Isle of Skye UK relief location map labels

Waternish or Vaternish ( gd, Bhàtairnis) is a peninsula approximately long 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, situated between

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 Galt ...

and

Loch Snizort Loch Snizort is a sea loch in the northwest of the Isle of Skye between the Waternish and Trotternish peninsulas. It is fed by the River Snizort, originating in the hills east of Bracadale. The mouth of Loch Snizort gives access to the lower ...

in the northwest of the island, and originally inhabited and owned by Clan MacNeacail/MacNicol/Nicolsons. About the time of the battle of Bannockburn in the beginning of the 14th century, the line of the MacNicol chiefs ended in an heiress, who married Torcuil MacLeod of the Lewes, a younger son of MacLeod of the Lewis, who obtained a Crown charter of the lands of Assynt, and other lands in the west of Ross, apparently those which had become vested in his MacNicol wife. The clan, on this event, came by the patriarchal rule, or law of clanship, under the leading of the nearest male heir; and the MacNicails subsequently removed to the Isle of Skye, where their chief residence was at Scoirebreac, a beautiful situation, on the margin of the loch, close to Port Rhi (Portree). In the 17th century, John Morison of Bragar stated as much when he wrote: "... Macknaicle whose onlie daughter Torquill the first of that name (and sone to Claudius the sone of Olipheous, who likewise is said to be the King of Noruway his sone,) did violentlie espouse, and cutt off Immediatlie the whole race of Macknaicle and possessed himself with the whole Lews ...". Similarly, the garbled Bannatyne Manuscript indicates that the MacNeacails held Lewis from the Kings of Mann, and that the clan's possession of the island terminated though the marriage of an heiress to a MacLeod. The manuscript also states that a branch of the MacNeacails held Waternish on Skye before the MacLeods. Other traditions associate the MacNeacails with the mainland in Assynt and Coigach; the ruins of Caisteal Mhic Neacail ("MacNeacail's Castle") near Ullapool may well corroborate such traditions of the mainland. The MacNeacails once also had possession of Lewis before losing their lands to the MacLeods through the marriage of a MacNeacail heiress. In Waternish, on St. Columba's Isle, at the head of Loch Snizort, there is a small chapel on the south side of the main building, which is still known as aiteadhlaic Mhic Nicail, Nicholson's Aisle; and here lies an effigy of a warrior, dressed in the ling quilted coat, or habergion; and the clogaid or conical helmet, represented in the figure of the Lord of the Isles, No. XI. It is to be regretted, that, with few expectations, in the inscriptions on those stones, numerous in the islands, are now illegible. On the island is a stone plaque that has engraved: “ Saint Columba’s Island. Ancient burial ground and site of Cathedral Church of the Bishops of the Isles from 1079 to 1498. Similarly ancient is the mortuary chapel, Nicolson’s Aisle, where, according to tradition, twenty-eight Chiefs of that Clan are buried.” The

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 ' ("see ...

clan seat is at the nearby

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 ...

. The current clan chief is Hugh MacLeod of MacLeod. It contains the hamlets of

Stein Stein is a German, Yiddish and Norwegian word meaning "stone" and "pip" or "kernel". It stems from the same Germanic root as the English word stone. It may refer to: Places In Austria * Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Austr ...

and Lusta in Loch Bay to the south east,

Halistra Halistra ( gd, Halastra), is a small crofting township located on the west coast of the Waternish peninsula, overlooking Loch Bay, on the island of Skye, Scotland. It is in the Scottish council area of Highland. It comprises Upper Halistra, Low ...

Hallin Scandza was described as a "great island" by Gothic-Byzantine historian Jordanes in his work ''Getica''. The island was located in the Arctic regions of the sea that surrounded the world. The location is usually identified with Scandinavia. Jor ...

and

Trumpan Trumpan ( gd, Trumpan) is a hamlet located on the Vaternish peninsula in the Isle of Skye, in the Scottish council area of the Highland. Trumpan church, which is now a ruin, was the focus of a particularly brutal incident in 1578, when the Cla ...

further north and Gillen to the west, all of which are accessed from the A850 road by crossing the Fairy Bridge. The highest point is Ben Geary () and the most northerly is

Waternish Point Waternish or Vaternish Point (Scottish Gaelic Rubha Bhatairnis) is the northwestern promontory of the Waternish Waternish or Vaternish ( gd, Bhàtairnis) is a peninsula approximately long on the island of Skye, Scotland, situated between Loch ...

. The origin of the name Waternish is controverse. The history of the peninsula is a long (and often bloody) one involving clan feuds, massacres, de-population during the

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( gd, Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulte ...

, and eventual re-vitalisation. Originally consisting of small crofting communities, Waternish now has a growing population and is home to various arts and crafts enterprises. Whilst the main industry on Waternish is tourism, there has also been a revival in recent years of

crofting Crofting is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production particular to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th century townships, individual crofts were established on the bette ...

small-scale agriculture A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

. The local school is called Knockbreck. The school has struggled recently due to an ageing population which has resulted in only 4 students currently attending and the school was scheduled for closure in summer 2015. The local pub is the Stein Inn, which dates back to 1790 and is the oldest on Skye. Trumpan was the site of the skirmish known as the Battle of the Spoiling Dyke and the churchyard is the burial ground of

Rachel Chiesley, Lady Grange Rachel Chiesley (baptised 4 February 1679 – 12 May 1745), usually known as Lady Grange, was the wife of Lord Grange, a Scottish lawyer with Jacobite sympathies. After 25 years of marriage and nine children, the Granges separated a ...

.Macauley (2009) p. 149

References

* Macauley, Margaret (2009) ''The Prisoner of St Kilda: The true story of the unfortunate Lady Grange''. Edinburgh; Luath.

External links

Landforms of the Isle of Skye Peninsulas of Scotland Landforms of Highland (council area) {{Highland-geo-stub

See also

References

External links