My Village - Ballachulish by Malcolm MacAskill (Mel)

BALLACHULSIH is famed for its slate, scenic setting and the warmth of its people. But there's a lot more to the Loch Levenside village than that, as Ballachulish Community Council chairman Mel MacAskill tells Oban Times reporter Stephen Norris.

What makes Ballachulsih special for you?
When I came back to Lochaber to work at British Aluminium in Kinlochleven, the first house, the one we are in now, was the first I had. I have been here for 35 years and from the first day I was made vey welcome. People here went out of their way to make sure I joined things and got involved in the community. It's been my home ever since, we've had our two girls here and watched them grow up here. Its a very special place. I was born at Annat, near Corpach but I chose to live here because it's so friendly. Ballachulish has its own traditions, its own strong sense of community and I hope it stays that way.

Ballachulish has a fascinating history. Could you tell us a little about it?
We have a massive history here, right from the Massacre of Glencoe through the two Risings of 1715 and 1745, the slate quarries opening and the time of James of the Glens. One thing people forget is that the quarries opened in 1693. A year earlier they were massacring people in their beds a few miles away, yet they had the technology to take out the slate and put it on peoples's roofs soon after. Nothing much has changed - we are still going to Iraq and slaughtering people there, yet we can put men on the moon. Between 1902 and 1907 Ballchulish had a big strike of the slate quarry workers because of the sacking of Dr Grant, who spoke out on behalf of the quarrymen. The workers were out for years and it caused a lot of hardship, but it showed the determination of the people of Ballachulish to fight something they felt wasn't fair. Dr Grant did a lot of good things for the village. The quarry owners had the shop where people were given credit on hard terms, and by the time they got their wages they were actually owing money. It was a hard existence. Also, up until last year Ballachuish had been served by only three doctors over the space of 100 years. If that's not some kind of record, it must be pretty close to it.

What does Ballachulish offer that other places in the area can't?
Two seconds walk form here and your are out into the country. We offer a great quality of life here and it's good not to be plagued by some of the stuff you get in other places. The main reason why people want to come and live in Ballachulish is that we have a great community spirit and good neighbours - it's a place where people help each other. People in this village go generations back. In this block we are the youngest - and we've been here 35 years! People that do come in tend to intergrate into the community and we make an effort to make then feel welcome. We have English, Polish and Philipino people here and they have a positive view of the place and we try to make them feel at home. The proff of the pudding is that they stay.

How would you describe the village to someone who has never been there?
It's a typical Highland Community set in a lovely glen that's got traditional values that are basic to the Highlands.

Were you born in Ballachulish? How long have you lived there?
I was born in Annat, 14 miles away on Loch Linnhe. My Wife Diana Campbell, is born and bred here. I ahve moved here in 1973 to work at the BA aluminium smelter at Kinlochleven.

How much has the village changed since you were a child or moved there?
There's been massive changes in certain things, yet in others Ballachulish has stood still. Once the village was known as the dirtiest in Scotland because of the quarry and the slate bings, then in 1975 they did all this landscaping and cleaned Ballachulish up. If someone came back from 40 years ago into the village now they would not recognise the place. The bridge over Loch Lven made a huge difference because once it was built you could go to Fort William any time you wanted, not just when the ferry was running. When Diane had our first daughter she went and come back on the ferry, but when she had our second, she did it by the bridge!

Do you have a favorite time of year in Ballachulish?
I like the summer because I like the heat and people are out and about, but I miss when we used to have the gala. I have not really got a favourite time, I just like living in Ballachulish. There's always something going on in Jubilee Park, and the hall has always something on in the evenings. We have our own fottball team, Kenny Hazelton has done a great job with the boys, and the shinty is still going strong with David MacPhee as coach, who makes sure there's a strong kids element. The village is lively at any time of year.

What do visitors like about Ballachulish?
We run a B&B and it really depends on the type of visitor you are. Some like the availability of the climbing close by, while others just like tto enjoy the scenery. We hav some people coming from the Rocky Mountains and Canada and the thing they say about Ballachulish is that you can see the mountains here, like the Mamores, from top to bottom, while in America you can't do that. The mountains are so close to us. Visitors like the traditional Highland feeling about the village - although how long that will last is anbody's guess. We have had the B&B for 20 years and we have people who keep coming back year after year and I'm sure that's got to do with the atmosphere you get in Ballachulish. In the local bars people will take the time to talk to you and fok will stop you in the street to say hello. Other villages are losing that. In the old part of the village we still have the old main road that doesn't have any footpaths - that's another link to the past and the original way the village was. People quite like that. Some houses that were built just after the quarry started in 1693 still exist. When the council was putting in central heating in one they found the original hearth with a metal bar across it and a hook to hang a pot to boil your tea or cook your porridge in over the fire.

Is there anybody famous from the village?
The Stewarts from Ballachulis were involved in the James of the Glens saga, because this was the traditional area of the Stewarts. Then there were the three prisoners of war who escaped from the Germans during the war. They were with the Highland 51st who got trapped at St Valery in June 1940 and were captured. The soldiers, Willie Kemp, Sandy 'The Blood' MacDonald and Giner Wilson were in the prisoner column being marched to Germany, but when they stopped for water they hid in a ditch and when the column moved on they slipped away. A French family gave them civilian clothes, and they managed to get over the Pyrenees onto Spain and came home to Lachaber the next year. The story goes that they were caught by the Germans two or three times in France and when they were asked where they were from they only spoke the Gaelic and pointed to a place in northern Russia on the map. The Germans could not make anuything of them and let them go! Tje ,em ca,e back together to Lochaber. It was quite a feat.

What are the challenges facing Ballachulish and how could it be improved?
We have got to make sure that Ballachulish continues to grow, but that it grows within its limits and expands not just for the sake of expansion, but at a pace dictated by the community. We have to build amenties along with the homes and not just end up with one great big housing estate. Ballachulish has to keep its own identity - it's vital teh village keeps its own footprint and sense of place. We have people coming into village making noises about Khartoum Quarry. In this day and age when they say they need indigenous materials, we have to ensure that if anything happens it happens in a way the community wants. We are improving Ballachulish all teh time, and have just completed a slate monument at the entrance to the village to tell people what made this place. It was designed by the community coucil, built by David 'The Bear' Campbell and inscribed by his son, 'The Bear'junior. The project had been ongoing for four or five years and was completed two months ago. We are putting a picnic area around it and probably a barbecue area as well. We have had quite a lot of help from BSW Timber - it gave us benches at half price, three of which we gave to the ballachulish school. So we now have a slate sculpture that says 'Ballachulish', which people will automatically connect to the village and its history. We also have a new website and we make a pont of Keeping people informed about what's going on. It's important to let your community know what your are doing.