My mission to visit 20 islands of the ancient Kingdom of the Isles

It is a journey through both place and time once ruled by the mighty Lords of the Isles.

In the footsteps of the ancient Lords of the Isles, a photographer from Brooklyn has followed.

Pat Trotter is crossing almost 20 Scottish islands and traversing thousands of miles of the west coast in an exploration of the Kingdom of the Isles, the medieval dynasty underpinned by Gaelic and Norse powerlines which sat broadly independent of royal control for more than 300 years.

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Sunset over Skye from Plockton. PIC: Pat TrotterSunset over Skye from Plockton. PIC: Pat Trotter
Sunset over Skye from Plockton. PIC: Pat Trotter | Pat Trotter

Ms Trotter’s adventure started three years ago after buying a book from a gift shop on Islay, an island that sat at its very heart of the kingdom from the 12th to the 15th century and where chieftains, lords and bishops gathered on Council Isle at Finlaggan to pass laws and govern.

Finlaggan on Islay, the headquarters of the Lordship of the Isles from the 12th to the 15th Century. PIC: Pat Trotter.Finlaggan on Islay, the headquarters of the Lordship of the Isles from the 12th to the 15th Century. PIC: Pat Trotter.
Finlaggan on Islay, the headquarters of the Lordship of the Isles from the 12th to the 15th Century. PIC: Pat Trotter. | Pat Trotter

From there, Ms Trotter has plotted a “historical adventure” through Iona and the Inner Hebrides to the Outer Hebrides and the mainland territories of Ardnamurchan and Kintyre, with the journey passing through the timelines and geography of the realm. The adventure will end with publication of her own book, In the Footseps of the Isles, in which she aims to “breath life” into the ancient dynasty and create a face of the ‘Kingdom 2024’.

Ms Trotter, 75, said: “I knew there was an incredible story here and what really fascinated me was how these men could hold together this vast amount of territory and defy kings of both Scotland and England and do their own thing.

“My bookshelf now has so many books on the topic, but the way the story is told is all very dry. I just thought to myself ‘people have to feel this, they have to see this’.

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“I knew when I started to visit these places, I could feel these ghosts. I wanted to bring these places to life again.”

Dunnyveg Castle, Islay, the powerbase of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg. PIC: Pat Trotter.Dunnyveg Castle, Islay, the powerbase of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg. PIC: Pat Trotter.
Dunnyveg Castle, Islay, the powerbase of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg. PIC: Pat Trotter. | Pat Trotter

The kingdom was built around the early seafaring routes of the Vikings with Somerled, an early 12th-century prince of Norse and Gaelic pedigree, challenging both the might of Norway and Scotland in his bid to create an entirely separate kingdom that answered solely to him.

As Somerled forged ahead in his bid to expand into the west coast mainland, he was killed in 1164 by his own nephew while preparing to attack Renfrew and the authority of Malcolm IV.

Following his death, the kingdom was divided between his three sons, each who would form their own clans.

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The most notable to emerge was Clan Donald, who expanded territory and ruled until 1493, when James IV asserted his military and political authority and seized the estates, titles and ancestral homelands of the ruling nobles. As the kingdom dissolved, clan strongholds tightened. Today, the title Lord of the Isles is held by King Charles III.

Ms Trotter has spent three years making multiple trips to the Highlands and Islands to research her book.

Isle of BarraIsle of Barra
Isle of Barra | Pat Trotter

Places that have left their mark include Ardtornish Castle in Morvern, a 13th-century ruine that overlooks the Sound of Mull. It served as stronghold for the Clan Donald chiefs in the 14th and 15th centuries and is where John of Islay, the 6th chief, is reported to have died.

The ambition, intrigue and political alliances which flexed across the kingdom is embedded in the walls of Ardtornish, where a treaty offering allegiance to Edward IV of England in return for the acquisition of considerable land by John of Islay, the 4th Lord of the Isles and his kinsmen is said to have been signed in 1461.

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Ms Trotter said: “When you go down to Ardtornish, you really feel you could be in a different era. There are places that I keep going back to. I have this need to show people what these places are today.”

Dunstaffnage Castle, Loch Etive, Argyll. PIC: Pat Trotter.Dunstaffnage Castle, Loch Etive, Argyll. PIC: Pat Trotter.
Dunstaffnage Castle, Loch Etive, Argyll. PIC: Pat Trotter. | Pat Trotter

Castle Tioram, which sits on a strategically rocky tidal island in Loch Moidart in Lochaber and served as a seat of the Macdonalds of Clanranald, which held the lordship in the 14th century, has become another key location in the book.

Ms Trotter willl return to Morvern in January before heading to Uist and Eriskay. She is then due to return in late spring for an extended period to finish up the project, with a publisher now being sought. The photographer is also searching for descendants of the ancient rulers to create a modern picture of a very ancient kingdom.

“I want to find those from these ancient lines,” Ms Trotter said. “I think we need to see the faces of those who live in this kingdom today.”

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Ms Trotter, whose previous work has been dispatched from Cuba and Africa, said the project in Scotland took shape while she was “looking for an adventure”.

“I think when you get to my age, you just think you have to live life,” she said. “From when I first read a book about Lordship of Isles in Islay, it just became a passion, it just consumes you. The more I have travelled, the more it cemented.”

Collaborating on the project is Tom Miers, a Scottish writer and researcher who specialises in the history of the Highlands of Scotland and acts as Finlaggan Pursuivant, the official herald to the chiefs of Clan Donald.

He is advising on the locations mapped in Footsteps of the Isles and will collaborate on a tour of places central to the kingdom.

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Meanwhile, highly-regarded jewellers Maeve Gillies and Mhairi Killin will work on a new collection to accompany the book, with the pieces based on the original Iona designs by Alexander and Euphemia Ritchie.

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