Imperial gazeteer of Scotland, or, Dictionary of Scottish topography > Volume 1

DORARY.
387
DORNOCH.
lofty tower of an octangular form. Of the history
of this structure, or its origin, we have not heen
able to obtain any satisfactory account. Tho is-
land, however, which is nearest to the Carrick
side of the lake, now belongs to the Marquis of
Ailsa. In the early part of the 13th century, the
lands of Straiten — which are bounded by a part of
the lake — were held by John de Carrick, a son of
Duncan, Earl of Carrick. This baron was engaged,
in 1235, in a rebellion of the Galloway-men, and
committed injuries on several churches within the
diocese of Glasgow, which subsequently cost him
a grant of part of bis lands, and the patronage of
the church of Straiten. But whether he or his suc-
cessors had any connection with the castle on the
island, we have been unable to ascertain. In 1823,
several boats or canoes of great antiquity were
found sunk in the lake near this island. They were
all formed entirely from a single oak-tree hollowed
out; and were shaped somewhat like a fishing-cob-
ble. Three of them were raised, and two of them
were afterwards sunk for preservation in a pool of
water, a short way from the margin of the lake.
One measured 20 feet in length, by 3 feet 3 inches
broad; another 16J feet, by 2 feet 16 inches; the
third 22 feet, by 3 feet 10 inches. They are sup-
posed to have lain in the water between 800 and 000
years. These having been found near the castle,
would lead us to suppose that they had been in some
way connected with it; but their construction is
certainly to be attributed to an earlier people than
those by whom the castle was built.
After leaving the lake, the water of Doon flows
for about a mile through a narrow gulley or ravine,
the scenery of which is very remarkable. A lofty
ridge of hills seems here to have been rent asunder
to afford an exit to the waters of the lake ; and the
rocky walls, which enclose this singular hollow, yet
exhibit marks on either side of their former proxi-
mity. A walk has been constructed along the edge
of the river, throughout the whole length of this
ravine, by which an easy opportunity is given to
strangers of viewing its romantic and picturesque
scenery. On either hand, the rocks rise to a great
height, almost perpendicular, but rugged and broken,
and having their sides and their summits magnifi-
cently festooned and ornamented with a great va-
riety of copse and trees. The scenery is all of a
close character, but varied and interesting, chang-
ing with every turn of the walk ; now presenting a
rude vista of rock and wood, and again a mural pre-
cipice which seems to bar farther progress ; while
the effect of the whole is heightened by the music
of the river rushing along its broken channel, and
the winds among the branches of the trees, which,
" in the leafy month of June," almost exclude a
sight of tire sky.
DOON-HILL. SeeSporr.
DOONHOLM. See Atk.
DOONSIDE. See Matbole.
DORARY, an isolated pendicle of Caithness-
shire, a piece of hilly ground, encompassed by
Sutherlandshire. It belongs to the parish of Thurso,
although not within 4 miles of the main body of that
parish. It is a part of the bishop's lands, and was a
dueling belonging to the bishops of Caithness. The
walls of the old chapel, called Gavin's Kirk, or
Temple-Gavin, are still standing. The view from
the summit is very grand and extensive.
DORBACK (The). See Djvie (The).
DOREHOLM, one of the Shetland islands; con-
tstituting part of the parish of Northmaven. It is
situated in a spacious bay to the southward; and
derives its name from a remarkable arch which
passes through its centre, which is so lofty and
capacious as to admit the boatmen to fish under it,
and is lighted by an opening at the top.
DORES, a parish, containing a post-office vil-
lage of its own name, in Inverness-shire ; bounded
on the north-west side by Loch Ness, and on other
Bides by the parishes of Inverness, Daviot, and
Boleskine. Its length is about 20 miles; and its
breadth is 3 or 4. A small isolated district is sur-
rounded by Boleskine. The surface of the main body
comprises the narrow strip of valley ground along
Loch Ness, and the acclivity of mountains rising
steeply up to the water-shed of the great glen, to-
gether with part of Stratherrick and the small vale
of the Farigag. The soil is light. The proportion
of arable land is very small, by far the greater part
being fit only for sheep -pasture. Besides Loch
Ness, which with its environs furnishes a beautiful
landscape, there are two or three smaller lakes which
abound with trout. Tho chief mansions are Aldourie,
Eregie, and Gortleg. The landowners are Lord
Lovat, Lord Salton, and five others. The real rental
is about £5,860. Assessed preperty in 1860, £6.314
odds. At a distance of 3 miles from Loch Ness
are the vestiges of a fort called Dun-Richuan, or
' the Castle of the King of the Ocean,' a name which
it is supposed to have received at a period when the
king of Norway and Denmark was master of the sea.
A little to the east of this fort there are several
cairns, and one almost equal in size to all the rest.
Tradition says that Fingal here engaged in battle
Ashi, the son of the king of Norway, and killed
him, which gave the name of Dram-Ashi, or ' Ashi's
bill,' to the scene where this event happened. About
9 miles distant, there is another fort called Dun-
Dardell, which is said to have been one of the many
forts in the great valley, extending from the Ger-
man ocean at Inverness to the Atlantic at Fort-
William, that were intended for making signals, by
fire, of the enemy's approach, during the times of
the Danish and Norwegian incursions. The rocky
ground under this fort is particularly grand. The
village of Dores stands 8 miles south-west of Inver-
ness, on the south road thence to Fort-Augustus.
Population of the parish in 1831, 1,736; in 1861,
1,506. Houses, 304.
This parish is in the presbytery of Inverness, and
synod of Moray. Patron, the Earl of Cawdor.
Stipend, £141 2s. 8d. ; glebe, £8 3s. 4d. Unappro-
priated teinds, £18 17s. 9d. Schoolmaster's salary,
£45, with from £12 to £15 fees, and £15 other emol-
uments. The parish church was built in 1828, and
contains 500 sittings. There is a preaching-station
at Torness in Stratherrick. There is a Free church
for Dores and Bona: receipts in 1865, £180 is. 6d.
There are in the parish an Assembly's school, a
F. church school, and a Gaelic school. Sir James
Macintosh was a native of this parish.
DORES (Castle of). See Kettiks.
DORNAL (Locn), a small sheet of fresh water,
on the mutual boundary of Ayrshire and Wigton-
sbire, 3A miles west of the Bridge of Cree.
DORNIE. See Bukdalloch.
DORNOCH, a parish, containing the royal burgh
of Dornoch, the post-office village of Clashmore,
and the fishing-village of Embo, in the south-east
comer of Sutherlandshire. ''This place," says the
Old Statistical Account, " derives its name from the
Gaelic words Dorv-JEich, which signifies ' a horse's
foot or hoof ; ' concerning which the current tradition
is as follows. About the year 1259, the Danes and
Norwegians, having made a descent on this coast,
were attacked by "William, Thane or Earl of Suther-
land, a quarter of a mile to the eastward of this town.
Here the Danish general was slain, and his army
beaten, and forced to retire to their ships which