Tour Scotland short 4K travel video clip, with bagpipes music, of a train journey on the Kyle railway line to cross the small River Bran in Easter Ross on ancestry, genealogy, family history visit to the Highlands, Britain, United Kingdom. The River Bran rises in Loch a' Chroisg and flows 10 miles East through Strath Bran to enter Loch Achanalt, Loch a' Chuilinn and then Loch Luichart. Strath Ban follows the course of the River Bran. Both the railway running west from Dingwall to Kyle of Lochalsh, and the A 832 road, run through this valley. Strath Bran is a wide, open valley, between low hills. The road, river and railway all run along the bottom, but still insignificant in this vast landscape. From the 16th century Strathbran was held by Mackenzie of Seaforth, Chief of the Clan. A road from Contin to Poolewe through Strath Bran first appears in the records about the year 1760. The main route by which the Highland cattle drovers headed east for Muir of Ord was via Loch Maree, Achnasheen and Strath Bran, although there were other routes to the North. The surname Mackenzie in Scottish Gaelic is MacCoinneach which means son of the fair bright one. The Mackenzies are believed to have the same ancestry as the Matheson and Anrias clans. All three are said to be descended from Gilleoin of the Aird, a Gaelic dynast who lived in the early 12th century. Another theory is that all three are descended from the thirteenth century Kermac Macmaghan. The chiefs of the Clan Mackenzie are said to have been settled at their great stronghold on Eilean Donan by 1297. In the 14th century during the Wars of Scottish Independence the Clan Mackenzie is said to have been among the clans who fought on the side of Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Inverurie in 1308 against the forces of the Clan Comyn who were rivals to the throne. Chief Iain Mac Coinnich is said to have led a force of five hundred Mackenzies at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 where the English were defeated. Later in the 14th century the Mackenzies are said to have become involved in battles against their powerful neighbour the Earl of Ross and his allies. This resulted in the capture and subsequent execution of chief Kenneth Mackenzie in 1346. Soon after this it appears that his successor as chief of the clan Mackenzie was living in an island castle in Loch Kinellan near Strathpeffer in Easter Ross and it was from this base that the clan was to advance westward once again to Kintail. In 1452 a force of tribes loyal to Mackenzie of Kintail took hostage a relative of the Earl of Ross. This resulted in the Battle of Bealach nam Broig which was fought to the north-west of Ben Wyvis. The Clan Munro and their septs the Dingwalls rescued the Ross hostage but won a hollow victory, with a great loss of their own men. In 1488 the Clan Mackenzie fought at the Battle of Sauchieburn led by Hector Roy Mackenzie but after the defeat of the King's forces there, Hector narrowly escaped, returning to Ross-shire where he took Redcastle from the Clan Rose, for the rebels. On 13 December 1545 at Dingwall, the Earl of Sutherland entered into a bond of man rent with John Mackenzie of Kintail for mutual defence against all enemies, reserving only their allegiance to the youthful Mary, Queen of Scots. During the Jacobite rising of 1715 chief William Mackenzie, 5th Earl of Seaforth led the Clan Mackenzie in support of the Jacobite rebels. However, during the Jacobite rising of 1745 the Clan Mackenzie was divided: The chief, Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Fortrose, did not support the Jacobite rebels and raised several Independent Highland Companies from the Clan Mackenzie to support the British Government. However, during the 1745 rising a large part of the Clan Mackenzie followed the chief's cousin, George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie who was a Jacobite. George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie led the Jacobite Mackenzies at the Battle of Falkirk in 1746 where they were victorious in helping to defeat British Government forces. The Mackenzie Clan then went on to lay waste to the lands of the Clan Munro who supported the Government and burn down Foulis Castle. They also went on to lay waste to the lands of the Clan Sutherland and the Earl of Sutherland who also supported the Government, and captured Dunrobin Castle, although the Earl of Sutherland himself escaped through a back door. However, soon after this as the Earl of Cromartie and his forces were travelling south to meet Charles Edward Stuart they were attacked by the Clan Mackay and Clan Sutherland Independent Highland Companies who supported the British Government in what became known as the Battle of Littleferry and the Jacobite Mackenzies were prevented from joining the Jacobite army at the Battle of Culloden. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day. Find things to see and do in Scotland where you are always welcome
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