Kyleakin (;

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 ...

: ''Caol Àcain'') is a village situated on the east coast 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 ...

in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...

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 ...

. The village is along the strait of Kyle Akin opposite the

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

Scottish mainland town of

Kyle of Lochalsh Kyle of Lochalsh (from the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic ''Caol Loch Aillse'', "strait of the foaming loch") is a village in the historic county of Ross-shire on the northwest coast of Scotland, located around west-southwest of Inverness. It is loca ...

. Kyleakin is within the parish of Strath.

History

The etymology of Kyleakin is disputed. The most popular account is that the name is derived from 'Strait of Haakon' named after the King

Haakon IV of Norway Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; Old Norse: ''Hákon Hákonarson'' ; Norwegian: ''Håkon Håkonsson''), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 y ...

whose fleet moored there prior to the

Battle of Largs The Battle of Largs (2 October 1263) was a battle between the kingdoms of Norway and Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde near Largs, Scotland. Through it, Scotland achieved the end of 500 years of Norse Viking depredations and invasions despite bei ...

in 1263 which ended

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

rule of the island. Another possible origin from Acunn, a Celtic mythological hero. In the early 19th century,

Lord Macdonald Lord Macdonald may refer to: * The High Chief of the Scottish Clan Donald * Baron Macdonald in the Peerage of Ireland * Ken Macdonald Kenneth Donald John Macdonald, Baron Macdonald of River Glaven, (born 4 January 1953) is a British lawyer an ...

conceived a grandiose plan for the development of Kyleakin, to be re-christened "New Liverpool". A contemporary print, intended to illustrate his plans, shows row upon row of tenement buildings but the project never came to fruition. 2007-07-06-06646 GreatBritain Scotland Kyleakin

2007-07-06-06646 GreatBritain Scotland Kyleakin

The village of Kyleakin is also the site of

Castle Moil Caisteal Maol (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Caisteal'', 'Castle', ''Maol'', 'bare') is a ruined castle located near the harbour of the village of Kyleakin, Isle of Skye, Scotland. It is also known as Castle Moil, Castle Maol, Dun Akyn, Dunakin Cas ...

, an ruined fortress built in the late 15th century. Legend states that there were much older fortifications on the site, and that it was originally built for a Norwegian princess known as 'Saucy Mary' who would charge a toll to any boat using the narrow channel by hanging a chain from the castle to the mainland to prevent unpaid crossings. Her remains are said to be buried on the top of Beinn na Caillich (Gaelic for "mountain of the old woman"), the large mountain to the rear of the castle ruins. However, some local historians contest this and claim that she was laid to rest by another mountain of the same name a few miles west in the village of Broadford, so that she may forever face the land of her birth.

Transport

From 1841 to 16 October 1995 a ferry service operated from Kyleakin to the mainland across the narrow strait of

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 ...

, until it was replaced by the controversial

Skye Bridge The Skye Bridge ( gd, Drochaid an Eilein Sgitheanaich) is a road bridge over Loch Alsh, Scotland, connecting the Isle of Skye to the island of Eilean Bàn. The name is also used for the whole Skye Crossing, which further connects Eilean Bàn ...

. Initially a

toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or ''toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road. ...

, the tolls were discontinued in 2004 following protests by local people.

Sport

Kyleakin plays host to Kyleakin Football Club, who won the Skye and Lochalsh Bagshaw league in 2009, goalkeeper Lennie Chiffers is also part of an accomplished

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

team in the village. It also hosts a new year football match between bachelors and married men. It is also a breeding ground for

shinty Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, an ...

players, including John "Slippy" Finlayson, who won the Camanachd Cup with

Skye Camanachd Skye Camanachd is a shinty team from the Isle of Skye, Highland, Scotland. It plays in the Premier Division and has a reserve team in North Division One, as well as a Ladies team in the WCA National Division One and a Ladies reserve team in the ...

in 1990 and Steven Morrison, Scotland Under-21 Captain. Kyleakin Primary School are also the only primary school age team to have ever won the Mod Cup in 2001. Image:Castle Moil - Kyleakin.jpg,

Caisteal Maol Caisteal Maol (Gaelic: ''Caisteal'', 'Castle', ''Maol'', 'bare') is a ruined castle located near the harbour of the village of Kyleakin, Isle of Skye, Scotland. It is also known as Castle Moil, Castle Maol, Dun Akyn, Dunakin Castle Dun Haakon an ...

. Image:Kyleakin harbour.jpg, The

spanning Kyle Akin. Image:Bronze_otter_sculpture_Kyleakin_Isle_of_Skye_by_sculptor_Laurence_Broderick.jpg, Bronze Otter at Kyleakin, by sculptor

Laurence Broderick Laurence Broderick, , is a British sculptor. His best known work is 'The Bull', a public sculpture erected in 2003 at the Bull Ring, Birmingham. ''The Bull'' is about 4.5 meters long, about 190 cm high and weighs about 6.5 tons. It is o ...

References

External links

Kyleakin village website
{{Skye Populated places in the Isle of Skye

History

Transport

Sport

See also

References

External links