Moorland and trees above the Sound of Sleat - geograph

The Sound of Sleat is a narrow sea channel off the western coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It divides the

Sleat Sleat is a peninsula and civil parish on the island of Skye in the Highland council area of Scotland, known as "the garden of Skye". It is the home of the clan ''MacDonald of Sleat''. The name comes from the Scottish Gaelic , which in turn comes ...

peninsula on the south-east side of the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

from

Morar Morar (; gd, Mòrar) is a small village on the west coast of Scotland, south of Mallaig. The name Morar is also applied to the northern part of the peninsula containing the village, though North Morar is more usual (the region to the south wes ...

Knoydart Knoydart (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cnòideart'') is a peninsula in Lochaber, Highland, on the west coast of Scotland. Knoydart is sandwiched between Lochs Nevis and Hourn — often translated as "Loch Heaven" (from the Gaelic ''Loch Néimh'') an ...

and Glenelg on the Scottish mainland. The Sound extends in a south-south west direction for from

Loch Alsh Loch Alsh (from the Scottish Gaelic ''Loch Aillse'', "foaming lake") is a sea inlet between the isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides and the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The name is also used to describe the surrounding country and the feuda ...

. It is widest () at the south-west entrance and narrows to just at Kyle Rhea, a narrow channel which connects the Sound through to Loch Alsh. The name is inherited from the peninsula to the north of the Sound, which derives its name from its

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

form ''Sléibhte'' (or ''Slèite''), which in turn comes from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''sléttr'' meaning smooth or even. On the mainland side of the Sound are the entrances to

Loch Nevis Loch Nevis (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Nibheis'') is a sea loch in Lochaber on the west coast of Scotland. It runs inland from the Sound of Sleat, and is bounded on the north by the peninsula of Knoydart and on the south by North Morar (the region ...

and

Loch Hourn Loch Hourn ( gd, Loch Shubhairne) is a sea loch which separates the peninsulas of Glenelg to the north and Knoydart to the south, on the west coast of Scotland. Geography Loch Hourn runs inland from the Sound of Sleat, opposite the island of Sk ...

. The largest settlement on the mainland side is

Mallaig Mallaig (; gd, Malaig derived from Old Norse , meaning sand dune bay) is a port in Lochaber, on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland. The local railway station, Mallaig, is the terminus of the West Highland railway line (Fort William ...

which sits at the entrance to the Sound. On the Skye side of the Sound sit Knock Castle, a former stronghold of the MacDonalds, and the village of Armadale. The Sound is traversed on a regular basis in the summer by a ferry operating between Glenelg and Kylerhea. A

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne ( gd, Caledonian Mac a' Bhriuthainn), usually shortened to CalMac, is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west ...

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

operates between Mallaig and Armadale throughout the year.

References

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