Monument record MHG56846 - Possible site of Montrose Encampment - Kildonan, Sutherland

Information on this site was provided by D Glass in June 2014. The site was visited and photographed on the 25th of June 2014:
"The map of John Kirk's survey of farms in Golspie and Loth parishes, Sutherland, ca. 1772, (National Library of Scotland collection) depicts a feature named ‘Montrose Incampment’.

In April 1650 James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, assembled an army in Orkney. He instructed Lt. Col. John Hurry to secure the Ord of Caithness with an advance force of several hundred men. Some sources say that there was a skirmish with the Earl of Sutherland’s men at the Ord. Subsequently Montrose’s army moved south over the Ord and were defeated at the Battle of Carbisdale.

The Ord is a pass on the principal land route from Caithness to the south. The old road, which can be clearly seen today, crosses the deep defile of the Ord Burn. The encampment site depicted by Kirk’s map is in a suitable position to command this crossing. The map accurately depicts the road and crossing as it exists today. It might be assumed that the features of the encampment shown on the map represent what remained in 1772.

Today the site is obscured by whins and bracken although the road itself is visible. There are no obvious signs of earthworks or structures but it is not possible to tell if anything lies under the vegetation." <1>