| Tomnahurich Hill |
Tomnahurich Hill - which means hill of the yews - is a rounded tree covered hillock on the outskirts of Inverness, the hill has a wealth of traditions associated with it, and it is famed as an abode of the fairies. A modern cemetery now covers the hill.
The most enduring tradition connected with the hill is that fiddlers (or a fiddler) were lured into playing at fairy revelry, and emerged after one night beneath the hill to find that hundreds of years had passed in their own world. The story has two basic forms, in one a solitary fiddler falls asleep on the hill and wakes up in an Underworld Palace. He is made to play all night for the entertainment of the fairy queen, and finally awakes on the shores of the River Ness, later to discover that a hundred years have passed.
The other story involves two traveling fiddlers who arrive in Inverness seeking somwhere to play. They meet an old man in strange clothes who leads them into a fairy feast beneath the wooded hillside. They play all night, and are rewarded with a bag of gold and silver coins after the revelry has finished. On their return to the outside world they are shocked to see that everything has changed, as over a hundred years has passed while they were within the fairy hall. The unfortunate pair eventually make it to their home town, only to crumble into dust in front of a shocked church congregation.
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The difference in the passage of time between this world and the fairy realm is an important folklore motif.
There are many more traditions associated with the hill, Thomas the Rhymer ( ) is said to be buried beneath it, or to live within it, ready to lead an army of men and white steeds to rally Scotland in its hour of need. In Celtic myth Fion trained his dog to lead two of every species of animal around the hill in pairs to unravel enchantment by an Irish enemy. |
| Map ref: NH656 441 |
| Directions: The hill is just off the A82, to the West of the River Ness. |
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