High Road to Gairloch

The High Road to Gairloch is one of the oldest marches in the bagpipe repertoire. Its original Gaelic title, Gàbhaidh Sinn An Rathad Mór ("We Shall Take the High Road"), is attributed to a piper of the MacIains (MacDonald) of Glencoe. Versions of the melody date back to the seventeenth century, and it appears in the manuscript of Sir William Mure of Rowallan, compiled between 1612 and 1623.

It is said to have been played at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547 and at Sheriffmuir in 1715, during the first Jacobite rising. A tradition associated with the McIntyre and Cameron clans holds that it was played when they were able to march along the high road ahead of the Campbells, by virtue of their superior numbers.

A march in 2/4, it is today a staple of parades and ceremonial occasions. It features in the well-known green tutor of the College of Piping, a standard reference for generations of pipers the world over. Its lively, spirited melody makes it one of the first pieces tackled by learners, while remaining a reliable favourite in competitive pipe bands.