Scotland's ancestry tourism and the hunt on the ground for lost family, as visitors come from US and Australia

The need to trace Scottish ancestry pulls hard for many with visitors travelling long distances in a bid to find more about their family’s past.

For farmer Alasdair Forbes, his ancestral roots in the Highland glen where he lives stretch back some 900 years.

For many decades, his family has helped visitors travelling from afar tap into their own family past.

Mr Forbes lives in Strathnairn, eight miles south of Inverness, a part of the country steeped in the family name as well as the lines of Clan Mackintosh.

At Dunlichity Church, close to his home, it is known that Jacobites met before Culloden and sharpened their swords on the churchyard wall.

READ MORE: How to search for your Scottish ancestors and unravel your family history

After battle, government troops pushed through the area on the manhunt for Bonnie Prince Charlie, with his ancestor extending Highland hospitality to the soldiers and sharing with them a flagon of milk. She was then thumped on the back of her head with the jug as she walked back into her house.

Dunlichity Church, Strathnairn, near Inverness, has links to the Battle of Culloden. Jacobites gathered here to sharpen their swords before heading to the battlefield. The church, which is soon to be turned into a heritage centre, has long attracted interest for those tracing their family histories. | Strathnairn Heritage Association

Year-on- year, descendants of those long gone from the glen have returned in search of their family history. Those from America, Australia, Canada and Argentina arrive, sometimes with photographs and detailed accounts of their ancestors, and sometimes with only family stories and “Walt Disney”-style myths.

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A visit to Mr Forbes’s late father, Alexander, and several other figures in the glen, ensured the true story was shared.

The Battle of Culloden - and its aftermath - remains of interest to those researching their family trees given the emigration that occured after last pitched battle fought on British soil on April 16, 1746. | creative commons

These stories were collected by his grandmother, Catherine Forbes (nee Mackintosh). And, although never written down, they have been shared and handed down over time.

Alasdair Forbes, chairman of Strathnairn Heritage Association. whose family history in the glen goes back 900 years. | Contributed

Mr Forbes, who is chairman of Strathnairn Heritage Association, which is due to take over Dunlichity Church and create an archive of local history, said: “'They were very protective about passing down accurate information'.

READ MORE: Ancestry Scotland: Meet the genealogist searching for Scottish ancestors over hundreds of years

“They didn't allow any myths. It wasn't put down in writing or on film as it would be today. They sat down by the fire with just a lamp and the history was spoken.

“It is the stories that my grandmother’s generation kept that are the ones kept accurately.”

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He said sharing the real stories of people and places with visitors was a “big gift”.

Mr Forbes said: “I have pride myself in knowing my roots. My family's connection goes back 900 years in this glen. It gives you a sense of mental security. You are part of the hills, part of the burns, part of the rivers, as your roots are firmly embedded in this glen.

“The people whose forebears emigrated, possibly because they were forced or for economic reasons, know they have connections.

“But it is a short-term connection - and they want a deeper connection.

“People come here with a place name, perhaps a misconception, and they come here and get the true knowledge from locals. They go home feeling secure. It is a big gift to give them.”

'Lochaber no More', 1886. Dispossessed Scottish crofters, victims of the Highland clearances, taking their last view of home as they depart on board a ship. Descendants of those who left Scotland have long made a path back to find their roots, with ancestry tourism now a major driver of visitors. Print Collector/Getty Images | Print Collector/Getty Images

Ancestry tourism, as it is called, is a big driver of tourists into Scotland as stories are searched and past departures explored in a landscape altered by Clearances, deprivation and emigration.

According to VisitScotland, 41 per cent of visitors from long-haul locations, including US, Canada and Australia, gave Scottish ancestry as their reason for choosing Scotland as a destination. The figure was 38 per cent for US visitors alone.

Of these, around 12 per cent undertake genealogical research while they are in Scotland.

In the most recent US census, over five million Americans lay claim to Scottish ancestry. This can be a strong driver to visit Scotland and explore the places that their ancestors called home.

In the 2016 Canadian census, 14 per cent of people (4.8 million) identified as Scottish, while over 2.1 million Australians claimed Scottish ancestry in 2021.

Mr Forbes’s brother Willie tends to take visitors to various locations through the glen to help them find what they are looking for.

He said: “There was a man from Australia who came with a photograph of his ancestors dating back to the 1800s. His family were standing at a certain place, against a wall. We couldn’t find the wall at first and then I came across it. He had numerous photos taken in front of it.

“People have a great affinity to the past. It is like a physical connection.”

Fiona Mackenzie is the development manager at Strathnaver Museum, in Sutherland - which is also known as the Museum of the Clearances. More than 1,300 people were cleared from the land during the Strathnaver Clearances in the “year of the burning” in 1819.

Remnants of abandoned townships can be found throughout the surrounding countryside, including at Rosal, which was cleared to make way for sheep in 1814.

Badbea in Sutherland. The monument to the residents who settled at Badbea after being cleared from the straths at the turn of 19th Century. The memorial was built from the stones of the home of John Sutherland by his son, Alexander, who left for New Zealand in 1838. The last resident left Badbea in 1911. | Katharine Hay

She said: “The visitors always have quite an emotional attachment and that market has definitely expanded. We get people from all over the world, from Australia, America and Canada - and there is a Dutch connection as well.

“A lot of Mackays were mercenaries during the 30-years war, so we get a lot of visitors from the Netherlands. Some of them know the connection as the clan chief at the moment is descended through that Dutch line.”

Ms Mackenzie said visitors searching for family history had often done much research themselves and needed help with a particular location, or Gaelic place name.

She said: “Also, some of these areas have completely dropped off the map.

“A few weeks ago we had someone who got in touch with a place name from a gravestone, which they couldn't locate. Our volunteers are so knowledgeable they will be able to get the answer. That local knowledge is still in the community - and it is still in our archives here.”

A few years back, a museum volunteer was able to connect a woman from Australia with a distant cousin who still lived in the Bettyhill area.

Ms Mackenzie said there was also a need to manage expectations of those who want to go and “see where their folk came from, where they were cleared from”.

When left facing a now-empty landscape, or the outlines of deserted townships, it can be hard for some to comprehend .

Ms Mackenzie said: “Often there is nothing there. And there is an awful lot of disappointment that these places aren’t memorialised in some way. They don’t understand why there is not a plaque there.

“Rosal is probably one of the most famous Clearance villages in our area and it is disappointing when it doesn’t meet their expectations of what should be there.

“It is managing those expectations that have been built up. For a lot of folk , especially if they are coming from overseas, it is a once-in-a-lifetime trip.”