Uig Isle of Skye Inverness-shire
The stark rise of the jagged Cuillin ridge drops to the gentle white of a soft sand beach. Inlets, bays and islands create a complex lacework pattern with the sea. Tiny villages and historic keeps are familiar and fascinating. And time means nothing, because beneath every footstep lies 500 million years of history. The fact that much of the land in Skye is not really suitable for large scale arable farming is undoubtedly why we have such a rich treasure of ancient structures which have survived to the present day. In the small area of the Uig Community, from the river Hinnisdal to Skudiburgh Head there are the remains of two brochs, two hill forts, a Viking fort and graveyard, one medieval castle, and around twenty “hut-circles”(ancient dwellings), and a ruined village deserted at the time of the clearances, in addition to standing stones and earthworks from early times. There is clear evidence of a fairly significant settlement by the mouth of the river Hinnisdal with many “hut circles” in the area Just south of the Uig at Tote (Tobhta) there is a standing stone on which Pictish marking can still be seen. To the north of Uig at Skudiburgh Head there is the remains of a Viking fort, to the west of Earlish there is what is believed to be a Viking cemetery. At South Cuidrach on a cliff by loch Snizort stands the ruin of Caisteal Uisdean (or Hugh’s castle) which belonged to Uisdean MacGilleasbuig Chleirich or Hugh MacDonald who wanted to become Chief of the MacDonalds of Skye, and planned to murder his cousin Donald Gorm Mòr the then Clan Chief. He failed in this attempt and died in Duntulm Castle dungeon just a few miles north of Uig. South of Uig many clan battles were fought around the area of the river Snizort which formed a boundary between the MacDonalds and MacLeods who frequently fought over the Trotternish peninsular. It was of course just north of Uig that Bonny Prince Charlie landed in the well known “Over the sea to Skye” song. He and Flora MacDonald l
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Keywords: blue, boat, cliffs, ferry, hebrides, highlands, hills, isle, kingdom, loch, maddy, minch, north, places, scottish, skye, steamer, terminal, travel, uist, uk, united
