The Dava Project

Grantown Museum
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The Dava Moor stretches across a broad landscape north of Grantown-on-Spey towards Nairn. From its rise in the 1700s to its decline in the 1960, the area nurtured a bustling community. Today only fourteen households remain. Take a journey into in this wild landscape to discover the story of the Dava moor and it people . Who were the farmers and crofters who made a life on these windswept miles of moorland? Why did they choose to make their homes here? And why did they leave?

Episodes

  1. Clearance

    31/07/2021

    Clearance

    As we follow the Dava into the 19th century, listen as Charles Fletcher and Dan Cottam uncover a story all too familiar across the Highlands... the catastrophic loss of language and severing of an enduring relationship between people and their land.

    35 min
  2. Murderous Intentions

    13/07/2021

    Murderous Intentions

    In this third episode, we discover more about the 'improvements' made to the Dava moor in the 18th century and how this led to discontent, hardship and even murder.

    25 min
  3. Intrusion or Improvement?

    28/06/2021

    Intrusion or Improvement?

    In this second episode, Dan & Charles explore how the landscape of the Dava was forever  changed in the 17th & 18th centuries by 'improving' landlords. From a place embracing traditional ways of Highland life, the Dava became an experiment in new farming practices... with terrible consequences.

    39 min
  4. A Sense of Place

    17/06/2021

    A Sense of Place

    Grantown Museum curator Dan Cottam and historian Charles Fletcher talk about the early days of people coming to live on the Dava moor.

    30 min
  • 4 Episodes

About

The Dava Moor stretches across a broad landscape north of Grantown-on-Spey towards Nairn. From its rise in the 1700s to its decline in the 1960, the area nurtured a bustling community. Today only fourteen households remain. Take a journey into in this wild landscape to discover the story of the Dava moor and it people . Who were the farmers and crofters who made a life on these windswept miles of moorland? Why did they choose to make their homes here? And why did they leave?

Information

  • Creator
    Grantown Museum
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Dava Project
  • Show Website
    The Dava Project