Clan Mackay - Castle Varrich, Tongue - Photo Print

Castle Varrich rises on a rocky ridge above the village of Tongue in Sutherland, a site also known as Caisteal Bharraich, meaning roughly the bishop's castle in Gaelic. The name reflects its earlier ownership by the Bishops of Caithness, before the castle passed to the Mackays who made it their early seat of power in Strathnaver. In 1628, Sir Donald Mackay was elevated to the peerage as the first Lord Reay, the high point of the clan's formal standing in Scotland. His family's fortunes became entwined with the courts of Europe, with branches settling in the Netherlands and rising to become barons there, while Mackay soldiers served in the armies of Denmark, Sweden and the Dutch States General across the conflicts of the 17th century. Photographer Aly Wight captured this corner of Mackay country as part of the Clanscape heritage series.

If the Mackay name belongs to your family, the hills above Tongue were once the heartland of your people.