SUMMER IN THE SHIELINGS

Over the years many people have taken an interest in the Duchess of Bedford’s huts in Glen Feshie, including Queen Victoria who visited them twice. Many have also asked why the duchess spent so much of her time in Scotland between the 1830s and her death in 1853 in the collection of huts and bothies that formed part of the old township of Ruigh Aiteachain in the glen.

Was it so that she and her family could dress in their plaids and ‘play’ at being Highland farmers? Was it simply somewhere for her to host parties of visitors? Or was it, perhaps, a conveniently quiet and isolated place for her to spend time with the artist Edwin Landseer?

Answering this question, about which much has been written, is one of the central And the answer would seem to be both more complex and interesting than the possible reasons mentioned, and illustrates the sensibilities of the Romantic Age.