Folk of the Loch

Folk of the Loch tells stories of the North West Highlands, from its earliest beginnings of shifting rock and land-scouring ice to present times. It is both a geographical and historical saga. Each chapter is based on an artefact, place or event which can be found or occurred near to Loch Broom in Western Ross. Meet the last reindeer who came here before ice sheets buried the land, a Mesolithic boy on his first hunt, Neolithic shamans, a skilled builder of Iron Age towers and a Viking woman who came to settle by the loch. Read of warring clans and troubled times for the crofters in the 19th century. Eleven chapters take the reader through a journey beginning in the earliest geological period, and then via Ice Ages, Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages into present times. The landscape shows evidence of their presence while local legends and place names provide intriguing glimpses of their lives. The stories and main characters are fictional but have been thoroughly researched to provide accuracy and authenticity. Important historical people appear within the text. Each story is preceded by an illustration drawn by the writer and the site of each is pinpointed on an introductory map. Readers can visit the places mentioned in the stories and imagine the people who lived there.

Irene F. Brandt is a retired primary teacher who became captivated with the geology, history and archaeology of the North West Highlands of Scotland. She is constantly inspired by the landscape of the country and the history of the people who live there.