Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland

BRAAN
The other building is now entirely ruinous ; seems to
have "been more spacious and elegant; is now represented
by only a ground floor, 100 feet long by 50 wide, with a
front wall from 12 to 15 feet high ; and probably never
was earned above the first story. An extensive garden
adjoins the castle, is by far the most ancient in the
county, and belongs to the family of Ulbster.
Braan. See Bran.
Brabloch, an estate, with a mansion, in Abbey parish,
Renfrewshire, in the north-eastern vicinity of Paisley.
Bracadale, a hamlet and a parish in the W of Skye,
Inverness-shire. The hamlet lies at the head of Loch
Bracadale, about $ mile E of Struan hamlet, which is in
the parish, and has a money order and savings bank
post office under Portree, and an inn. The parish is
bounded N by Duirinish, E by Snizort and Portree, SE
by Strath, S and SW by the sea ; and it includes the
islands of Soa, Wia, Haversay, and Oronsay. Its length
is about 20 miles, its extreme breadth is about 8 miles,
and its area, exclusive of foreshore, of water, and of
waste tracts, is about 73,189 acres. The coast, about
60 miles long, is flat in places, but mostly is high and
rocky, and is much intersected by sea-lochs and bays.
Loch Bracadale, the largest and most north-westerly of
these, penetrates 6 miles north-eastward, ramifies into
intricate outline, embosoms four islands belonging to the
parish, affords safe and commodious anchorage to vessels,
and is engirt with rich variety of ground. The tract
along much of its SE side breaks sheer to the water in
cavernous cliffs, and terminates at the loch's mouth in
Talisker Head, the boldest and loftiest headland in Skye.
Loch Harport deflects from the upper part of the SE side
of Loch Bracadale ; extends about 4 miles, in direction
nearly parallel to the sea coast ; peninsolates the NW
end of Minginish district ; and also affords safe and
commodious anchorage to vessels. Talisker Bay, 2 miles
SE of Talisker Head, is a small inlet, but looks into a
sheltered fertile vale. Loch Eynort, 5 miles SE of Talis-
ker Bay, penetrates Minginish to the length of 3^ miles,
and is sometimes a resort of vessels. Loch Brittle, about
4 miles further SE, is not a safe harbour. The coast over
most of the distance from Talisker Bay to Loch Brittle
soars into cliffs often 700 feet high, streaked with cas-
cades, and in some parts is confronted with high rocky
islets, all more or less picturesque, and some of them
pierced with romantic natural arches. Loch Scavaig,
about 4 miles SE of Loch Brittle, is about 8 miles long
and 4 wide ; penetrates among the Cuchullin Mountains ;
and presents a most imposing scene of wild and dismal
grandeur. Soa and Wia islands are inhabited ; but
Haversay and Oronsay serve merely for pasturing cattle.
The interior of the parish is prevailingly hilly and partly
mountainous, and it terminates, at the SE, in a portion
of the unique, curious, darkly sublime groups of the
Cuchullin Mountains. Several vales in Minginish, and
several detached fields in other parts on the coast, are
almost the only low flat lands. About 4878 acres are
arable, and about 68,311 are hill pasture. Numerous
mountain torrents rush to the sea, and frequently occa-
sion inconvenience and even danger to persons travelling
from one part of the parish to another ; but not one can
be called a river. The only noticeable antiquities are
ruins of two circular towers. Carbost Distillery stands at
the head of Loch Harport. Bracadale is in the presbytery
of Skye and synod of Glenelg; the Irving is worth £1/0.
The parish church, built in 1831, contains 516 sittings;
and there is also a Free church. Three public schools
— Carbost, Soa, and Struan — with accommodation for
70, 25, and 70 children, had (1891) an average attendance
of 49, 16, and 46, and grants of £69, 17s., £28, 18s.,
and £73, 7s. Valuation £6713, of which £6329 be-
longed to Norman Macleod of Macleod. Pop. (1801)
1865, (1831) 1769, (1861) 1335, (1891) 920.
Bracara, a village in North Morar district, 50 miles
WNW of Fort William, Inverness-shire, under which it
has a post office. A Roman Catholic church for the dis-
trict was built in 1889, and contains 350 sittings.
