What is "shieldaig"

Shieldaig is a village in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland.

The village was founded in 1800 with a view to training up seamen for war against Napoleon. After his (initial) defeat and exile to Elba, the community found itself a new role as a fishing village. The small island just offshore never had its tall pines harvested to rig warships, and has now become a nature sanctuary.

The name of the village is a Viking word meaning 'loch of the herring' which do indeed still populate the bay in some profusion.

Shieldaig is a community of around 85 people, with its own school, a small pub, a village hall that doubles as a chapel, and a church. It is much used as a holiday destination, attracting those interested in sea fishing, and explorers of the Torridon Hills, which are a few miles around the coast.

Shieldaig holds a community fete in the first weekend of August.