A remote Highland community has been awarded a £9,300 lottery grant to promote the 6,000-year history and heritage of its ancestors across the globe.
The Ardnamurchan History and Heritage Association will use the money to share the story of the people of the Ardnamurchan peninsula, which is the most westerly part of Britain.
And the project, led by volunteer members of AHHA, will be funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
In recent years, the association has been exploring the wealth of archaeological and historical heritage on its own doorstep.
This includes Neolithic tombs, Bronze Age hut circles, a Viking grave and Iron Age forts, as well as the remains of ancient villages which were destroyed in the 19th century.
The grant will enable the group to set up a website through which their discoveries will become more widely known, particularly to the many descendants of Ardnamurchan people who are scattered across the world.
Members will also be concentrating on working with schools to give students a sense of local and family history.
They will also be preparing guide books, so that visitors can get the most from Ardnamurchan’s litany of historical sites.
AHHA secretary Jon Haylett said: “This community may be small, it may be very remote, it may be almost forgotten, but it sits on a heritage gold mine which it has been struggling to publicise for years.
“This grant will enable us not only to describe the area’s heritage, but also convey the sense of excitement we have about it.
“We’re particularly pleased our young people will be at the heart of the project, but we also hope that the wider community will see many benefits, not least from an increase in the number of visitors coming to share the historical riches we have to offer.”
Head of HLF Scotland Lucy Casot added: “Sharing the history and heritage of the remote communities of West Ardnamurchan is a great project.
“It shows clearly how local heritage can be a catalyst for lots of different activities and bring people together in a common purpose.”
