The trail has 14 places located mostly along the shoreline of Broadford Bay, the map will show you the way!
Opened in 1904, the New Pier in Broadford was built by the Skye Marble Company to export marble quarried nearby in Strath.The marble was transported from the quarry to the pier via a railway before being shipped to the cities of southern Scotland, England and even as far away as Italy. In late 1912 the company went into liquidation but quarrying resumed in 1935 with the establishment of the White Rock Quarry Company. By then, however, it had become more efficient and economical to transport the marble by road, rendering the railway line obsolete.
The pier however continues to be used today predominantly by commercial fishing boats but also yachts and for tourist boat trips. Remnants of the original railroad can still be seen and remind us of this busy, industrial chapter in Skye’s history.
About 100 meters from the Community Hall is the Broadford war memorial which commemorates the 62 men who died in the Great War and a further 20 men who died in the Second World War.
The Broadford or Strath War Memorial was erected in the summer of 1923 on a site above the A87 as it passes through the village of Broadford beside the village hall and primary school . The ceremony began with a joint service held in the Parish Church and then the Memorial was unveiled by Brigadier General McFarlan of Inverness and dedicated by the Reverend Dugald MacFarlane of Kingussie . When first erected it contained 65 names .
The Broadford Mill dates from the 19th century when it was built to process corn on a semi-industrial scale. Although it has been out of use as a mill for several decades, it is in very good condition and is now the home of the Skye Serpentarium which opened in 1991 by Catherine and Alex Shearer as an educational centre and refuge for unwanted and illegally imported reptiles. There is also an excellent café located adjacent to the Serpentarium.
The little village of Waterloo was created for veterans of the Napoleonic wars and named after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 which ended the conflict with the French Empire. The older name, Achadh a’ Chùirn, which means ‘field at the cairn’, is still referred to in Gaelic.
Along the beautiful shoreline can be found an array of fossils from the Lower Jurassic period, including a variety of bivalves, ammonites and corals. Visitors are reminded that as the area is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the fossils are protected and cannot be removed.
Heading west from Broadford is the large township of Breakish which is intersected by a road, separating ‘Upper Breakish’ and ‘Lower Breakish’. The name is unclear although it is related to the Gaelic word breac, meaning ‘speckled’. One interpretation is that the name originated when when small pox was common in the area and left survivors with badly ‘pocked’ or specked skin.
Breakish is a typical crofting township and consists of ‘in-bye’ land near the coast which is made up of individual agricultural holdings and houses, and the ‘Common Grazings’ located inland and used for general pasturage and the harvesting of peat which was the principle fuel used throughout the Highlands and Islands until recently.
The small coastal village of Ashaig is closely associated with St Maol Rubha (c.642-722) who preached here after he sailed from his monastic base in Applecross and settled on the island of Pabbay
directly opposite Ashaig House.
The name Maol Rubha is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic ‘Maol’ meaning bald (alluding to the shaven crown of a monk) and ‘Ruadh’ meaning red-haired.
A sacred well near to the shore can still be seen, along with a large, conspicuous stone known as Creag an Leabhair, ‘the rock of the book’, which is said to have served as his pulpit. A small church dedicated to the saint is believed to have once stood near to these two features.
Lying to the southeast side of the development site at Liveras are the remains of a well-preserved chambered cairn; a burial monument consisting of a stone-covered chamber with a passageway. This hexagonal structure probably dates from the late Neolithic period although some of the finds uncovered in the early 19th and early 20th centuries included human skeletal remains and other objects dating to the Early Bronze Age.
Similar cairns can be found throughout the Hebrides and point to a distant past in Scotland’s history.
The foot bridge in Broadford was opened in 2011 and built by the community. It replaced a section of the marble railway which once operated between the quarry in Strath and the New Pier. From the footbridge visitors can enjoy an excellent view of Beinn na Caillich, a large, lumpish hill approximately 732m in height.
Various legends lay claim to the hill including a popular belief that a Norwegian Princess is laid to rest at its summit. The name Beinn na Caillich, which translates to The Hill of the Old Woman, occurs elsewhere in the Highlands and relates to an ancient, female deity associated with winter.
Broadford (or An t-Àth Leathann as it is known in Scottish Gaelic), has always been a key location in Skye’s economy. Lying at a crossroads by land and sea, it was once the site of an important market where cattle from throughout the Western Isles passed through on their way to Kylerhea where they swam to the mainland.
The town grew significantly during the second half of the nineteenth century as the economy expanded to support a fishing industry, the establishment of a water-driven mill, tourism, the construction of lime kilns and the quarrying of highly prized marble in Strath.
Today, Broadford has a number of important historical buildings which reflect these various chapters of settlement and economic development in the town’s history, including the Broadford Hotel which is located on the site of an inn dating from the early 17th century, a commercial centre from c.1840 and two piers.
Broadford Bay is arguably the most important natural site in the region supporting a variety of wildlife that includes otters, migratory whales and dolphins, as well as some 129 species of resident and migratory birds. Its significance is largely due to its location which acts as a funnel for birds on southerly migration.
The bay is a site of local conservation and offers visitors beautiful views over to the little island of Pabbay and to Applecross on the mainland.
This memorial is found within the community garden and commemorates James Ross (1845-1902), farmer and proprietor of the Broadford Hotel.
James created the world-famous Drambuie liqueur brand claiming that its recipe had been gifted to an elderly friend of his fathers’ by Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s followers after the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion. The liqueur had been made privately within the family during much of the 19th century but began to be sold in the 1870s in the Broadford Hotel.
The name ‘Drambuie’ which seems to derive from an dram buidhe or ‘the yellow drink’ or possibly an dram buidheach meaning ‘the drink that satisfies’ became a registered trademark in 1893 and has become one of the worlds’ best-selling liqueurs.
The lime industry was one of Broadford’s first important economic developments in the 19th century and reflected wider progress in agricultural improvement throughout the area. High-quality limestone was quarried nearby in Suardal where it was crushed on site before being transported to Broadford where it was heated in a kiln and then shipped for distribution.
The kiln, which dates from 1811, survives and is located next to the Old Pier in the centre of town. It was commissioned by Lord MacDonald and designed by James Gillespie Graham, who later became one of Scotland’s most prominent architects of the 19th century.
The Old Pier is one of the oldest surviving structures in Broadford and dates from 1807; almost 100 years before the New Pier was built to the north by the Skye Marble Company. The Old Pier lies at the centre of the village and is surrounded by other 19th century buildings which are testament to the importance of this location in the past.
The Old Pier, which is beautifully constructed in an L-shape and made of dressed dry-stone with inbuilt steps, occupies a busy area of small shops used by locals and visitors
Broadford Village Hall is the site of the former Parish School and dates back to 1779. Students paid fees for lessons but, following The Education Act of 1872, the school provided free education to
local children. It was at school that most children learned English as Gaelic was the primary language in the area until recently. The speaking of Gaelic was actively discouraged in Highland schools and consequently the number of native speakers declined rapidly during the 20th century.
Today there has been a resurgence in the Gaelic language and in schools such as Broadford Primary, located behind the Village Hall, Gaelic-medium units are becoming increasingly popular.
Broadford Village Hall is used by locals and visitors for a variety of events throughout the year which include concerts, charity fund-raising sales and as a base for community groups.
