Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 38 on 11/04/2008.

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A day in the life of a drover

Scotland’s cattle drovers were a hardy bunch of men. David Fleetwood discovers what life was like for them

The long sloping shoulder of moorland looks forbidding through the steamed-up glass of a small droving inn outside Creiff. The fire and the slowly settling pint are much more attractive than a long trudge through the clinging heather and soggy moorland bog. A Highland cattle drover in the 18th century would not however have had any choice in the matter; a long trudge through those bogs was his livelihood.

The drover was vital to the survival of Highland communities from the 14th century onwards. The harsh climate and poor soils of the north of Scotland make the land unsuited to crop growing, and much more suitable for the rearing of cattle. Cattle were vital to the Highlanders who lived under their clan chiefs in these areas. Each tenant was entitled to graze his cattle on common land in the hills. The structure of the clan system encouraged the chief to have as many tenants as possible, all of whom kept cattle. This led to a surplus of cattle in the Highlands, for which the land was too poor to provide fodder over the winter. There was no local market for these cattle, but they could easily be sold in the populous central belt and even further south than this.

It is with this particular social and geographical situation that the drover began to ply his trade. Cattle were driven (or herded) from the Highlands down to the market in the Lowlands, and the money from their sale was used to sustain Highland families.

Although the last drover in Argyll died aged 91 on the shores.....

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By David Fleetwood

Section : Scotland Lives

Page number : 58