Elgol - In the Heart of the Cuillin Hills

Whichever way you travel to the Isle of Skye, you will have come through some of the country’s most spectacular scenery. Even so, the last 15 miles of your journey from Broadford to the village of Elgol will take your breath away. This route is one of ever-changing vistas ranging from fjord-like sea lochs, picturesque crofting communities to the splendour of Blaven and the neighbouring Cuillin range. Add to this the area’s rich cultural and historical background and you have the perfect place to re-charge and refresh.

The road to Elgol is a magnet for geologists who are struck by the diversity of its rock formations. In some places typical formations associated with limestone geology are found. The recently discovered of Uamh an Ard Achaidh, or the High Pasture Cave, which in antiquity was a refuge or maybe home to some of the area’s people, is one of many riddling this limestone terrain.

Nearby marble deposits were quarried and taken by narrow-gauge rail to Broadford for transport to the markets in the south. The staircase of Armadale Castle in Sleat, which sadly was ruined in a fire, was made of local marble. Marble is still quarried at Torrin, which is about halfway between Broadford and Elgol and is now mainly used for harling or path construction. Nearby is the celebrated Cuillin range but this, by contrast, is composed of the black coloured volcanic rock, gabbro. The Cuillin range, which is at its most impressive seen from the shore at Elgol, provides some of the best climbing in Europe. The Cuillin is for the experienced and well-prepared climber, the rest of us should enjoy the range from Elgol or take the Misty Isle boat trip to Coruisk, a beautiful fresh-water loch right in the midst of the Cuillin mountains.

About 1600 years ago the Gaelic language got a foothold in the south-west Highlands and over the next century or two spread to most of the rest of the country. Elgol, like the rest of Skye, is traditionally a Gaelic speaking area and, (in the main,) place names here are either Gaelic or of Gaelic origin. Curiously, the name Elgol itself and several others in the neighbourhood, are not from Gaelic but named by Vikings who around a thousand years ago came not only to pillage and plunder but also to settle. It is thought that in the old Norse language Elgol means Holy Hill (Helga Hollr).

The spiritual link with the village’s name is plausible enough since the district between Broadford and Elgol was the focus of the christianising work undertaken by St Maelrubha or St Maree. In AD 673 he arrived in Skye at Ashaig, just south of Broadford and from there his influence spread throughout the whole island. Along the route to Elgol are many placenames suggesting early Christian establishments, for example Kilchrist, Kilbride and, of course, Kilmaree. The “Kil” part of these names is from the Gaelic Cille or church. So Kilmaree means Maelrubha’s Church. If you are lucky enough to be in Elgol on the 27th August, spare a thought for Maelrubha because this is his special day. Near Kilmaree is the now-ruined fort of Dunringell. This was the ancient seat of the MacKinnons, the area’s traditional clan or family. Subsequently the MacKinnon chief and his retinue went to live in the Castle Moil in Kyleakin. But MacKinnons are still very much to the fore in Elgol, as you will surely discover.

They pride themselves in the fact that they, unlike many of the other Skye clans, were ‘out’ with the Prince during the ’45. In other words, they sided with Prince Charles Edward’s Jacobite army during the 1745 Rising. For their loyalty to the Bonnie Prince, the area suffered badly through reprisals once the Rising had failed. It was a mark of the Prince’s trust in the MacKinnons and the people of Elgol in general, that he took refuge with them while evading capture by the Redcoat Hanoverian army. He had come ‘over the sea to Skye’ from Uist in the summer of 1746 and made his way on foot to Portree, then by boat to Raasay. After a couple of days there he returned to Skye and walked through Strath Mòr (the big valley) to Strathaird and subsequently to Elgol. By this time there was a bounty of £30,000 on his head, but the MacKinnons would not betray him. The Prince then set off from Elgol for Loch nan Uamh on the Scottish mainland and from there escaped to France.

Unlike the Prince’s forced march at night to Elgol, walking in the area is relaxing and inspiring. You can walk pretty freely in the locality and there are paths and routes to suit most abilities. A particular favourite is that to Camusunary which can be undertaken either along the shore of Loch Scavaig or over the low-level pass from Robastan. The more adventurous of you can strike out from Camusunary across the burn and to the summit of Sgurr na Stri which, though only about 500m in height, provides one of the best views of the whole Cuillin range and Loch Coruisk. Alternatively, you can follow the shore at the base of Sgurr na Stri to Loch Coruisk via the ‘Bad Step’ which is not as ‘bad’ as you might think, but requires knowledge, experience and nerve. Another fascinating walk takes you from Kilbride along the coast to the now-deserted settlements of Suisinish and Borreraig. The going here is relatively easy and the walker is encouraged by the splendid views of the Blaven and the Small Isles of Rum, Eigg, Canna and, depending on visibility, the Isle of Muck.

Borreraig is set in pasture lands between a lovely bay and the crags which dominate the scene. Ruins of the houses occupied until the early 1850s are still clearly distinguishable. The village’s inhabitants were forced from their homes during the infamous ‘clearances’ in order to make room for a sheep farm and they had little option to walk with what possessions they could carry to Broadford. There they were put aboard a ship with hundreds of others from Skye who suffered the same fate and they were transported to Australia. The story of its depopulation combines with Borreraig’s natural beauty and diversity to create a special atmosphere in this place, one which you should experience if possible.

In Gaelic culture stories of the supernatural were handed down from generation to generation and it is little wonder that some places in the neighbourhood of Elgol were particularly associated with strange ‘on-goings’. Such stories are just stories and should not concern you unless you really want to believe them. On the Elgol road, just a couple of miles out of Broadford is the place called Sithean which translates as Fairy Knoll. Sithean is not so much famed for its fairies as for its famous son, the celebrated Gaelic poet William Ross. During his short life – he died in 1790 at the age of 28 - he provided Scotland’s culture with some of its most beautiful and poignant pastoral poetry and love poetry. Folklore has it that on the night of his death he appeared at the door of the object of his unrequited love. This is just another of these stories because she was many hundreds of miles away at the time and, in any case, he was in no fit state to travel.

From Sithean you look over to Beinn na Caillich, or hill of the old lady, which was so called because a Viking princess required that she was buried near its summit so that the winds from her homeland would blow across her grave. At this hill’s foot is the ruin of the once impressive Corrie House where the Mackinnon chiefs took up residence when Castle Moil had been abandoned. Corrie House hosted a couple of famous visitors in the late 18th century, Dr Samuel Johnson and James Boswell who called there on their ‘peregrinations’ to the Highlands and Islands. Here Boswell was pleasantly surprised to be offered the traditional morning dram of whisky, called a ‘sgailc’ in Gaelic, which literally translated is a hit. In fact, he partook of so many ‘hits’ that day that he retired to his bed at five in the afternoon, uproariously happy.

There are many fascinating things to do and places to see in the immediate Elgol area and, if should you tire of them, the rest of our wonderful island could be explored. But try to avoid the ‘sgailc’ – keep your dram of whisky for the fireside and watch the evening sun go down over Rum.

Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved - Website by SkyeGospel Web Design