Not as drowsy as it seems
The colourful row of houses at the harbour of Portree, located in the northern part of the bay of Loch Portree, Portree, Isle of Skye, Highland council area, Scotland
Some background information:
Portree is the capital and largest community of the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It is a civil parish and lies within the Highland council area, around 119 kilometres (74 miles) away from its administrative centre of Inverness. Portree has a harbour, fringed by cliffs, with a pier designed by the Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford. Of ist roughly 2,300 inhabitants, around 950 can speak Scottish Gaelic fluently.
In Portree, the Irish monk St. Columba is said to have preached during the early Middle Ages, which is why the sea bay was once called Loch Choluimcille. In 1263, the Norwegian king Håkon IV led a punitive expedition against the Scottish kings that reached as far as Portree Bay. The lands around Portree were cultivated for centuries by the relatively minor clan MacNicol.
In May 1540, the Scottish king James V sailed to the Hebrides to settle uprisings and conflicts among the clans. His majestic fleet landed in Portree Bay, allegedly at a stream that was then called Port-an-Rìgh (in English: "king's port"). The feuding clan chiefs swore allegiance and submitted ceremonially, but after James V's death in 1542, conflicts broke out again. Upon his departure, the king may have given the still quite insignificant hamlet of Kiltaraglen the decorative name Portree, though without granting any royal privileges.
After the defeat at the Battle of Culloden, Charles Edward Stuart (better known under his nickname "Bonnie Prince Charlie"), the leader of the Jacobites and Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland, arrived in Portree in early summer 1746 after a daring escape and with the help of the young Jacobite woman Flora MacDonald. Since he was not safe in Portree from English pursuers, the prince was eventually brought to the smaller island of Raasay, where he spent three days in a makeshift shepherd’s hut, as almost all other buildings had been burned down by the English. With the help of loyal supporters, Charles Edward Stuart continued his journey in secret to the Scottish mainland via Knoydart and Borodale, from where he was able to sail to France under strict secrecy.
For a long time, Portree consisted of only a few houses and a small inn. But after the death of Sir James, the 16th chief of the clan MacDonald, in 1766, the place gained significance. From the late 18th century onwards, the natural harbour of Portree became a departure point for emigrants heading overseas. In 1773, the "Nestor" anchored the, one of the largest ships transporting emigrants.
In 1803, during the Napoleonic Wars, a volunteer regiment was formed in Portree to prevent a feared French landing. In November 1884, the gunboat HMS Forrester anchored off Portree to suppress a tenant uprising, in which impoverished crofters refused to pay rent. Sheriff William Ivory had requested reinforcements to bring the rebellion under control, but ultimately failed due to the passive resistance of the local population.
Portree is considered to be among the "20 most beautiful villages in the UK and Ireland" and is visited by many tourists each year, as the little town serves as a centre for visitors exploring the Isle of Skye. Overcrowding during peak season was a problem before the COVID-19 pandemic and seems to have become a problem again since the end of the pandemic. Hence, it is recommended to tourists, who prefer quieter areas, to book accomodations in villages like Dunvegan, Kyleakin Broadford or Breakish.
The Isle of Skye, or simply 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 by the the Black Cuillin and Red Cuillin mountain ranges, which provide some of the most dramatic mountain sceneries in the country. At 1,656 square kilometres (639 square miles), Skye is the second-largest island in Scotland after Lewis and Harris.
The most powerful clans on Skye in the post–Norse period were Clan MacLeod, originally based in Trotternish, and Clan Macdonald of Sleat. Following the disintegration of the Lordship of the Isles in the late 15th century, Clan Mackinnon also emerged as an independent clan, whose substantial landholdings in Skye were centred on Strathaird.
Skye is linked to the mainland by the Skye Bridge, which opened in 1995, while ferries sail from Armadale on the island to Mallaig, and from Kylerhea to Glenelg. The Skye Bridge runs from Kyle of Lochalsh (mainland) to Kyleakin (Skye). The island is 40 kilometres wide at its thickest point and 80 kilometres long. But many inlets reach inland, resulting in a coastline of over 500 kilometres. This includes some sandy beaches, but particularly several enchanting bays such as Talisker Bay, and steep cliffs such as Waterstein Head at Neist Point or Kilt Rock at the island’s northeastern coast. By the way, the inlets also divide Skye into its various peninsulas, of which Minginish, Duirnish, Waternish, Trotternish and Sleat are the largest.
The largest employer on the island is the public sector, which accounts for about a third of the total workforce and the second-largest employer is the tourism industry, but there is also a number of small firms like the Talisker Distillery. However, commercial fishing remains important too, including fish farming of salmon and crustaceans such as scampi.
Due to its dramatic land- and seascape, Skye has been used as a location for several feature films, such as "Flash Gordon“, "Stardust" starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, or Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" from 2012. And the Justin Kurzel adaption of Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender was also filmed on the Isle of Skye.
