The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
A MOMENT IN TIME
Susan Welsh is captured by the beauty of Skye’s Sleat peninsula, where history, language, scenery and food blend in a feast for the senses
The world is constantly changing. But standing on the old stone pier of Eilean Iarmain, looking out across the Sound of Sleat to the majestic mountains of Knoydart beyond, the impression one gets is that here, time has stood still. Once a very busy port, it doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination to summon up images of a harbour full of frigates, puffers and tallmasted sailing ships.
The stunning vista was one of the last things Jacobite heroine Flora MacDonald
saw in 1746. From this spot on Skye, she was taken prisoner and forced to board the frigate
Unicorn, bound for London. Her reward for helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape was being locked in the Tower of London.
It is, quite simply, a magical location, where you feel history reaching out to you and where locals are ready to stop and chat proudly about their language and the area’s history.
It would be hard to pick a more beautiful spot to place a hotel. This area, on the Sleat peninsula, also known as Isle Ornsay, is home to Hotel Eilean Iarmain, part of a 23,000-acre estate within which you’ll find a number of activity providers and businesses.
The whitewashed hotel has everything you’d want from a Hebridean hotel – cosy lounges with log fires, comfortable rooms, tartan carpets, grand art work and a restaurant offering sumptuous menus packed with local fare.
Across the road from the hotel, a historic stable block has been converted into charming cottages. We stayed in Number 23, which had a comfortable lounge, upmarket bathroom and a wood-lined, cosy bedroom upstairs.
What a treat each morning to pull open the curtains and feast upon the views. With Ornsay Lighthouse, built by one of the Stevenson family, in the foreground, clear, blue waters and mountains in the distance, it was picture-postcard perfect.
Breakfast at the hotel is pretty filling and will set you up for the day, ideal if you want to go exploring.
The hotel forms part of a historic group of
IT IS, QUITE SIMPLY, A MAGICAL LOCATION WHERE YOU FEEL HISTORY REACHING OUT TO YOU
buildings that have been used for a variety of purposes over the decades.
Currently, they are home to Talla Dearg Gallery, which often has visiting artists; Floraidh, an upmarket boutique; a Gaelic whisky shop selling what it describes as “real” unchilled and unfiltered whiskies, and a small building where fantastic hand-crafted Gaelic gins are created from a teeny still.
My favourite was the atmospheric Am Praban Bar, popular with locals and tourists alike. The bar was jumping, as two local musicians, Loudon Mackay and Donald “Doc” Livingstone, played a lively selection of music.
Dinner on our first night was in the hotel, and delicious. Scallops and langoustines in an apple broth followed by local venison with a variety of heritage vegetables, finished with a selection of Scottish cheeses.
Time and time again, one name kept coming up – that of the late Sir Iain Noble, the renowned Scottish entrepreneur who came to live in Skye in the early ’70s, when he acquired the MacDonald estates in Sleat and Strath.
His widow, Lady Lucilla Noble, now runs the hotel and estate. Sir Iain’s commitment to Gaelic culture was nothing short of remarkable and despite not being a native Gaelic speaker, he worked tirelessly to make sure it didn’t die out.
His initiatives included establishing the
Gaelic Collage of Sabhal More Ostaig in 1973 and developing a range of Gaelic whiskies.
The next morning we pulled on boots and waterproofs and joined Eilean Iarmain’s head keeper and stalker, Scott Mackenzie, for a tramp across the hills and a spot of shooting.
In our sights were a number of metal stags, placed among the moorland and, after careful coaching, we had a go at firing a rifle at them, which was much harder than expected.
En route, Scott talked to us about land and animal management, pointed out a variety of flora and fauna and rattled off the names of the mountains we could see in the distance.
As the sun began to set, another treat awaited as we joined Alistair Mackay for a sunset tour round the Sleat Peninsula, stopping in the village of Ord, which offered more breathtaking views.
Dinner that evening was in the hotel’s sister Inn@ Aird a’ Bhasair, which offered really good pub grub along with local fare such as scallops, mussels and venison.
We swung by the hotel lounge where a mini ceilidh was in full flow, featuring remarkable young singer Emily Macdonald, Alistair Mackay and poet Roddy Gorman.
Very reluctantly, we left the next morning, but not before simply standing still, breathing deeply, listening to the gentle sound of lapping water and taking in the breathtaking views.