Visit to the lost village of Auchindrain

Auchindrain from Appletree Cottage: 53 miles

One of the last houses to be inhabited at Auchindrain, vacated in the 1960s

Inhabited from at least the 1600s to the mid 1960s Auchindrain is possibly the only village to survive substantially unaltered since the highland clearances of the late 18th and the 19th centuries.  We decided to pay it a visit The village is now preserved and is open in summer months Wednesday thru Sunday so we decided to pay a visit.
Located 6 miles west of Inveraray and 53 miles from Appletree Cottage it took us just over an hour to get there, a very pleasant and beautiful journey along the shores of Loch Lomond, Loch Long and Loch Fyne (see previous blog)
The site nestles in a hollow on the south side of the Inveraray to Lochgilphead road.
The village escaped plans of the mid 1700s which altered many dwellings in the district to crofts.  Instead it survived in its original form and is now Category A listed.  The Auchindrain Trust, a museum charity now runs and maintains the buildings and their surroundings.

Buildings are in various states of repair

Many of the structures have been maintained in their original form.  Others have been left much as they were when abandoned in the 1960s. 
Queen Victoria visited in 1875 whilst staying at Inveraray Castle.  Since then several thatched roofs have been replaced with corrugated iron - in some cased the corrugated iron has been placed directly on top of the former thatched roof which must have helped a little with insulation.

Accommodation was basic but functional

Living accommodation in the houses was fairly basic - bedroom / living room kitchen / byre at the end of the building with its own door but also with an internal connecting door. Box beds were the order of the day with some cast iron bedsteads installed in later times.

Box beds with curtains to keep out any draughts

The byres still retain many of their original features and pens.  The warmth from the animals would help to heat the rest of the house.  People would have soon grown used to the smell (of the animals(!)) and the connecting internal door would save going outside to milk and tend in grim wet and wild weather.

Cattle head locks remain in the byre

In all there are around 22 buildings in various states of repair and some undergoing repair whilst we were there.  

Village was well spaced out with occasional walled vegetable plots

The stonework on many of the buildings is of such high quality given the materials the stonemasons had to work with.  Random large round rocks fitted together in tight formation into a vertical windproof wall devoid of gaps.  Some massive stones to move in the process.

Some of the stonework is impressive given the materials at hand

 It is thought there was a grain mill on the other side of the burn from the main township.  In the barns there is a good collection of early agricultural machinery with explanatory notes.
There are interesting outdoor features and more agricultural machinery lying here and there.  All in all an excellent place to visit on a day out by Inveraray.

A view into the past

Primitive outside water heater

Hay rake and hay turner on standby

The museum is a ready made set for location filming and true to its origins.  Several productions have made use of its settings in the past.

A black house used for BBC produdions "The Scots of Dalriada" (1984) and "The Corries" (1988) has seen better days