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Dunachton Estate was purchased by Sir Andrew Forbes-Leith in
1957
Dunachton: DUN ... Castle or Fort, NECHTON
... Pictish King
 Circa 500 - 800AD the Picts occupied the lands
around this area. Tradition holds that a battle was fought on the
shores of Loch Insh, the defeated leader was one King Harold
whose grave is on the side of Creag Righ Tharailt in the hills
beside Dunachton. It is believed that he sat on the "An
Suidhe" which is the seat behind Kincraig House to watch the
battle. King Harold is believed to be the leader of a group of
Viking raiders who had penetrated this far from the north and
east coasts. The burial site of King Harold was in the shape of
an upturned boat in the Norse tradition.
Walks nearby and snippets of
interest
The foundations of Blackhouses are all that remain
of the 19th century dwellings and these can be seen on various
walks from the house. There are also a few remaining old Black
Cauldrons which were used to boil liquid tobacco and soap for the
practice of "juicing the sheep". The boiling liquid was
poured into a trough, where two shepherds took the sheep one by
one out of the pen and turned them on their backs. Holding them
by their legs they were immersed in the mixture, the sheep were
then left to dry in another pen. This was done to preserve the
wool.
Insh Church - dedicated to St Adamnan and one of the
most interesting in the whole of Strathspey, it stands in a clump
of pine trees on a glacial hillock or moraine heap. Believed to
have been a place held sacred by the Druids until the Christian
Church arose on the ashes of the older cult. The building dates
from the time of the Culdees. It is one of the oldest churches in
Scotland recording continuous worship since the 7th century.
Inside the church there is a Celtic Bell of very early date,
badly damaged but kept as a relic. Legend has it that the bell
must never be removed, or if it is it will always return. Reputed
to have healing properties, it was taken to Perth for this
purpose. Apparently the borrowers had no intention of returning
such a "magic bell", but it kept perpetually calling
"Tom Eunan, Tom Eunan" the name of the hillock. It
seems that the monotony of the pliant was too much for the
keepers of the bell and it was duly returned.
We recommend that you visit The Blackhouse at Kingussie Folk Museum and The award winning Folk Museum in
Newtonmore.
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