The Sunday Class
Website designed and maintained by Microport  © 2010 -20
Taught/practised on:
2010 May 23 rd July 25 th 2013 April 28 th
RETURN TO SHIELDAIG (S3x48) G Thomson  1- 8 1s+2s dance double Fig of 8 (1s cross down to start)  9-16 1s cross down to dance Inveran Reels 17-24 1s turn 2H & cast 1 place, cross RH & cast round 1 st  corner into line across 25-32 1s dance diagonal R&L (up/down) going to right to start 33-40 All Set+Link for 3, turn partner 2H.  3 1 2 41-48 1s+2s dance Diamond poussette right round
Shieldaig, in Ross & Cromarty, was established in 1800. People were attracted to the village by the offer of grants from the Admiralty to support housing and boat-building; and, incidentally, to help build up a stock of trained seamen who could be called upon by the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. After Napoleon's demise in 1815 the official support disappeared but Loch Shieldaig and the surrounding waters had been famed for their herring since the days of the Vikings, and the village's continuing prosperity was, for many years, based on the success of its fishing fleet. The village itself is a scattering of largely whitewashed cottages and other buildings along the shore of the loch and would be a finalist in any "most picturesque village in Scotland" competition. Views into the loch are dominated by Shieldaig Island, whose dense coverage of mature Scots pine contrasts strongly with the bare mountainsides surrounding the loch. The island has been owned by the National Trust for Scotland since 1970. It is believed that the trees were planted, probably with seeds taken from Speyside, in the mid 1800s. There are concerns that these ‘imported’ pines may cross-pollinate the subtly distinct - and increasingly rare - native Highland Scots pines that grow in Glen Shieldaig, and the eventual aim (over a century or two) is to replace the Speyside trees with Highland trees.