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Cruachan summit in Winter.

Cruachan

The Dam Stitchers were assembled from Oban and the surrounding area, coming together to build a phenomenal structure from stitches.

This is their story.

Ancient cosmologies swirled around the lochs and mountains for millennia, long before and even after Columba, Moluag, Brendan and Maelrubha brought the Word of God to the Highlands. At twenty-five miles, the longest in Scotland, Loch Awe was not made when the terranes collided or when the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. It came about by divine accident.

One night the Queen of the Winter, the Storm Hag, lay fast asleep, warm under her plaid, near the top of Ben Cruachan, the great mountain of Argyll that glowers over Loch Awe. Known by another name, The Cailleach of Ben Cruachan, the queen had washed her plaid in the great whirlpool of Corrievreckan before flying through the darkling sky to seek her rest. She liked to lie down by a spring that bubbled up out of the screes near the summit of the mountain she had made.

Before her eyes closed, the Hag of Cruachan usually capped the spring with a stone. But one night, exhausted by her flight over sea and land, she forgot to lay on the heavy boulder. The spring gushed down the mountainside and Loch Awe was born. And much later, in the real world, engineers harnessed the power of myth to create magic of a modern sort, converting geography into electricity.

Cruachan cut into the mountain and the myths which surround it.
Image provided by The Dam Stitchers

Ben Cruachan in Winter, Argyll and the Isles.
Image provided by Airborne Lens
Cruachan cut into the mountain.
Image provided by The Dam Stitchers

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WITH THANKS TO THE DAM STITCHERS

This panel was stitched by May, Kathleen, Barbara, Brenda, Elaine, Eleanor, Janet T, Janet F, Jennifer, Karen M, Karen L, Karen C, Kathy, Melanie, Sheena, Sue, Susan and Toril who gave their time, skill and energy to completing a fantastic artwork for their area.

If you would like to see the panel up close and admire the detail of their work, please look out for the panel at an exhibition near you soon. To find out more, follow Inverness Castle Experience on Facebook for all the latest updates on the Tapestry of the Highlands and Islands and the new visitor experience in Inverness, open 2025.

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