On Christmas Eve at 16:30 (and Sunday, 31st December at 00:15) on BBC Radio 4, Karine Polwart and Julie Fowlis are co-hosting a documentary about The Old Forge in Inverie, on the Knoydart peninsula in NW Scotland. It’s the remotest pub in mainland Britain and is now owned by the local community, which also co-manages the Knoydart estate. The peninsula is cut off from the mainland, and the pub is only accessible by a 15-mile hike through the hills from the nearest single-track road or by sailing into Loch Nevis from the port of Mallaig.
They have set themselves the challenge of writing a new song and composing poetry about their two different pilgrimages for a pint, aiming to capture their experiences in words and music – and all in time for a special Sunday Session at The Old Forge, where they join the locals for a fun evening celebrating the recent community buyout of this remotest of pubs.
Several special guests will join them as they brave the weather by land and sea to perform at the pub. Karine says: “Me and Julie had quite different experiences of getting there – one by land, one by sea – about which all I’ll say is: Julie Fowlis is a legend!
“We’re joined by the brilliant harper Ingrid Henderson, the mighty Iain Macfarlane on fiddle, and poets Sarah Grant and Doug Garry.”
Programme details can be found here.
More songs from The Old Forge session can be found on BBC Radio 2’s The Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe on BBC Sounds here.