Ben Bhraggie - Homecoming walks (sitios de interés)
Descripción del sitio
 | Grade -  Distance - 9 km/ 5.5 miles Bog Factor -  Time - 2.5 - 3.5 hours Click for Ben Bhraggie walk description Click for more walks in Sutherland |
| Homecoming walk information - The Sutherland Monument A steep climb brings you face to face with the massive monument to the 1st Duke of Sutherland - the architect of some of the most notorious clearances in the Highlands. The 1st Duke of Sutherland was born George Granville Leveson-Gower in 1758. He is said to have been the wealthiest man of the nineteenth-century. Having moved up through the ranks of nobility he was created Duke of Sutherland in January 1833. The clearances undertaken at his command began in 1811 and went on until 1820. While some commentators have said that at heart he was an agricultural reformer wanting to better the condition and prospects of both his tenants and his land, the main consensus seems to be that he lacked mercy and carried out the forced evictions of his tenants, including the elderly, infirm and very young, with a ruthless conviction. He began with the glens in Assynt, forcibly removing tenants to coastal villages where there was insufficient good soil to support the new population which was unused to supporting themselves from the sea and had no assets to start new enterprises. When later evictions met with opposition this was cruelling repressed, with homes and churches being burnt even while people were sheltering in them. The massive monument, known as the Mannie, was erected on Ben Bhraggie in 1837. Subscriptions to pay for the monument were solicited from far and wide, including substantial contributions from the Estate's tenants. The monument is visible all the way along this section of coast and from the viewpoint on Ben Bhraggie it is possible, on a clear day, to see across to both west and east coasts as well as the tops of the mountains in between. The monument remains controversial, and in 1994 a Scottish National Party member proposed that it be demolished or relocated to nearby Dunrobin Castle. However despite this, and alleged plans to blow it up, the monument with its massive statue of the 1st Duke of Sutherland remains as a reminder of the power and wealth of one man. | |