Islands of Scotland - Isle of Skye and the Small Isles (3/3)

1) Isle of Skye and The Small Isles

Skye or the Isle of Skye (Scottish Gaelic An t-Eilean Sgitheanach), is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills. Although it has been suggested that the Gaelic name describes this shape there is no definitive agreement as to its origins.

The island has been occupied since the Mesolithic and has a colourful history including a time of Norse rule and a long period of domination by clans Leod and Donald. The events of the 19th century had a devastating impact on the human population, which today numbers around 9,200. In contrast to many other Scottish islands this represents a 4% increase from the census of 1991.The residents are augmented in the summer by large numbers of tourists and visitors. The main industries are tourism, agriculture, fishing and whisky-distilling. The largest settlement is Portree, which is known for its picturesque harbour. Just over 30% of the residents on Skye speak Gaelic.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Islands
• of
• Scotland
• Isle
• Skye
• Small
• Isles
• Muck
• Eigg
• Rum
• Sanday
• Canna

[RailMon]

Superb videos of this fantastic area. You can keep Spain & the Costa de Lottas when we have this in theUK.