Clashnessie is a crofting village in the Assynt area of Sutherland, Scotland. A croft is simply a small area of agricultural land that contains a house for those who work the land to live in. In traditional Highland society, people worked and lived together in small crofting communities, sometimes called ‘townships’. The workers were often referred to as ‘crofters’.
In some remote communities, remnants of this way of life carry on. This provides a fascinating glimpse into Scotland’s past. There are only nineteen houses in Clashnessie, but they cover an area of around one square mile. There are a variety of buildings here, but a number of them are true traditional crofting cottages dating to the nineteenth century. There are also ruins of even older buildings scattered throughout the area, including a community mill and former poorhouse.
The name Clashnessie comes from the Gaelic ‘Clais an Easaidh’, meaning ‘glen of the waterfall’. It is named this because Clashnessie Waterfall is found within its bounds. The waterfall is around 15 metres tall and is well worth visiting.
