Machair at Sanna Bay, Ardnamurchan Peninsula

The machair, a fragile fertile pasture with high shell content, is found on the west coast of the Highlands and Islands, especially in the Outer Hebrides. Often subject to local cultivation or grazing, the machair is vulnerable to rising sea levels and the North Atlantic storms. This photograph shows the eroding edge of the machair at Sanna Bay, on the northwest coast of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. It was taken by M.E.M. Donaldson in the first half of the 20th century.<br /> <br /> Mary Ethel Muir Donaldson was born in 1876 and came to the Highlands around 1908. She travelled extensively around the North and West Highlands, writing and taking photographs. One of her favourite locations was the Ardnamurchan Peninsula and it was there she settled, at Sanna, in 1927. She built a home using traditional methods and materials and drew her electricity supply from her own private hydro-electric dam. <br /> <br /> Between 1912 and 1949 Miss Donaldson produced many books on the social history and customs of the North and West Highlands, including an account of the building of her home at Sanna. She died in a nursing home in Edinburgh in 1958 and was buried in Oban <br /> <br /> <br /> This image can be purchased.<br /> For further information about purchasing and prices please email the<br /> <a href="mailto: photographic.archive@highlifehighland.com">Highland Photographic Archive</a> quoting the External ID.