The Ford of the Heads
Scotland’s Gruesome Place Names Explained
Scotland is a country of deep glens, ancient castles, and poetic mist—but its place names often tell tales darker than any poem. In the remote Highlands, where oral history runs deep, some locations bear names that whisper of bloodshed, betrayal, and revenge. One of the most haunting examples is Ath-nan-ceann, known today in softened form as Athnagown or Anagown. Translated literally, it means “The Ford of the Heads.”
But what kind of event leaves such a legacy embedded in geography? Let’s take a walk through some of Scotland’s most brutal place names, starting with this chilling site near Kenlochewe in Wester Ross.
Ath-nan-ceann: The River Ran Red
In the mid-14th century, during a time of Highland anarchy and clan warfare, Murdo Mackenzie—a young man later known as Black Murdo of the Cave—launched a vengeance raid on the followers of the Earl of Ross. After his father, Kenneth Mackenzie, had been executed, Murdo set out to reclaim both land and honor.
In a coordinated ambush near Kenlochewe, Murdo and his men killed Leod Mac Gilleandreis and his retinue. But the violence didn’t end there. According to local tradition, the heads of the slain were cut off and thrown into the river, which carried them downstream. The severed heads drifted until they collected at a natural ford, where they reportedly piled up into a gruesome dam of death.
From then on, the site was remembered as Ath-nan-ceann—the “ford of the heads.” It's still marked on many historical maps, a geographical footnote to a brutal moment of retribution in Highland history.
Other Places with Gruesome Names in Scotland
Ath-nan-ceann is not alone. Throughout Scotland, particularly the Highlands and Islands, place names serve as verbal gravestones, preserving the memory of battles, murders, and supernatural beliefs. Here are a few other eerie examples:
1. Blàr nam Fèinne – “Field of the Fingalians” (and Death)
Located in Glen Shiel, this name recalls a legendary battle where warriors of Fionn mac Cumhaill’s mythical band were said to have died. The field is now a misty and lonesome stretch of land—but the name evokes valor and loss.
2. Slioch – “The Spear”
This towering mountain near Loch Maree is named after the Gaelic word for "spear," possibly in reference to its shape—but also tied to tales of ambush and clan skirmishes in its shadow.
3. Coille na Creiche – “Wood of Spoil”
A remote Highland woodland known for being a hiding place for raiding parties and cattle thieves. “Creiche” comes from the Gaelic for plunder—its name remembers generations of banditry and retribution raids.
4. Lag nan Ceann – “Hollow of the Heads”
Another chilling name that echoes Ath-nan-ceann, found in Argyll. It’s said that after a skirmish between rival clans, the losing warriors were beheaded and their heads rolled into the hollow.
5. Caolas nan Con – “Strait of the Dogs”
On the Isle of Jura, this narrow strait supposedly gets its name from a tragic dog massacre. Legend holds that after a betrayal involving hunting dogs, an entire pack was drowned or slaughtered here.
Place Names as Oral History
To modern ears, these names might seem morbid or exaggerated, but they serve a crucial historical function in Gaelic culture. Before literacy was widespread in the Highlands, land was memory, and place names preserved stories that couldn’t be written down.
A name like Ath-nan-ceann isn’t just a gruesome tale—it tells us about:
Power struggles between clans
Local justice and vengeance
The importance of oral tradition
How landscapes were used to encode memory
These names often come with accompanying tales passed down through families, many of which were later recorded in clan histories or collected by Victorian folklorists like Alexander Mackenzie and Rev. Alexander Stewart.
From Gruesome to Ghostly
Over time, the names were softened—often Anglicized by mapmakers or corrupted phonetically. Ath-nan-ceann became Athnagown or Anagown; Lag nan Ceann was abbreviated or forgotten entirely. But with modern interest in Gaelic revival and historical preservation, there’s renewed attention on what these names reveal.
In many cases, the original meanings are being restored, and with them, the true stories of how blood shaped the land.
So, the next time you travel through a foggy glen or ford a shallow river in the Highlands, remember to ask: What happened here? The land might just answer you in Gaelic.
Adapted From: Dixon, J. H. (1886). Gairloch in North-West Ross-Shire: Its Records, Traditions, Inhabitants, and Natural History, with a Guide to Gairloch and Loch Maree, and a Map and Illustrations. Edinburgh: Co-operative Printing Company Limited.
