‘Waulking the Cloth’ by Jemima BlackburnWest Highland Museum This painting depicts women ‘waulking’ cloth on the shores of Loch Nan Uamh. They are seated in a circle wielding short mallets and singing, whilst members of the gentry look on. Waulking refers to pulling...
Smuggler’s MeasureWest Highland Museum This copper measure reveals a tale of illegal whisky smuggling. Found under the old hotel at Invergarry, it was donated to the Museum in 1926. It has been pierced by a hole, almost certainly by an exciseman so that it could not...
Extra Large Tattie MasherWest Highland Museum This large potato masher was made from a hollow cylinder of wood with a plunger at one end. Its size indicates that it could be used to mash large quantities of potatoes. Potatoes have long been a staple in the Highland...
MiddenWest Highland Museum Whoever knew rubbish could be so revealing? This Mesolithic midden, or Stone-Age rubbish heap, is able to provide archaeologists with an array of insights into past peoples. Middens can contain clues about past human diet, the environment,...
Iain Lom’s Walking StickWest Highland Museum Content warning. Some visitors may find this story upsetting. This blackthorn walking stick belonged to the famous Scottish Gaelic bard, John MacDonald (1624 – 1710). The most outstanding of the Keppoch bards,...
