Sir Walter’s forest

Gaelic, Norse, Brittonic? A look into the history 
and origins of place names around our area

The vast hunting grounds of Freevater, west of Alladale, one of Scotland’s wildest areas, takes its name from the Gaelic Frìth Bhàtair, meaning ‘Walter’s forest’. It is generally believed that it refers to Sir Walter Ross, son of William II, the third Earl of Ross and a prominent figure in the Wars of Scottish Independence.

Sir Walter Ross was born in 1282, in Fearn (Ross & Cromarty) and died in 1314 in the battle of Bannockburn. Sir Walter had such close friendship with Sir Edward Bruce, the king’s brother, that when Sir Edward heard of his death, he cried and wished the day was lost so that Walter may live – as told in the poem The Brus by John Barbour.

Not very far from Freevater forest, in the south side of Glen Diebidale, we find Leaba Bhaltair (from the Gaelic Leabaidh Bhàtair meaning ‘Walter’s bed’), a hill of 655 m (2149ft). The image shows the low point between two arms of the Freevater Forest / Carn Mòr plateau at the head of the big Coire na Glasa.