We met Jim Buchanan in Poolewe one snowy morning in January 2025. He and his wife Mary had set up a little clothing manufacturing business there in 1982 and called it Slioch after the mountain just along the road at the far end of Loch Maree. Jim and Mary sold Slioch to another couple, Tes and Catherine Urquart- Taylor in the late 1990s and they traded successfully for a few years before running out of luck and business in 2006.

Fortunately, Jim still had a few leftovers from his Slioch days stashed in the loft and he kindly offered to post them down. He did and these fabulous waterproof trousers were in the stash.

Jim and Mary had use a variety of materials to make their bespoke gear and in this case it was Millerain, Millair, a lightweight waxed cotton produced by the British Millerain Co. Ltd. in Rochdale. Not sure how waterproof the material is as we’ve never used it. These trousers certainly look the part.