Ardtalla

Ardtalla
Scottish Gaelic: Àird Talla

Sheep grazing on the Ardtalla Estate
Ardtalla
 Ardtalla shown within Argyll and Bute
OS grid referenceNR4654
Council areaArgyll and Bute
Lieutenancy areaArgyll and Bute
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town ISLE OF ISLAY
Postcode district PA42
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK ParliamentArgyll and Bute
Scottish ParliamentArgyll and Bute
List of places
UK
Scotland

Coordinates: 55°43′05″N 6°02′10″W / 55.718°N 6.036°W / 55.718; -6.036

Ardtalla (Scottish Gaelic: Àird Talla[1]) is a place name and estate in the southeast coastal area of Islay, Scotland.[2] The name derives from Gaelic Àird, a "point", and talla, a now obsolete word for rock,[1] not "high grave"[3] as suggested by some. A well-defined track emanates from the Ardtalla Estate encountering coastal scenery and an Iron Age fort.[4]

Historical perspective

According to Roger Redfern, Saint Columba landed nearby at Ardmore Point on his historic journey from Ireland around the Hebrides.[5] In Redfern's book, Walking in the Hebrides, he details scenic and historic elements in and around the Ardtalla Estate.

Recorded mention of Ardtalla traces back at least as far as the latter 18th century.[6] As early as during the 18th century, the literature notes that local people on Islay did not consider Ardtalla a remote location,[7] ostensibly due to the level of improvement of the coastal access road connecting Ardtalla to Port Ellen.

In music

Ardtalla has been the subject of musical compositions, notably including James MacMillan's composition The Road to Ardtalla composed for chamber sextet in 1983 and premiered at the Manchester University Concert Hall at the Manchester University on 6 October 1987.[8]

See also

Line notes

  1. 1 2 Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003) Placenames. (pdf) Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
  2. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. 1984
  3. John McLean. 1887
  4. Norman S. Newton. 1995
  5. Roger Redfern. 1998
  6. Daniel Campbell and Freda Ramsay. 1991
  7. Colin MacGilp MacDonald. 1961
  8. James MacMillan. 1983

References

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