Eracholy, an ancient parish in the N of Inverness-
shire, now incorporated with Petty.
184
BRAEHEAD
Brack. See Balmaclellan.
Brackla, a place with a large and long-established dis-
tillery in Cawdor parish, Nairnshire, 4 miles SSW of
Nairn.
Brackland or Bracklin, a waterfall in Callander parish,
Perthshire, on the rivulet Kelty, 1J mile NNE of Cal-
lander village. It occurs in a chasm or rocky gorge,
about 14 feet wide ; is preceded by a tumultuous rapid,
over a succession of rocky ledges ; and makes a sheer leap
of 50 feet. A narrow rustic bridge has been thrown
across the chasm above the fall, and affords a clear view
of the rivulet's plunge into the pool below. A young
man and woman, in 1844, frolicking on this bridge, fell
from it into the abyss. Sir AValter Scott describes
Roderick Dhu as ' brave but wild as Bracklin's thunder-
ing wave. '
Bracklaw, a burn in Careston parish, Forfarshire,
running to the South Esk.
Brackletter, a village in Kilmonivaig parish, S Inver-
ness-shire, 9 miles NE of Fort William.
Brackley, acastle, nownearly demolished, in Glenmuick
parish, Aberdeenshire, about 1 mile S of Ballater. It
belonged to a branch of the Gordon family, and on 7
Sept. 1666, was the scene of a tragedy recorded in the
old ballad of ' The Baron of Braiklay ; ' which tells how
John Gordon of Brackley was slain by Farquharson of
Inverey.
Bracklin. See Brackland.
Brackmuirhill. See Dunnottae.
Brackness, an estate and a headland in Stromness
parish, Orkney. The headland forms the south-western
extremity of Pomona, flanks the N side of the entrance
of Hoy Mouth, and lies 2 miles WSW of Stromness town.
The residence of the last bishop of Orkney, erected in
1633, stands near the headland.
Braco, a burn in Grange parish, Banffshire, running
about 4 miles south-south-westward to the Isla.
Braco. See Ardooh.
Bracoden, a deep narrow glen in Gamrie parish, Banff-
shire, about 1 mile W of Cat-Town of Middleton. It is
traversed by a burn, making pools which are popularly
fabled to be unfathomable.
Bractullo, a circular artificial mound of conical outline
in Kirkden parish, Forfarshire. In feudal times it was
the place where criminals were executed ; and now it is
finely adorned with trees. Some ancient stone coffins,
containing human bones with strings of black wooden
beads, were not long ago discovered in its neighbourhood.
Bradan, a loch in Straiton parish, Ayrshire, 6J miles
SSE of Straiton village. Lying 900 feet above sea-level,
it measures 1 by J mile ; contains two islets, with an old
castle on one of them ; affords fair trout fishing ; com-
municates westward with Loch Lure (3x1 furl. ) ; and
northward sends off Girvan Water.
Bradwood. See Braidwood.
Brae, a post office hamlet in Shetland, 25 miles from
its post-town Lerwick.
Brae, a district of Kilmonivaig parish, Inverness-shire,
with a mission of the Church of Scotland, serving also
the districts of Glenroy and Loch Traig.
Brae-Amat, a district of Kincardine parish, on the E
bank of the river Carron, belonging to Cromartyshire,
but surrounded by Ross-shire.
Braegrum, a village near Methven, in Perthshire.
Braehead, an estate in Cramond parish, Edinburgh-
shire, on the river Almond, 4| miles W by N of Edin-
burgh. The property of Major W. R. Houison-Crau-
furd of Craufurdland, it belonged to the Howisons
from the reign of James I. ; but part of it is said to have
been granted them by James V., in reward for his
rescue from a gang of Gipsies, in one of his wanderings
as 'Gudeinan of Ballengoich. ' The tradition is embodied
in the popular drama of Cramond Brig, and the tenure
under which this land is held — the presenting a basin
and naplciu to the king — was actually performed in
1822.
Eraehead, a village in Carnwath parish, Lanarkshire,
2 mileB W of Auchengray station, and 7 NE of Lanark.
A U.P. church here contains 500 sittings ; and a publio