American Friends of Highland Culture

01/25/2026

01/08/2026

An outstanding read. Behind a no-pay wall, it seems.

https://www.discoverbritain.com/history/icons/duke-of-cumberland-the-butcher-of-culloden/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPMq0pleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETEzbVhVaDVzZU40ZkhGRjdpc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHiZJWfgsKkKjOsrGGg6h3dCMUla1hk9Qm2szZQ7eHzWfaQO2nXKcS7JpGuiD_aem_yYnf6ufurrU3ihOc7BCBFg

Our historian delves into one of Scottish history’s most villainous characters, the notorious Duke of Cumberland

12/26/2025

50 years ago, Ballachulish Bridge opened.

But did you know that the bridge was never truly completed? A bolt on the south side of the bridge was never put in place - for a very specific reason.

Corrag was a local witch who is said to have lived in the mountains of Glencoe in the 17-18th century. Some stories paint her as a powerful being of "outstanding badness" who could summon storms and sink ships; others suggest that she was more of a wisewoman who delivered prophecies, for example foreseeing the Massacre of Glencoe and attempting (unsuccessfully) to warn the clansmen.

One of Corrag's prophecies was that if the narrows of Loch Leven were ever bridged, a flood would wipe out the entirety of the glen. When the Ballachulish Bridge was being constructed in the 1970s, this warning came to the attention of the engineers, who found a loophole to avoid testing it: they never technically completed the bridge. If you look carefully at the concrete support on the south side of the bridge, you will see that one of the 24 bolts is missing - never installed, just in case Corrag’s prophecy came true...

Discover Glencoe, Scotland

12/24/2025

Merry Christmas!

Our history writer examines the timeline that led to the bagpipes becoming synonymous with Scotland

12/01/2025

For those familiar with the local tongue.

Tha deugaire às na Stàitean Aonaichte an dòchas na mìltean notaichean a thogail do Thaigh-tasgaidh Taobh Siar na Gàidhealtachd sa Ghearasdan le bhith a' reic deilbh a rinn fear-ealain Albannach bho chionn còrr is 150 bliadhna.

11/28/2025

09/30/2025

Such important work collecting and preserving this history. Well worth a look by itself, though there is much, much more there.

This year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of West Highland Museum collecting Jacobite objects!

🔴We were delighted to acquire three new items for the collection at the recent Scotland Collected sale from Lyon & Turnbull

🔴Read more about our new Flora MacDonald miniature, rare 18th century flintlock & 19th century Sir Walter Scott tartanware books on our website (link in comments)

❤️A big thank to Art Fund for supporting the purchase of the Flora MacDonald portrait and to National Museums Scotland 's National Fund for Acquisitions for supporting all three acquisitions. We are also grateful to the three private donors who helped with the acquisitions.

09/21/2025

The Glenfinnan Monument, Scottish Highlands 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

09/21/2025

Part II:

https://www.southlochaberchurches.org.uk/alexander-stewart

19th century cultural polymath Alexander Stewart appears to have coined the term "Nether Lochaber" as an appellation for the region of the Highlands (meaning lower both in the sense of its southerly reaches, and littoral and thus closer to sea level, like the Netherlands are low country) and also the name for his famous column and its author in the Inverness paper. The two are often difficult to distinguish, particularly as to Nether Lochaber Parish and its parish church, both of which adopted the name after his death.

08/07/2025

The Culture Under Our Noses: Seen from a pier on Loch Linne (near our Scottish "HQ"), between the one house on the left and the several on the right, the "Appin Murder" of 1752 took place. That is after the Jacobite Rebellion and before the American Revolution, at the onset the Highland Clearances. Near to that is a stone pile commemorating what is said to be the spot, and a trail to the accused killer's house, which is preserved. Just up the road is the monument to the person executed there at the right side of the Ballachulish Bridge in the next picture. It speaks for itself. All worth seeing.

The Appin Murder also helped make a local writer here famous. The young Robert Louis Stevenson, who we are told lived in Corran, was thought to have been encouraged by his father to go find local stories and write about them. He discovered the Appin murder just across the Loch, and based two books, Kidnapped and the sequel Catriona, on those events. Stevenson's fame was so great that, among other things, he was painted twice by John Singer Sargent, which was extremely rare (we can only think of J.D. Rockefeller, who may have been in line for a third). I have shown those two too.

The West Highland Museum in Fort William has a singular display on the matter and some interesting artifacts that get you closer to the event.

More from here soon I hope.