Seaboard Community Photography Project

These visual stories were made in the spring of 2021 as part of a project run by the Seaboard Centre and a PhD student with the University of the Highlands and Islands named Julian Grant. Grant’s research focuses on the impact of the North Coast 500 route on local communities. He worked on a series of projects in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross aiming to show how the places and landscapes of the NC500 look through the eyes of local people. The pictures and captions made by these Seaboard residents show us the everyday rhythms of their lives and give an insight into the stories, memories, labour and love that are woven into the landscapes of this corner of Easter Ross.

Read the background to the Seaboard Community Photography Project

The MacKenzie family

Rod and Emma MacKenzie and Rod’s father, Hugh, took turns using one shared camera for this project. They have deep local roots in the Seaboard on Hugh’s mother’s side and run a farm together on top of the brae in Hilton of Cadboll.

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Rev. Andrew MacLeod

Andrew grew up in the Isle of Lewis and came to the Seaboard in 2017 to take up the position of Assistant Minister of Tain and Fearn Free Church. He is a keen runner and serves as chaplain for Brora Rangers Football Club in the Highland League.

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Maureen Ross

A native of Hilton, Maureen became involved in this project through her work as director of the Seaboard Memorial Hall. The many years of hard work she has poured into this organisation represent her love for this community, its people and its special sense of ‘place’.

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Davine Sutherland

Davine grew up in Hilton and has a deep sense of attachment to the place where she comes from. She is a tour guide and scholar of the local vernacular Gaelic which was the language of the Seaboard villages until the mid-twentieth century. Gaelic lives on in place-names, nicknames and dialect terms which are used frequently today in everyday speech. Davine’s knowledge of the language enriches her understanding of the past and present landscapes of this area.

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Suzanna Harris

Suzanna’s grandfather Danny-Bob MacKenzie was born in 12 Back Street, Hilton, just like his father before him. She attended the local primary school for several years and has moved to and from the village throughout her life. Three years ago Suzanna finally moved home to live in Shore Street. She runs a little Beach School in Hilton, where she draws from her childhood times to pass on knowledge and stories to younger generations.

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John Smith

Born and raised in Balintore, John’s photographs are evidence of the importance of the sea to his life and to the Seaboard villages more widely. He works a creel boat out of Balintore with his friend David.

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