Glen Nochty One-Place Study

This particular study focuses on the inhabitants and dwelling places in Glen Nochty in Strathdon Parish, Aberdeenshire.

Glen Nochty is a sparsely inhabited glen in the Cairngorms National Park. The meandering Water of Nochty has carved river terraces into the deep deposit which fills this valley, and which still fall away into the river after heavy rain.

On the edge of Highlands, it was once a Gaelic speaking area, and was one of the last areas of Aberdeenshire to have native speakers, perhaps as late as the 1950s. Now a mixture of Doric, Scots and English is spoken.

Despite the glen’s relatively small population (from a peak of around 200 in 1850 to perhaps 15-25 people today), it has a deep history and some fascinating tales associated with it, from the Jacobites to Whisky smuggling, as well as the stories of the everyday lives of the Glen’s crofters and farm workers.

With de-population, many of the crofts, farms and houses have been abandoned. Part of the purpose of this study was to photograph them before they disappear completely. Secondly, it was to ‘rediscover’ some of the stories, legends and folkstories attached to the crofts and farms, many of which have a connection with my ancestors.