Ashaig ( gd, Aiseag, referring to a ferry) is a small township, situated adjacent to

Upper Breakish Upper Breakish ( gd, Breacais Àrd) is a village on the Isle of Skye in Scotland in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, ...

and

Lower Breakish Lower Breakish ( gd, Breacais Ìosal) is a village on the Isle of Skye in Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain ...

near Broadford on the island 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 b ...

, Scotland. For administrative purposes, it lies in the Highland Council area.

History

Connection with St Maelrubha

The old burial ground at Ashaig, which is still in use, reflects the site's ancient religious associations. By tradition, it is closely connected with

St. Maelrubha ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

(c.642-722), the apostle to Skye, who is said variously to have sailed over from Applecross (on a large flat stone) and to have occupied the small island of

Pabay Pabay is a Scottish island just off the coast of Skye. The name Pabay is derived from an old Norse word meaning "priest's isle" and there are the remains of a 13th-century chapel. Geography Pabay is an island in the Inner Sound of Skye, lying ...

opposite the beach. Also in the burial ground are several Commonwealth War Graves, the majority of these being casualties from the warship '' HMS Curacoa'' which sank following a collision with the ocean liner ''Queen Mary'', which it was escorting at the time. There are still to be seen the sacred spring that started when the saint tore a small tree from the ground and a rocky crag above the river, which he is said to have used as a pulpit (''Creag an leabhair'', "the rock of the book"). The saint's bell, which is supposed to have hung from a tree and to have pealed of its own accord in order to summon the faithful, is no longer in evidence.

Archaeological remains

The spring is covered by a stone-built well-house. Conservation work in 1994 revealed that it was fed by a channel from an earlier stone-lined spring. One of the lintels of the linking channel bore a lozenge long, and a cross-marked stone was found near the well-house. A neolithic axe was also found near the spring. Within the burial ground, the remains of a mediaeval church ("Cill Ashik") were still in existence as late as the middle of the 19th century.

Transport

Ashaig is situated on the A87 road.

Airfield

Ashaig is the site of

Broadford Airfield Isle of Skye (Broadford) Airfield (also known as Ashaig Airstrip or Broadford Aerodrome) is a small airfield on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, with a single runway. It is next to the hamlet of Ashaig, near the village of Broadford. History The ...

which was built in 1972. It is no longer used for commercial flights, as these came to an end in 1988. It is currently used by a flying club and emergency services. There is a large and attractive sandy beach at the end of the airstrip, except at high tide. The airfield was featured in the 1980 movie

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

References

External links

Canmore - Ashaig site record
{{Skye Populated places in the Isle of Skye Beaches of Scotland Christianity in medieval Scotland Holy wells in Scotland Springs of Scotland Landforms of the Isle of Skye Landforms of Highland (council area)