Museum Without Walls: Scotland’s Clearances Trail App brings alive one of the most notorious episodes in Scottish history – The Highland Clearances.

The aim of the App is to give virtual and actual visitors an interactive trip around one of the country’s most beautiful and historic areas, the Strath of Kildonan, in the northernmost tip of Scotland. The epic voyage made by some families cleared from the Strath of Kildonan is widely viewed by historians as one of the most demanding journeys endured by European emigrants to North America.

This App has been developed by Timespan to mark the Kildonan Clearances Bicentenary in 2013.

Main Features

The app contains a wealth of audio and visual information. It includes historical maps and a wealth of imagery, text and audio, all embedded in the app for offline use. For that reason it may take a little longer to download than other apps.

The ‘Kildonan Trail’ takes you on a journey to ten locations along the Strath of Kildonan to learn about how the landscape has changed over time, especially since the clearances. Users can access audio narratives and browse though galleries of stunning images from the past and present. All the sites are shown on the trail maps. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

The ‘Clearances Story’ follows the Macpherson family as they face eviction from their home and emigration to North America. This story has been inspired by letters written nearly two hundred years ago documenting the struggles and endurance of those early settlers. You can listen to ten chapters of stirring and informative audio and flick though pages of text and image plates.

Find out what the Macpherson’s house looked like in ‘The Longhouse’ where you can learn more about the different features of these Highland homes. The specially commissioned drawings combine archaeological survey techniques and historic research to bring you the latest in interpretation and reconstruction.

Hear the voices of the descendants in ‘Oral Histories’ and emotive contemporary poems from the winners of the ‘A Sense of Place’ competition, as well as emotive music from traditional and contemporary musician Robert Aitken, who presents for the first time ‘Red River Rant’ and ‘Last Footsteps of Home’.

A game for the youngsters ‘Fill the Kist’ uses QR codes to collect items in the app’s Kist. Learn about the objects the emigrants’ took with them and after you’ve gathered all 10 collect your prize when you enter Timespan Museum.

Family History Resource

The Kildonan trail maps show the locations of all the pre-clearances settlements in the Strath of Kildonan, with settlement name, translation and OS map grid reference.

Educational Resource

The App can also be used as a valuable educational resource by teachers and pupils as studying the Clearances is now an integral part of Curriculum for Excellence through the Scottish Studies and Studying Scotland elements.

Get Interactive

Trail users are encouraged to leave their thoughts on the trail, to share stories and images from the past or present and plans for the future on Timespan’s Facebook and Twitter.

Come to Timespan and use the free Wi-Fi or hire an iPod Touch and do the trail in the beautiful Strath of Kildonan.

What are people saying?

Colin McLean, Head of the HLF in Scotland, said:
“This project will give a modern twist to the 200-year-old story of the Clearances by bringing it into the digital age.”

Joanne Orr, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland said:
“We are delighted to support this innovative project which will engage both local communities and worldwide audiences with the history of the Strath of Kildonan.”

Kist Game Terms & Conditions
Apple is not a sponsor of the Kist Game and is not responsible for the distribution of any prizes or any other matter relating to this game.