Al picked me up at 1 pm, and I was glad to have a driver, because I was able to take a lot of photos and get some local knowledge from him as well. It cost me £10.80 from the hotel to the museum, where he dropped me off. The museum is in a little white house (cottage) supposedly next to the castle, but not so "next" to it that I saw the castle. Al's brother lives in the house next to the museum though. Most of the way was a one lane (single track) road with pull-off areas every couple hundred meters. When two cars are coming towards each other, they play Polite Chicken and someone chooses to pull off and let the other person go by, waving at each other. Al was NOT afraid of those roads.
The museum has a Scottish flag and a cannon outside, and behind the building is a small building housing restrooms, and behind that on a small hill is The Cameron Cairn, a pile of stones 5-6 feet high. A little sign on the ground next to it says, "To commemmorate the International Gathering of Clan Cameron in 2001, stones were gathered by clansfolk from around the world in order to create this living cairn".
It's not a large museum, but it's thorough. There is a lot of history, kilts and tartans and boots and weaponry worn and used by clansmen over the past several hundred years; a three-dimensional display of Bonnie Prince Charlie taking refuge; lots of pictures of Cameron buildings and scenery, historical documents, and pictures of famous Camerons. There is also a picture of James Cameron ("Titanic" and "Avatar" director) with David Cameron (current British Prime Minister). There is an "annex" which is really just another room, but it houses a lot of genealogy research that people have done and donated; the biggest collections are for Canada and Australia. Nothing specifically about Georgia or North Carolina, unfortunately.
I could be wrong, but I think the farthest we've traced back is Allen J. Cameron to the late 1700s. In a book titled, "Historical Records of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders", published 1909 and the first of 7 volumes, I found an Alan Cameron born about 1750, the eldest of three sons, born to Donald Cameron in Erracht. I got excited, there were supposed to be three brothers and one came down from North Carolina to Georgia. This Alan had something happen around his 20th year:
"At Strone, only about a mile from Erracht, lived a lady, the widow of a Cameron who had died of wounds received at Culloden twenty-five years previously (other traditions say that her husband was still alive, but serving abroad, and that she was his second wife). Often, when Alan had had a successful day on the hill, he would lay some of the spoils of the chase at the feet of this kinswoman, who was locally known as A Bhanntrach Ruadh -- i.e., the auburn-haired widow.
Another Cameron, who had lately returned from the Continent, and who lived at Morsheirlich, accused Alan of paying too much attention to the widow of Strone. lan hotly denied this, and in such an aggressive way that the exchange of words led to a challenge. It is usually represented that Alan was himself the challenged person, and as such entitled to the choice of weapons, but there is a difference of opinion on this point.
Morsheirlich was an expert swordsman of the old school and many years his adversary's senior. Alan, though of immense personal strength, was a product of the new times and possessed only an elementary acquaintance with the arm of his fathers. Tradition says that Morsheirlich was much against the duel himself, and that he tried to persuade young Alan to give it up; but the latter was too hot-headed to listen to reason, and insisted on a meeting taking place.
Mackenzie, in his 'History of the Camerons,' gives a detailed account of the duel, and relates how Alan, without exciting the attention of his parents, became possessed of a famous old broadsword called An Rangaire Riabhach, and met Morsheirlich on the banks of the Lochy at an early hour one autumn morning.
Morsheirlich, the experienced fighter, at first played with Alan, hoping that the hot-headed youth would come, without bloodshed, to a reasonable frame of mind. In course of the encounter, however, Alan received a slight wound. This inflamed him to such an extent that with one powerful blow he broke down his opponent's head-guard, driving both weapons into Morsheirlich's skull and making a cross-shaped wound which in a short time proved fatal. This tragic affair took place about 1770, and Mackenzie tells us how for the next two years Alan had to avoid the revenge of Morsheirlich's friends by hiding, under the protection of the Macleans, in Mull and Morven. Without any occupation, dependent on his friends for support, and a prey to remorse, his existence at this time must have been far from enviable. How he sought employment and failed to find it, is all recorded by the same author. At length in May 1773, so we learn, his father and he paid a secret visit to Inverscadle and borrowed £30 from Ewen Cameron, and soon afterwards Alan Cameron sailed for America, leaving the farm to be cared for by his father, Donald, and his brother, Ewen..."
So Alan went to America, and obtained a commission in the Royal Highland Emigrant Corps sometime between 1775 and 1783 (when it was formed and disbanded). This corps was part of the British military and was stationed in Quebec. He was taken prisoner and sent to Philadelphia in 1775 where he was kept for 2 years before he escaped by dropping from his prison window by his bedclothes, breaking both ankles in the fall. An American named Phineas Bond tound him and took him in, helping him escape to the British outposts. BUT, it's documented that he returned to England and was a resident of there and Wales, not returning to Lochaber. So, as thrilling as his story is, it's not the Alan I was hoping for. And a woman at the museum commented that Alan is one of the most common names of that time, so...whee.
Well, after going through (and photographing almost everything in) the museum, I went outside where it was just slightly drizzling, and took a few pictures around of the natural landscape behind it. There are a lot of what I call ferns but are locally called "bracken", which change color like the trees in autumn, and there was a nice waterfall there too. As I turned back, I saw a rainbow in the direction of the museum.
Al couldn't make it at the appointed time, so he sent someone to pick me up (who thankfully drives slower). I got him to stop several times so I could take photos, and he also took me by the Commando Memorial as well. He also agreed to let me get him on film speaking in his accent, which is mostly Highlands but also has a few other places mixed in, he thinks. He told me that some of the last(?) Harry Potter movie was shot nearby and he was a driver for the director, and that currently he's working as a driver for the new James Bond movie. It cost me £15 for the second taxi trip, and I tipped him £1.5. About £28 total for the trip to Achnacarry and back, which is actually comparable to renting a car for a day and driving myself.
Achnacarry itself is a small area in between Loch Lochy, which runs north to south, and Loch Arkaig, which runs east to west. I think it's in a glen, surrounded by mountains, which makes the scenery so amazing...because you can be in the spacious low part and look at the mountains on either side of you.
Back at the hotel, I had dinner at the bar again (I think the restaurant was closed), which was a cheeseburger and fries, er chips. I was sad to check out this morning because there is so much more to see in the Highlands, but I don't think I'm in the right shape to really appreciate it, plus I don't have the clothes for the rainy weather and it's getting colder. I would like to come back if I ever can, and spend a week or two just in the Highlands, which is practically a different country than Glasgow and Edinburgh.
I got accommodations at my favorite hotel in Edinburgh, so this morning I made the 4 hour train trip to Glasgow, then the 1 hour (only 50 minutes) trip to Edinburgh. I was very glad to get back. I like Edinburgh, plus it's very familiar for me now, so it was nothing at all to leave the train station, go to the bus stop, and flag down the right bus. And of course, I ate Highland Chicken for dinner at The Abbey. As an added bonus, for whatever reason, breakfast wasn't included in this reservation and it would cost £4 for the continental breakfast (cereal and toast). BUT, The Abbey has a cooked breakfast for £4.95, and between 10 am and noon, it's only £3.95. So, I think I'll sleep in and have a cheap late breakfast, and then either explore the Royal Mile some more or take the bus to Newhaven and see the North Sea.
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