Laid Residents Association History Page

A long defile of single and one and a half storey cottages, set on a rugged and rocky coastline, on the A838 Durness to Tongue road. Each cottage, many now ruins or replaced with modern bungalows and a patch of land, enclosed by a massive dry-stone dyke constructed of stone cleared from the land to create patches of soil able to be cultivated. A rocky near lunar landscape and barren land contrasting with the greenness of Eriboll on the east side of the sea loch. The sea loch with diverse and plentiful supplies was the main provider of food. The nickname of "Croppies" was associated to the Laid population while the people of Durness were called "Machairich" or field people. The first settlements in Laid are said to have arrived around 1835 from Eriboll farm. They were joined by in 1841/42 by others evicted from Rispond. Laid provides stark evidence of the hardships endured by the clearances, the allocated ground is hardly arable. there is no trace in Laid of any earlier settlement than 1835 nor any archeological feature. For thousands of years people found the area too poor too settle on. from 1835 crofters strove to improve the ground but productivity has always been low.

A small gabled former school and schoolhouse built in 1894 of local rubble, reddish-tooled dressing and tall chimney stacks is now a holiday home. The role was about an attendance of forty children at that time. The school was frequently used for dances and occasional weddings. There are many stories of a hard but happy life style in this community. Kelp  was harvested in this area for the manufacture of soap and glass to supplement wages but returns for hard labor were very small. It was not until September 1982 the first mains electricity arrived in Laid .

This document is maintained on behalf of laid Residents Association, mail and comments will be welcome to  webmaster@laid.org. uk

For detailed information on the area and Parish of Durness visit www.durness.org