Highland Homespun

In the beloved Scottish author’s classic memoir, she recounts a year in the life of a small traditional farm in the Western Highlands. In 1933, Margaret Leigh took over the tenancy of Achnabo farm, in a beautiful corner of the West Highlands overlooking the isle of Skye. In this unsentimental yet exquisitely written book, she recounts a year of farming life there, from the burning of the land and ploughing in March, through planting and sowing in April to haymaking and harvesting in September. Rich in the details of day-to-day life—such as a visit to the smithy, the arrival of some new bulls, and the annual journey of the cows to the summer shielings—Highland Homespun provide fascinating insights into the farming life in the north of Scotland before the arrival of hydro-electric power. Local characters and customs add another rich dimension to this reflective and poignant memoir of a world now vanished.