I believe it was on our first visit to the museum at Kildonan in South Uist when I found out about Archie. It had been nearly 30 years since Laura and I had stayed at the B & B that I mentioned in last week’s discussion of South Uist. At the museum, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to describe the owner of that B & B from my distant past and see if anyone might know who I was talking about. The first person I spoke with, in the museum shop, knew the man quite well!
When I first spoke with Archie, it was magical to think that this was the same person, who had hosted us so long ago. We had been lucky back then, because it turned out that his wife’s B & B had only been available for about 2 years more after we were there.
During the 30 years since, Archie had been hard at work on what has turned into a lifelong project of reforesting native trees in his corner of South Uist. Throughout the Highlands, much of the land is barren of trees, simply because of the sheep and deer who nibble at the saplings and don’t allow them to grow into trees. These animals took over due to sheep estates developed as a result of the Highland Clearances, and lucrative deer hunting estates, where people pay to hunt a groomed herd of deer.
There are places in the Highlands with lots of Sitka spruce trees that were planted around World War I. These dense, neat rows of trees were intended for use in the military and industry. Concepts of Scottish forestry have changed, however, and many of those farmed spruce trees have been harvested and replaced by native trees such as rowan, birch, and Scots pine, with the long-range agenda of returning the land to its native ecosystem of flora and fauna. In some areas, the landscape already looks more like it did in old paintings with scenes of nature in Scotland.
Archie’s project in South Uist created a unique forest in an area that, when we were there at Angie's B&B, used to be bare foothills. His Arinaban Woodland, in Loch Eynort, offers many footpaths through an incredible variety of trees. Archie’s years of dedication and hard work included efforts to fence off the area from nearby deer, so as to give the trees a fighting chance to grow.
The “Arinaban” name comes from the Gaelic “Àiridh Nam Ban,” or “Sheiling of the Women,” which refers to the ruins of a local medieval nunnery.
Below are a couple of photos of Archie and some of his trees.
Near Archie’s house is this whimsical wooden table and chairs made from his trees. Next to it is a view from inside a small stand of trees, with the surrounding sea in the distance.
We learned that Archie had edited a hefty but fascinating autobiography his father had left behind, describing his many adventures, ranging from fighting in World War I to working in America, and returning to South Uist during the Depression to raise a family. On the boat back to Scotland, he was approached by a Scotsman asking if he’d like to invest in the man’s new invention, which he promised would be a big hit. Archie’s father didn’t have much money, so he declined the offer. The man’s invention turned out to be the television!
Below is a view from nearby, and several beautiful ponies we came across there.
Our journey will continue north to North Uist, but first we’ll learn a bit more about South Uist native Gillebride MacMillan and his award-winning and inventive Gaelic singing.
Here’s a final photo I took on the road to Arinaban.