on water as some protection from marauding tribes.

The most significant find is the "Ballachulish Goddess", a wooden figurine about 4 feet in length found in the 1890s and since dated at 626 BC. The Goddess can be seen in the Scottish Museum in Edinburgh. There are few Viking place names in the area, but the strategic nature of the narrows and the fertility of the surrounding areas would surely have made it a must for the Vikings.

The Red Fox and Seamus a’ Ghlinne