20-496: Rackwick is a small coastal crofting township in the north west of the island of Hoy in Orkney , Scotland. As well as a handful of tourist amenities the township is largely made up of crofts and other small dwellings, however most now form second homes with Rackwick having very few full time residents. In 2016 there were only three dwellings occupied year round. The Orcadian poet George Mackay Brown's poem Rackwick describes
40-466: A stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lowland Scotland The Lowlands ( Scots : Lallans or Lawlands , pronounced [ˈlɑːlən(d)z, ˈlo̜ːl-] ; Scottish Gaelic : a' Ghalldachd , lit. 'place of the foreigners', pronounced [ə ˈɣauɫ̪t̪əxk] ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland . The region is characterised by its relatively flat or gently rolling terrain as opposed to
60-671: A township ), although before the Anglic language Scots became widespread in Scotland the word baile was more commonly used. Traditional townships were largely wiped out during the Highland Clearances . Auchindrain in Argyll , once occupied by up to seven tenant families who farmed the land cooperatively, was the last to survive. This was down to the 19th century landowner, the 8th Duke of Argyll , who decided that splitting
80-468: A friend of Brown's, rented a house and painted the township throughout the 1960s, while the composer Peter Maxwell Davies , another of Brown's friends, lived in Rackwick from 1970 until 1998. Rackwick was the site of early telegraph cables, while the two subsea power cables connecting Orkney to mainland Scotland land at Rackwick Beach. Township (Scotland) In Scotland a crofting township
100-404: Is a group of agricultural smallholdings (each with its own few hectares of pasture and arable land (in-bye land)) holding in common a substantial tract of unimproved upland grazing. Each township comprises a formal legal unit. Like older Scottish land measurements, such as the davoch , quarterland and oxgang , the extent of a township often varies according to the quality of the land it
120-492: Is on, and this can range from a hundred to a few thousand hectares. There is often a substantial tract of unimproved upland common grazing - known as a " shieling " or " àirigh " which is held in common. This tends to be used in the summer, but with the advent of fertilisers it is often used in colder times as well. In reference to the history of Scotland, a township is often called a toun (the Lowland Scots word for
140-663: The "Midland Valley". This area mainly encompasses the basins of the Rivers Forth and Clyde , and houses approximately 80 percent of Scotland's population (3.5 million in the Central Belt ). Historically, the Midland Valley has been Scotland's most agriculturally productive region. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, it experienced significant industrialisation and urbanisation, driven by coal deposits. While coal mining and heavy industry have declined ever since,
160-799: The Lowlands. Geographically, Scotland is divided into three distinct areas: the Highlands , the Central plain ( Central Belt , in the Central Lowlands ), and the Southern Uplands . The Lowlands cover roughly the latter two. The northeast plain is also "low-land", both geographically and culturally, but in some contexts may be grouped together with the Highlands. The Lowlands is not an official geographical or administrative area of
180-855: The Lowlands. Many ancestors of the Scotch-Irish , as they are known in the United States, or Ulster-Scots , originated from the lowlands and borders region before migrating to the Ulster Plantation in the 17th century and later the American frontier , many prior to the American Revolution . The term Scottish Lowlands is used with reference to the Scots language in contrast to the Scottish Gaelic spoken in
200-579: The Midland Valley's economic importance endures. Today, it remains a central hub of the Scottish economy, with a focus on electronics, computer manufacturing, and service sectors like telecommunications, computer software, and finance. The southernmost counties of Scotland, nearest the Anglo-Scottish border , are also known as the Borders . They are sometimes considered separately from the rest of
220-683: The adjacent coastline dominated by imposing cliffs. Rackwick also borders the RSPB Hoy nature reserve. There is only one minor road to Rackwick, leading from Linksness 4 miles (6.4 km) away, passing by the Dwarfie Stane megalithic tomb. The township is the main starting point for people walking to the Old Man of Hoy , a notable sea stack 1.5 miles (2.4 km) away. Rackwick has a series of small unstaffed community-run museum buildings and an archive centre, including an old schoolhouse and
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#1732775688432240-490: The counties of East Lothian, Midlothian, and West Lothian were known as Haddingtonshire, Edinburghshire, and Linlithgowshire. Traditional Scottish counties which straddle the Boundary fault include Angus , Dunbartonshire , Stirlingshire , Perthshire , Kincardineshire , Aberdeenshire , Banffshire , and Moray . The term "Lowlands" is sometimes used to refer specifically to the " Central Lowlands ", an area also known as
260-586: The country. There are two main topographic regions: the Lowlands and the Southern Uplands . The term "Lowlands" mainly refers to the Central Lowlands . However, in normal usage it refers to those parts of Scotland not in the Highlands (or Gàidhealtachd ). The boundary is usually considered to be a line between Stonehaven and Helensburgh (on the Firth of Clyde ). The Lowlands lie south and east of
280-716: The line. Some parts of the Lowlands (such as the Southern Uplands ) are not physically "low", Merrick for example reaching 2,766 feet (843 m), while some areas indisputably in the Highlands (such as Islay ) are low-lying. For other purposes, the boundary varies; but if the Boundary Fault is used, then the traditional Scottish counties entirely in the Lowlands are Ayrshire , Berwickshire , Clackmannanshire , Dumfriesshire , East Lothian , Fife , Kinross-shire , Kirkcudbrightshire , Lanarkshire , Midlothian , Peeblesshire , Renfrewshire , Roxburghshire , Selkirkshire , West Lothian , and Wigtownshire . Prior to 1921,
300-603: The mountainous landscapes of the Scottish Highlands . This area includes cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow and is known for its fertile farmland, historic sites, and urban centres. It is the more populous and industrialised part of Scotland compared to the sparsely populated Highlands. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period , when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of
320-650: The restored 18th century Cra'as Nest croft and farmstead. The township also contains a bothy , Burnmouth, run by the Hoy Trust, and the Rackwick Outdoor Centre – a hostel by the Orkney Islands Council in a former school building. There is also public toilets and a small car park. The is little evidence of prehistoric activity in Rackwick, while the older farm buildings date from the 18th century. The first known reference to Rackwick
340-505: The township as "the hidden valley of light" and "Orkney's last enchantment". The name Rackwick may derive from the Old Norse reka-vík , meaning bay of jetsam . Rackwick is surrounded on three sides by the hills Moor Fea, Mel Fea, and Red Glen, with two glacial U-shaped valleys (glens) leading into Rackwick containing two burns (streams), Rackwick Burn and South Burn. The Township lies overlooks Rackwick Beach and Rackwick Bay, with
360-401: The township into individual crofts would not be financially viable and encouraged his tenants to modernise their methods. The final tenant departed Auchindrain in 1963. The traditional houses and other buildings still stand, and have been turned into an open-air museum. This Scotland -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This agriculture article is
380-476: Was home in WWII to a light anti-aircraft battery , two search light batteries , and various small ancillary buildings and structures. There is also a crash site overlooking the township where in 1942 a Fairey Albacore (BF592) hit Mal Fea, killing the pilot. The township was almost deserted in the 1970s, but has seen a small "resurgence" in part because of George Mackay Brown. The landscape artist Sylvia Wishart ,
400-537: Was in Lord Sinclair's 1492 rental of Orkney, and the first detailed map dates from 1791. In 1718 the first schoolhouse (now a museum) was opened by the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge , although this was short lived as the school closed in 1724. In 1879 a new school building was built (now the hostel), closing in 1953 as there were no longer any children left in Rackwick to teach. Rackwick
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