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After a short stop at the Columba 1400 Community Centre in Staffin to send a few emails and update my weblog we continued towards the northern end of the Trotternish Peninsula.
Our next stop was Duntulm Castle or rather what was left of it. The ruins are in quite bad state, a local group is planning to do some work on them though. Duntulm was a major base for the MacDonalds of the Isles until the early 18th century. According to one of my guide books it was abandoned after a clumsy nurse dropped the baby son and heir out of a window onto the rocks. The cairn just in front of the castle (picture above right) is to commemorate the MacArthurs, who were the hereditary pipers for the MacDonalds of the Isles. Just two miles to the west of Duntulm is Kilmuir with the Skye Museum of Island Life (pictures below) |
The Skye Museum of Island Life has been built by locals around a croft which was inhabited until the late 1950s. They have built up a very interesting collection of rural life on Skye over the centuries. You'll find information about crofting, how cars arrived on Skye as well as Flora MacDonalds life and how she helped Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape. |
Flora MacDonald's Monument (picture right) is just a short walk from the museum. Flora MacDonald and her husband are buried here. The headstone is inscribed with the following tribute by Dr Johnson: "Her name will be mentioned in history, if courage and fidelity be virtues, mentioned with honour" |
When we returned to Portree and were just about to go into our hotel we saw a coach arriving: Our aunt Heidi and uncle Jürgen had arrived, who were on a coach tour through Scotland. We went for a nice dinner to celebrate this mini family-reunion, followed by a pint in the local pub. My sister lives in Heidelberg/Germany, our aunt and uncle in Cologne/Germany and myself in Swindon/England. But we all have to go to Scotland to meet again... | |
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