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Tha Aisir Mòr agus Aisir Beag ann an iar-thuath Chataibh. Tha iad faisg air a’ Pharbh. ’S e bailtean croitearachd a tha annta. Ann am Beurla, ’s iad Oldshoremore agus Oldshorebeg na h-ainmean orra.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Tha an oighreachd air a bheil Aisir Mòr is Aisir Beag le Urras Iain Mhuir. ’S e buidheann-ghlèidhteachais a tha anns an Urras. Bha Iain Muir na Albannach. Bhrosnaich e glèidheadh fearainn agus cruthachadh phàircean nàiseanta ann an Ameireagaidh.

Tha am fearann gu lèir air an oighreachd fo chroitearachd. Carson a bha ùidh, ma-thà, aig an Urras anns an oighreachd? Uill, tha tràigh mhòr bhrèagha oirre – Bàgh Sheannabhaid, no Sandwood Bay. Agus chan eil ach sluagh beag a’ fuireach ann.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Air taobh thall crìoch na h-oigh-reachd tha bothan ann. ’S e an t-ainm air an àite anns a bheil e – An Srathan. Tha mòran eòlach air a’ bhothan mar Strathan Bothy. Tha e air a chumail an òrdugh le Comann Bothain nam Beann. Ged as e bothan a tha ann a-nise, ’s e dachaigh a bha ann uaireigin.

Ìý

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Tha an Srathan pìos mòr air falbh bho bhailtean eile. Tha e mìltean thar na mòintich air frith-rathad garbh. Agus tha e air taobh thall abhainn. Gu tuath air an t-Srathan, chan eil duine sam bith a’ fuireach.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Cha robh duine a’ fuireach anns a’ bhothan làn-ùine fad ùine mhòr. Ach thachair rud neònach o chionn beagan bhliadhnaichean. Ghluais cupall a-steach. Rinn iad an dachaigh ann. Cha robh cead aca bho dhuine sam bith. Cha robh cead aca bho Chomann nam Bothan. ’S e Robbie is Anne Northway na h-ainmean orra. Tha an stòiridh gu math annasach.

Aisir Mòr and Aisir Beag are in North-west Sutherland. They are near Cape Wrath. They are crofting townships. In English their names are Oldshoremore and Oldshorebeg.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý The estate on which Oldshoremore and Oldshorebeg are [situated] is owned by the John Muir Trust. John Muir was a Scot. He encouraged the cons-ervation of land and the creation of national parks in America.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý All the land on the estate is under crofting [tenure]. Why, then, was the Trust interested in the estate? Well, there is a beaut-iful beach there – Bàgh Sheann-abhaid, or Sandwood Bay. And there is only a small population living there.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý On the other side of the estate’s boundary, there is a bothy. The name of the place where it is – is Strathan. Many know the bothy as Strathan Bothy. It is maintained by the Mountain Bothies Associaiton. Although it is now a bothy, it was once a home.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Strathan is a good distance from other settlements. It is miles across the moor on a rough hill-track. And it’s across a river. North of Strathan, nobody lives.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Nobody was living perman-ently in the bothy for a long time. But a strange thing happened a few years ago. A couple moved in. They made their home there. They did not have permission from anybody. They did not have permission from the Bothies Association. Their names were Robbie and Anne Northway. Their story is very unusual.