"Preserving the history of the parish of Sleat on the Isle of Skye"
Different spellings for place names are given; those in italic are the Gaelic version. The meaning of the place names is also given –whether Gaelic or Norse. For more information on local place names see our Place names page.
Isle Ornsay (Ebb-tide island)
There are the remains of a small graveyard at the southen end of the island.
Isle Ornsay Lighthouse is actually on a small neighbouring island called Eilean Sionnach....
Read more about Isle OrnsayGillen Gillean (the gylls or hollows)
The house was built in the early 1800s by Dr Alasdair MacDonald (An Dotair Ruadh). The kitchen of the farmhouse was a famous venue for kitchen ceilidhs and...
Read more about GillenSasaig (South Bay)
10 crofts
There used to be several small shops in the parish. In the 1880s there was one such shop in Sasaig, run by Peter MacDonald, a merchant and fish curer. Later in the...
Read more about SasaigAird An Aird
During the 18th century this farm was held on a tack. It was then divided into 19 crofts in 1811. By 1860 a 20th croft had been created out of an area called the Black Lots,...
Read more about AirdTarskavaig Tarscabhaig(Cod Bay) When crofting was introduced on Lord Macdonald’s estates in 1811, 31 small crofts were created in Tarskavaig. They were small because the tenants were expected...
Read more about Tarskavaig