| Trotternish National Scenic Area | |
|---|---|
 The Quiraing | |
  The Trotternish NSA, shown with theHighland council area | |
| Location | Isle of Skye,Scotland |
| Coordinates | 57°38′37″N6°15′55″W / 57.64361°N 6.26528°W /57.64361; -6.26528 |
| Area | 342 km2 (132 sq mi)[1] |
| Established | 1981 |
| Governing body | NatureScot |
Trotternish (Scottish Gaelic:Tròndairnis)[2] is the northernmostpeninsula of theIsle of Skye inScotland, spanning in length fromPortree to Rubha Hunish. The Trotternishescarpment runs almost the full length of the peninsula, some 30 kilometres (20 miles),[3] and contains landmarks such as theOld Man of Storr and theQuiraing. The summit ofThe Storr, overlooking the Old Man, is the highest point of the peninsula at 719 m above sea level.[3] The north-eastern part of the peninsula around Quiraing is designated as aNational Scenic Area and the entire escarpment is aSpecial Area of Conservation.
Dinosaur footprints have been found atAn Corran, which is also aMesolithichunter-gatherer site dating to the 7th millennium BC. The ruins of the 14th–15th-centuryDuntulm Castle stand at the northern end of the peninsula.
The three major settlements on Trotternish are Portree, generally regarded as the capital of Skye,Uig, a ferry terminus, and the township ofStaffin.[3] Trotternish is the strongest Gaelic-speaking area of Skye.
Trotternish is underlain bybasalt, which provides relatively rich soils and a variety of unusual rock features. The Kilt Rock is named after thetartan-like patterns in the 105-metre (344-foot) cliffs. TheQuiraing is a spectacular series ofrock pinnacles on the eastern side of the main spine of the peninsula and further south is the rock pillar of theOld Man of Storr.[4]
Trotternish is also known for itsMiddle Jurassic aged rocks (c. 174–164 million years old), which yield a variety of fossils including dinosaurs.[5] These are strictly protected by law by the Skye Nature Conservation Order 2019.[6] Dinosaurs known from Trotternish includetheropods,sauropods,thyreophorans, and possibleornithopods.[7][8][9][10] Many of Skye's dinosaur body fossils and footprints can be viewed at theStaffin Museum inEllishadder, Staffin.[11] The most accessible shoreline localities to view dinosaur footprints includeDuntulm, Brother's Point, and An Corran.[7][10][12]
The north-eastern part of the peninsula around Quiraing is designated as theTrotternishNational Scenic Area,[13] one of the forty such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development.[14] The designated area covers 7,919 ha in total, of which 6,128 ha is on land, with a further 1789 ha being marine (i.e. belowlow tide level, and covering the seas to the east of the peninsula).[1]
The entire length of the Trotternish escarpment is protected as aSpecial Area of Conservation under theNatura 2000 programme,[15] and classified as aCategory IVprotected area by theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature.[16]
AMesolithic hunter-gatherer site dating to the 7th millennium BC atAn Corran inStaffin is one of the oldest archaeological sites in Scotland. The site continued to be used over many millennia with human bones radiocarbon-dated to theNeolithic (dated to around 3500 BC) andBronze Age (dated to between 2560 and 2150 BC) periods and a copper-alloy pin from the LateBronze Age/EarlyIron Age being found, as well as more modern 19th-20th century materials.[17]
Its Mesolithic occupation is probably linked to that of the rock shelter atSand, Applecross, on the mainland coast ofWester Ross where tools made of amudstone fromAn Corran have been found. Surveys of the area between the two shores of theInner Sound and Sound of Raasay have revealed 33 sites with potentially Mesolithic deposits.[17][18]
The ruinedDuntulm Castle stands on a promontory at the northern end of the peninsula, near the hamlet ofDuntulm.[19] During the 17th century it was the seat of the chiefs ofClan MacDonald of Sleat, and is ascheduled monument.[20] The castle is believed to stand on the site of a prehistoricbroch ordun known asDun David, orDun Dhaibhidh, although no archaeological evidence has been found for this predecessor.[21] The castle was built in the 14th and 15th centuries, when the area was subject to feuds between the rivalMacLeod andMacdonald clans, and was abandoned around 1732, when Sir Alexander MacDonald built a new residence, Monkstadt House, 5 miles (8 kilometres) to the south.[21]
Between 1750 and 1772,Flodigarry, north of Staffin, was the home ofFlora MacDonald, theJacobite made famous by her part in PrinceCharles Edward Stuart's escape after his defeat atCulloden.[19] She later moved toKingsburgh on the southwestern coast of Trotternish, and it was here thatBoswell andJohnson met her during theirtour of the Western Isles in 1773. Johnson, who held Jacobite views when younger,[22] commented that she was a woman of "soft features, gentle manners, and elegant presence".[23]
In terms of number of speakers, Trotternish is the strongest Gaelic-speaking area of Skye. In the 2001 census, 61% of the population returned as Gaelic speakers,[24] there areGaelic-medium units in theStaffin andKilmuir primary schools, and the area is the focus of one ofComunn na Gàidhlig's Gaelic development initiatives,Lasair.[25] In 2010, Comunn na Gàidhlig named Staffin as their Gaelic Community of the Year.[26]
The main road in Trotternish is theA87, which runs between Portree at the southern end of the peninsula and Uig on the northwest coast.[3] Uig marks the northwestern terminus of the A87, with its southeastern terminus being the junction with theA82 atInvergarry, to the north ofFort William. TheA855 road also links Portree and Uig, taking a route along the eastern coast and around the northern end of the peninsula: the two roads thus combine to encircle Trotternish. A minor road also crosses the peninsula, passing between Uig and Staffin via the Quiraing.[3]
Portree is the terminus forScottish Citylink buses fromGlasgowBuchanan bus station andInverness, with some services continuing on to Uig.[27][28] Uig serves as the ferry terminal forCaledonian MacBrayne services toTarbert onHarris andLochmaddy onNorth Uist, providing links with theOuter Hebrides.[29][30]
