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In these two encounters, both an insider and an outsider to the landscape showed that they did not know about the richness recorded in place-names. These brief conversations persuaded me to write this book.

Many people have looked at maps of the Scottish Highlands and been intrigued, and yet excluded by the wealth of place-names they see. Most, like the English fisherman mentioned earlier, can neither understand nor pronounce the language shown on our maps. Sometimes we consult a Gaelic dictionary or Ordnance Survey’s (OS) comprehensive Guide to Gaelic Origins of Place-names in Britain. We are drawn into a complex world of strange words and spellings. Little remains for long in the mind. It is hard to apply a new vocabulary to what lies before us. Memory evaporates as there is little chance to practise our knowledge. There are few opportunities to speak the language on the Highland mainland. Given the history of discrimination against Gaelic, some native speakers are hesitant to converse with strangers. The language can be reserved for the intimacy of friends and family. So maps may be the sole contact non-speakers have with Gaelic. But, like song and poetry, they can also provide a gateway to the language. Some names are like poetry.