Peat banks

[Rheghead]

I am interested in cutting peat for fuel, well just to try whether it is worth doing. I live in Reay and there are a lot of old banks on Drumholliston that seem to have a lot of life in them yet but don't seem to get cut. I also need those cutting tools, I don't know what the correct names are for them, I am such a greenhorn :D
Does anyone know if you need rights to cut peat, if so how does one go about getting rights to do it.
I have bought the precut stuff and though I realise that it doesn't burn as good as wood or coal there is still something really 'wholesome' about the smell of peat. I guess if I get a peat bank to go at then there will be something therapeutic in it as well as the useful heat source. Like good exercise, fresh air, good scenery and thousands of midgybites :lol:

When I first came to Caithness in 1982 there were lots of peat banks being cut, now there are very few. It is a shame in a way that peat is not cut as much as used to be for domestic use. Now it seems people are much happier to buy it in rather than go out and cut it (which I perfectly understand).

[weeboyagee]

Good luck to you getting the bank! I loved peat cutting when I was in my teens. Whole gangs of us would go out to the banks, either in the village where I stay or at Camster.

Most of the peat banks that I know available where I stay are tied to a croft and the rights to cut go with the croft. We are east coast Caithness. I don't know what the rights are at Drumhollison or who has them - why not ask the local crofters - they might have an idea of where you can get access to a bank.

Names that we used that I can remember (and interesting to note they have origins in the Gaelic language!! ;) ) are Tusker for the actual peat cutting tool, Flachter (for the turring spade) used to take the top off the bank and Hawk used to pull the divots off the top of the bank into the ditch after cutting. I don't know if the spellings are correct for the Caithness Dialect.

We did it the old traditional way and were shown all the various drying and stacking methods. It was a real insight into the traditional way of farming fuel centuries ago!! :o)

[squidge]

When we first came to live in Caithness we had a HUGE pile of cut peat - not the bought sausage shaped stuff but the proper square cut pieces. It burned a treat and smelled lovely even if it did cover everywhere with a fine dust.

On the way south there is house near dunbeath with a hughe stack outside it - if you called i am sure they would tell you what you needed to know.

[chubbs358]

its hard work but worth it in my opinion, saves a load of money smells good and gets you plenty excerscise.

[George Brims]

Cutting peats was the only time I was glad my dad smoked. As long as I was close to him and he was puffing away, the midges were just about bearable.

I am sure the sausage shaped peats burn just as well as the flat ones, but people used to make all sorts of distinctive patterns when building up the traditional stack. I'm pretty sure there's a picture of one in "Over the Ord".

I remember a lot of people used to cut peat at Camster. Mr Darmady who used to have the farm used to let out banks to people. I don't know if he's still alive (he would be pretty old by now if he is) let alone if he's still doing that. Perhaps Rheghead if you go to houses with peat stacks and ask them where they cut them, you would find someone who can let you cut peats.