When I first came to the Isle of Skye over 20 years ago I remember joining a long queue
of traffic at Kyle of Lochalsh waiting for a ferry ride that would take only a few minutes
before arriving here in Kyleakin. The history of Kyle of Lochalsh and Kyleakin was changed forever
in 1995 when the sky bridge was inaugurated. Overnight Kyleakin went from a traffic jam
to one of the sleepiest villages in the western highlands. These days drivers will speed
through Kyle of Lochalsh, and they won't even notice Kyleakin as the road completely bypasses
this lovely little village, but Kyle of Lochalsh and Kyleakin face each other over one of the
most beautiful stretches of water in Scotland and they deserve a few minutes of your time!
Kyle (Caol) in gaelic means straight and the name of the village derives from
Haakon's strait. King Haakon or Haco was the king of Norway in the 13th century
and in 1263 he anchored his huge fleet here before sailing to do battle against Alexander iii
of Scotland. However, things did not go well for the norse king; he was badly wounded at the famous
battle of Largs and he never made it back to his homeland, eventually dying at Kirkwall in Orkney.
Why is there a hotel here called Saucy Mary's, well going back to the 12th century a Norwegian
princess called Mary lived at castle Maol and by placing a chain right across the strait
she extracted a toll from every single passing ship. Not only was she cunning
financially but apparently she developed quite a reputation amongst the passing sailors!
Kyleakin is also famous for its connection to the renowned author and naturalist
Gavin Maxwell. This is otter country,
and whilst living just down the coast at Sandaig, Maxwell wrote the classic "Ring of Bright Water".
Later in 1968 he moved to the lighthouse keeper's cottage at Eilean Ban which now lies underneath
the Skye Bridge. In season, tours of the island can be arranged through the Bright Water visitor
centre, in the centre of the village right next to the beautiful otter sculpture.
I think it's time to cross the bridge!
Loch Alsh, the foaming loch, stretches away to the east of the village
and Caol Loch Aillse means straits of Loch Alsh. But it was the arrival of the railway in 1897,
which is now one of the most scenic journeys in Scotland, that really was the catalyst
for growth here in Kyle. Travellers flocked here, and it wasn't only the gateway to Skye,
it was also the mainland terminus for steamers to Stornoway on the Isle of
Lewis. The ferries have now long gone, but Kyle remains a working port to this day
as well as a centre for tourist cruises and there's plenty more to see besides!
Now I've read that there's a little cafe around here that distills its own gin - so
that's got to be worth finding! So these are two gins here, our Gin a Phluic which is
Gaelic for the Gin of Plockton, a much more botanical heavy spirit, and then
our End of the Line, one of our newer ones a much drier juniper. I think I need to try them all!
Well I'm very very happy with that, and the coffee is great too!
Someone else who feels that Kyle is under appreciated is local artist Stephen Gregory
and I'm now going to meet him at his studio in Broadford on Skye. Stephen, what inspired
you to devote your latest series of paintings to Kyle of Lochalsh. We're forever driving through
this place or we're coming here for a particular reason to Kyle of Lochalsh, for the the dentist
uh the solicitor that we use, but never really stopped often and and had a look around and I
thought I need to go and do that and it was also I realized once I did that there was just so many
aspects and components to this place. I began to appreciate the
topography it's almost been enhanced by what's gone on in terms of creating the urban landscape.
There's this sort of heroic feel to the fact that the railway line had to be blasted through
solid rock to get to the waterfront. Nature and the landscape is still evident you can't
really sort of make it go away. I just like the whole mix of residential, industrial waterfront
and this whole sort of melange/collage of different types of construction.
After so many years of just rushing over the Skye bridge I've really enjoyed spending some quality
time in the two Kyles, and if you're heading this way I recommend you do the same too, and if it's
raining - ah don't worry - just wait five minutes. Now, click subscribe and I'll see you next time.