page_title: Morar
section_title: Lairdship grants
hierarchical_section_title: Morar / History / Lairdship grants
caption_attribution_description: English: Tarbet and adjoining hills, Loch Nevis This view was from the Mallaig ferry as it entered Tarbet Bay. The deep cleft in the hills allows foot access, via a lengthy path and track, to and along the northern shore of Loch Morar - eventually leading to the village of Morar itself. Otherwise, Tarbet is wholly reliant on the periodic ferry service for connection with the outside world beyond Loch Nevis.
context_page_description: Morar is a small village on the west coast of Scotland, 3 miles south of Mallaig. The name Morar is also applied to the northern part of the peninsula containing the village, though North Morar is more usual. The coastline of the area forms part of the Morar, Moidart and Ardnamurchan National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection by restricting certain forms of development.
  Morar has a railway station on the West Highland Line and is by-passed by the A830, part of the Road to the Isles, between Fort William and Mallaig. The village was formed of the farms and crofts of Bourblach, Beoraid Beg and Beoraid Mor with the modern village growing up around the railway station of Morar during the 20th century. The 1911 census suggests that the village name was not yet in regular use at the time, as only the old settlement names are used in it.
  The area is famous for its beaches, known as the "White Sands of Morar": one, which featured prominently in the film Local Hero, as well as in Breaking the Waves, is a few miles south of the village.
context_section_description: In 1469, James' grandson (James III) granted Lairdship of the lands of Garmoran and Uist to John, the Lord of the Isles. In turn, John passed it to his own half-brother, Hugh of Sleat; the grant to Hugh was confirmed by the king in a 1493 charter. The violence that led to Alexander's execution had brought the Siol Gorrie to the brink of extinction, and after Alexander's death they played no further part in Morar's history.
  Ranald's heirs (Clan Ranald) disputed and fought against the charter. Following Hugh of Sleat's death, in 1498, and for reasons that are not remotely clear, his son John immediately resigned, transferring all authority to the king. In 1539 the king granted Morar to the MacDonells of Glengarry, a group who claimed descent from Ranald's son Donald.
  Over the course of the 16th century, following an inheritance dispute over the lands of MacDonalds of Lochalsh, there were several violent encounters between the MacDonells and the MacKenzies. At the end of the century, the MacKenzies now sought to complain about MacDonell behaviour in court, but the MacDonell leadership wouldn't turn up, so in 1602, the MacKenzies laid waste to Morar as punishment. This led to the MacDonells waging battle against the MacKenzies in the Battle of Morar.
caption: Morar from the North
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