Not as drowsy as it seems
The colourful row of houses at the harbour of Portree, located in the northern part of the bay of Loch Portree, Portree, Isle of Skye, Highland council area, Scotland
Some background information:
Portree is the capital and largest community of the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It is a civil parish and lies within the Highland council area, around 119 kilometres (74 miles) away from its administrative centre of Inverness. Portree has a harbour, fringed by cliffs, with a pier designed by the Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford. Of ist roughly 2,300 inhabitants, around 950 can speak Scottish Gaelic fluently.
In Portree, the Irish monk St. Columba is said to have preached during the early Middle Ages, which is why the sea bay was once called Loch Choluimcille. In 1263, the Norwegian king Håkon IV led a punitive expedition against the Scottish kings that reached as far as Portree Bay. The lands around Portree were cultivated for centuries by the relatively minor clan MacNicol.
In May 1540, the Scottish king James V sailed to the Hebrides to settle uprisings and conflicts among the clans. His majestic fleet landed in Portree Bay, allegedly at a stream that was then called Port-an-Rìgh (in English: "king's port"). The feuding clan chiefs swore allegiance and submitted ceremonially, but after James V's death in 1542, conflicts broke out again. Upon his departure, the king may have given the still quite insignificant hamlet of Kiltaraglen the decorative name Portree, though without granting any royal privileges.
After the defeat at the Battle of Culloden, Charles Edward Stuart (better known under his nickname "Bonnie Prince Charlie"), the leader of the Jacobites and Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland, arrived in Portree in early summer 1746 after a daring escape and with the help of the young Jacobite woman Flora MacDonald. Since he was not safe in Portree from English pursuers, the prince was eventually brought to the smaller island of Raasay, where he spent three days in a makeshift shepherd’s hut, as almost all other buildings had been burned down by the English. With the help of loyal supporters, Charles Edward Stuart continued his journey in secret to the Scottish mainland via Knoydart and Borodale, from where he was able to sail to France under strict secrecy.
For a long time, Portree consisted of only a few houses and a small inn. But after the death of Sir James, the 16th chief of the clan MacDonald, in 1766, the place gained significance. From the late 18th century onwards, the natural harbour of Portree became a departure point for emigrants heading overseas. In 1773, the "Nestor" anchored the, one of the largest ships transporting emigrants.
In 1803, during the Napoleonic Wars, a volunteer regiment was formed in Portree to prevent a feared French landing. In November 1884, the gunboat HMS Forrester anchored off Portree to suppress a tenant uprising, in which impoverished crofters refused to pay rent. Sheriff William Ivory had requested reinforcements to bring the rebellion under control, but ultimately failed due to the passive resistance of the local population.
Portree is considered to be among the "20 most beautiful villages in the UK and Ireland" and is visited by many tourists each year, as the little town serves as a centre for visitors exploring the Isle of Skye. Overcrowding during peak season was a problem before the COVID-19 pandemic and seems to have become a problem again since the end of the pandemic. Hence, it is recommended to tourists, who prefer quieter areas, to book accomodations in villages like Dunvegan, Kyleakin Broadford or Breakish.
The Isle of Skye, or simply 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 by the the Black Cuillin and Red Cuillin mountain ranges, which provide some of the most dramatic mountain sceneries in the country. At 1,656 square kilometres (639 square miles), Skye is the second-largest island in Scotland after Lewis and Harris.
The most powerful clans on Skye in the post–Norse period were Clan MacLeod, originally based in Trotternish, and Clan Macdonald of Sleat. Following the disintegration of the Lordship of the Isles in the late 15th century, Clan Mackinnon also emerged as an independent clan, whose substantial landholdings in Skye were centred on Strathaird.
Skye is linked to the mainland by the Skye Bridge, which opened in 1995, while ferries sail from Armadale on the island to Mallaig, and from Kylerhea to Glenelg. The Skye Bridge runs from Kyle of Lochalsh (mainland) to Kyleakin (Skye). The island is 40 kilometres wide at its thickest point and 80 kilometres long. But many inlets reach inland, resulting in a coastline of over 500 kilometres. This includes some sandy beaches, but particularly several enchanting bays such as Talisker Bay, and steep cliffs such as Waterstein Head at Neist Point or Kilt Rock at the island’s northeastern coast. By the way, the inlets also divide Skye into its various peninsulas, of which Minginish, Duirnish, Waternish, Trotternish and Sleat are the largest.
The largest employer on the island is the public sector, which accounts for about a third of the total workforce and the second-largest employer is the tourism industry, but there is also a number of small firms like the Talisker Distillery. However, commercial fishing remains important too, including fish farming of salmon and crustaceans such as scampi.
Due to its dramatic land- and seascape, Skye has been used as a location for several feature films, such as "Flash Gordon“, "Stardust" starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, or Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" from 2012. And the Justin Kurzel adaption of Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender was also filmed on the Isle of Skye.