Dunvegan ( gd, Dùn Bheagain) 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, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It is famous for

Dunvegan Castle , native_name_lang =Gaelic , alternate_name = , image = Dunvegan Castle.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = The south-west face of the castle , map = , map_type = Scotland Isle of Skye ...

, seat of the chief of

Clan MacLeod Clan MacLeod (; gd, Clann Mac Leòid ) is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan, whose chief is MacLeod of MacLeod, are known in Gaelic as ' ("se ...

. Dunvegan is within the parish of Duirinish, and

Duirinish Parish Church Dunvegan Parish Church (also known as Duirinish Parish Church) is a parish church in the Church of Scotland at Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. History The church was built between 1823 and 1832 in the Gothic Revival style. It is a ...

is at Dunvegan. In 2011 it had a population of 386.

Name

In ''The Norse Influence on Gaelic Scotland'' (1910), George Henderson suggests that the name ''Dùn Bheagain'' derives from Old Gaelic ''Dùn Bheccáin'' ( hefort of Beccán), Beccán being a Gaelic personal name. ''Dùn Bheagain'' would not mean 'little fort' as this would be ''Dùn Beag'' in Gaelic.

Geography

Dunvegan sits on the shores of the large

Loch Dunvegan Loch Dunvegan (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Dhùn Bheagain''), is a sea loch on the west coast of the island of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Dunvegan, the village it was named after is located by its southern shore. The settlements of Ga ...

, and the Old School Restaurant in the village is noted for its fish, caught freshly from the loch itself. Dunvegan is situated at the junction of the A850, and the A863. The B884 road also has a junction with the A863, at the eastern end of Dunvegan.

Demography

Dunvegan's permanent population is declining. However, numbers staying in the area during holidays have increased dramatically over the years since 2001.

Economy

Tourist information used to be situated in the parade of shops at Lochside, but is now available on a seasonal basis at Dunvegan Castle's St Kilda Shop. The Giant MacAskill Museum, which celebrates the life of Angus Mòr MacAskill was established in 1989 and is managed by Peter MacAskill, father of the street trials cycle rider

Danny MacAskill Daniel "Danny" MacAskill is a Scottish trials cyclist, from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. He works professionally as a street trials / mountain bike rider for Santa Cruz Bicycles. In April 2009, he released a five-minute street trials video t ...

.Danny MacAskill makes a career from defying death
(15 February 2009) ''The Times''. Retrieved 28 May 2010.

References

External links

Undiscovered Scotland - Dunvegan
{{Use dmy dates, date=November 2017 Populated places in the Isle of Skye