Rosal Township in the Scottish Highlands is probably the most informing of the heritage sites kept so well by the Forestry Commission. They’ve done a splendid job of the storyboards to help visitors find their way around the site, understanding quite a lot about how people lived back then- before the Highland Clearances.
Rosal Township sits on the side of hill at one end of Strathnaver, a glen which runs north east to south west across northern Sutherland. Strathnaver has its own place in the history of the Highland Clearances. It was a popular area and there were numerous townships, all of which were cleared by the rich men wanting even more wealth.
The storyboards are each placed by what’s left of cottage walls – mostly rocks laying on the ground but in patterns recognisable as dwellings. They show how the houses were constructed, how animals shared the buildings with people, and how the inhabitants grew crops, traded with passing drovers (taking cattle to markets in the south) and fed themselves – at times by “bleeding the cow”.
It wasn’t much of an existence, on tough land in a harsh climate. Thinking about it, we can understand some justification for claims the Highland Clearances did the people a favour – motivating them to move off the land for a better life elsewhere.
But stand there awhile and look around. You’ll get a real sense of people being there. It all feels like home, to somebody.
That’s probably the storyboards here, and the other descriptions in heritage centres. They certainly feed the imagination.
But even so! On one of the storyboards a woman suggests “we listen carefully, maybe we can hear her children playing.
And maybe if we listen hard enough we can. There’s something special about Rosal Township, and its not just the storyboards.
You can reach Rosal quite easily, although it’s not show on the map.
Take the A897 East out of Helmsdale then turn left at Kinbrace, signposted to Altnaharra. The site is well signposted near Dalvina Lodge. From there its about 1 mile in the car to a small car park, and another 500 yards on foot, down the forestry road. Turn left up a short wide track through the trees to find the entrance and the first storyboard. Make sure you wear sensible shoes, or preferably light boots.
Allow a couple of hours.
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