Sleat
Sleat ( Scottish Gaelic : Sléibhte or Slèite ) is a peninsula in the south of the Isle of Skye . It is separated from the mainland by the Sound of Sleat . The original Scottish Gaelic name means something like "plain", but this does not correspond to the topographical reality. The peninsula, which is also known as the "Skyes Garden", is mainly characterized by gently undulating, hilly landscapes. Only in comparison to the northern mountains of the Black Cuillins does Sleat appear relatively flat.
On Sleat is the former clan seat of the MacDonalds , the Armadale Castle , which today is mostly only a ruin. The history of the Lords of the Isles is presented from the clan's own perspective in the visitors center financed by the clan in the building next to the ruin . This includes an old park with tree species that are otherwise found in North America. Their growth is favored by the mild climate ( Gulf Stream ). The current High Chief of Clan Donald, Lord Godfrey James Macdonald of Macdonald, runs a country hotel with his wife, a well-known cook and writer, a little off the main road to Broadford .
Most of the towns are on Sleats' east, mainland-facing coast along the main Broadford-Armadale road. In Armadale you will find the Clan MacDonald Center and a few shops and restaurants as well as the pier for the important ferry connection to Mallaig on the opposite Scottish mainland. South of Armadale, the main road continues to Ardvasar (Scottish Gaelic Aird a 'Bhàsair ), the traditional capital of Sleat. The public road leads a little further south to Aird of Sleat and offers views of the islands of Rum and Eigg and the Ardnamurchan peninsula even further south . To the east of the main Broadford-Ardvasar road on the eastern Sleats coastline are the hamlets of Tarskavaig, Tokavaig and Ord, from which one can see the Cuillins and the Elgol peninsula.
Sleat is a stronghold of the Scottish Gaelic language. About 40 percent of the population speak this language. On the peninsula, in the hamlet of Ostaig and with a beautiful view over the Sound of Sleat , there is also the Scottish-Gaelic College Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (in German "the great barn of Ostaig"), which belongs to the University of the Highlands and Islands . The college has led to another influx of well-educated Gaelic-speaking academics. In 2006 there was a nationally noticed dispute about the linguistic and cultural orientation of the elementary school in Sleat, which exemplifies the conflicts of interest of the different population groups with meanwhile very different cultural and social backgrounds. A part of the parents dominated by college members wanted to convert the hitherto bilingual primary school into a “Gaelic only” school in order to further promote the language and raise the children's language skills to a level suitable for colleges. This met with bitter resistance from the exclusively English-speaking population. She mainly asserted that there was no school alternative for the non-Gaelic-speaking children far and wide. The line of conflict ran right through the Gaelic cultural area: some of the long-established, non-academic Gaelic-speaking parents also spoke out against strengthening Gaelic lessons. This group had concerns that could partly be explained by the long history of oppression and discrimination of Gaelic culture, such as the fear that the children would have poorer job opportunities without adequate knowledge of English. The dispute was eventually settled through a compromise solution from the Highland Council .
The village of Isleornsay (Gaelic Eilean Iarmain ) and the lighthouse island of the same name also belong to Sleat . The Eilean Iarmain Hotel is well known beyond the region. It belonged to the multimillionaire and patron Iain Noble , who died in 2010. He had a special connection to the Gaelic language and culture and with a donation also laid the foundation stone for the establishment of the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig College .
Culture, arts and crafts
The College Sabhal Mòr Ostaig with its largely barrier-free rooms that are accessible to the public also plays an important role for the cultural offerings . Concerts, lectures and other cultural events take place regularly in the auditorium of the modern central building. There is also a souvenir and book shop as well as the college library with internet access. In the immediate vicinity of Armadale Pier there is a pottery, a leather shop and a fashion and jewelry shop with products made on Skye. Several painters and photographers have settled on Sleat, who exhibit their works in small galleries and offer them for sale. Part of the Eilean Iarmain Hotel complex in Isleornsay is the An Talla Dearg gallery ("the red hall"), in which changing exhibitions mostly by local artists take place. The bar Am Pràban ("the shed") is also located here.
Development project in Kilbeg
In Kilbeg (Gaelic: A 'Chill Bheag - "the little church"), a new place with 93 buildings, utilities for daily life and a further expanded campus of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is to be built on the lands of Clan Donald . The project is valued at approximately £ 40 million. The planning was officially approved in 2011. Negotiations are currently underway for short and long-term financing. When the final expansion stage is reached, the new location will be the most important settlement on the Sleat Peninsula and take over central functions from the traditional central locations of Portree and Broadford. The planning is sending out a signal, as there has been a significant decline in population in north-west Scotland over the past 300 years; In the so-called Highland Clearances , entire villages were forced to emigrate to North America or Australia / New Zealand. Although there has been a positive population development in Skye for more than a decade, it has hardly contributed to the stabilization or even revival of Gaelic culture. After a certain selective trend reversal can be demonstrated in Sleat thanks to the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig College , the project managers hope that the cultural and economic upward trend will continue and that the Gaelic language will have an even greater impact on the efforts to rescue and revitalize it.
Prehistory and History
On the southeast side of the peninsula are the Hill and Promontory forts : Dun A'Chleirich, Dun Acardinon, Dun Chlo (Tormore), Dun Ban (Camascross), Dun Ban (Sleat), Dun Ela, Dun Faich, Dun Knock (Toavaig) , as well as Armadale Castle and Knock Castle (Skye) , On the northeast coast are the ruins of Dunscaith Castle .
Web links
- Sleat Tourist Group website (English / Gaelic)
- South Skye website at undiscoveredscotland.com with links to individual towns and places of interest ( Memento of February 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- Website of the Clan Donald Center in Armadale (English / Gaelic)
- Website of the Gaelic College Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (Gaelic / English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Row over Skye Gaelic-only school Dispute over Skye's Gaelic school BBC News on February 9, 2006
- ↑ Concept for Gaelic-speaking school agreed on BBC News October 27, 2006
- ↑ Sir Ian Noble dies at 75 newspaper articles in Scotsman December 26, 2010
- ↑ Website of the Kilbeg project ( Memento of the original from November 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ Highland Council asked to support Skye's Kilbeg village BBC News August 31, 2012
Coordinates: 57 ° 7 ′ N , 5 ° 56 ′ W