What's in a Name  by Scott Russell of Strathfarrar

 Now, where were we? Ah yes, I think we parted on the road up to Strathglass.  I was considering the meanings of some of the place- names on the way. Well, we'll just carry on up the glen in this article, but if you don't mind, I'd like to backtrack a bit before going on.

 In the last article I mentioned a couple of names that belonged to the class of 'haven't a clue' - one of which is Altyre. Having done a bit more delving and talked to some people, I'm fairly confident (in the place-name game one can rarely be certain) that this is the Gaelic word for 'altar' and appears on one old map as Altair, which would be pronounced close enough to the current local pronunciation (which does not rhyme with 'fire'!). Although I have some wacky ideas of my own as to what the name suggests, I'll wait a while before airing them.

 The other name is Platchaig. Last time out, I suggested that this was a word borrowed into Gaelic, judging by the initial 'p' which occurs rarely, ifat all, in original Gaelic words.  I haven't yet been forced to eat my words - not quite - but I have been informed by a knowledgeable local, and have myself read in Watson's Place-names of Ross and Cromarty, that the name derives from the Gaelic meaning 'Jackdaw Flats'.  mmm.

We are not convinced.

 Meanwhile, back on the road, well, actually I think I left you stumbling around up at Farley and Urchany. Oh dear, it seems we've got another two in that dread category. Neither name gives up its meaning too easily  - in fact, I haven't been able to find out where either of them comes from. Any offers?

 Up on Knockfarrel the other day, I noticed that the spelling on the information board at the fort didn't accord with that on the road sign, so I looked it up when I got home and found, both in Dwelly's dictionary and Watson (mentioned above) that the name in Gaelic is Farralaidh.  There is a strong possibility that this is also the original name for the area now called Farley and the meaning would be something like high/projecting stone place', possibly in reference to the stone defensive structures that both places feature.

 Let's go on toAigas.  Another difficult entry, but this time the consensus seems to be that the first part comes from the Gaelic word for a notch (eag) while the second part (as) could be from waterfall (G. 'eas'), but it may just mean 'place of. Either way, it serves as a description of the place. The different pronunciations - one ending in 's', the other 'sh' – are explained by the fact that the change indicates the grammatical difference in Gaelic between the nominative and genitive cases. For those who are confused by these terms, this just means saying 'Aigas' or 'of Aigas'. So if you're talking about Crask of Aigas, the second word ends in 'sh' and it means 'the crossing at the place ofthe notch'.

 If you are making this journey on the map (Landranger no.26), just upriver from here you'll see Craigdhu. Hooray, we've got a certainty! This means 'black crag'. Of course, the English/Scottish word 'crag' is from the Gaelic and originally denoted specific qualities of hill/rock, but we won't go too deeply into that.

 Just north of Craigdhu is Bad a' Chliabhain, which means 'the buzzard's clump'.  You still see buzzards here most of the time. They've obviously been around for a while. Maybe they've got their own name for the place.

 In a previous article I suggested Dun a' Chliabhain was possibly a mistake and should read Dun a' Chlabhain. I could cite this as support for my theoly, since the two are fairly close together - certainly within the home range of a buzzard.

 The next name on this paper perambulation is Craobhnaclag, which, as it stands means 'the bell tree' or 'tree of the bells'. This could be a mistake on the part of the mapmakers because the local pronunciation has it as croo-na-glac (as near as I can get phonetically) which would be Gaelic for 'tree in/of the hollow. However, in an article in The Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness for 1914, a Rev. Archibald Macdonald tells the story of three bells being found by Merchard, the patron saint of Conventh, buried under a tree in this area -giving the name Craobhnanglag (G. tree ofbells).

 Knochnashalavaig is another quite straightforward name meaning 'hillock of sorrel'. The spelling has been 'Englished' - the Gaelic form being Cnoc na Sealbhaig, pronounced much the same.

 The next major name, both on the map and in terms of historical importance, is Erchless. The experts have it that this is from the Gaelic 'air Glass' (on the river Glass), which certainly describes it. But then we have to ask what 'Glass' means, and that's the tricky bit. It could relate to the current Gaelic word for ditch, or it could be a very early word denoting a river deity. Take your pick!

 On to Struy then; based on the Gaelic word for stream (sruth). This almost certainly refers to the meeting of the rivers Glass and Farrar and probably is best thought of as 'confluence'.

 Now we're faced with the difficult choice of going on up Strathglass or turning due west up Glenstrathfarrar. My own inclination is to head west, but since Glenstrathfarrar isn't in the parish of Kilmorack, perhaps this would be a good place for us to part and we'll meet again same place next time.