Eilean a Sgiathanach
This page archived August 2008
To have a chance of getting even more pictures, you can carry out a search using the words SKYE PHOTO GALLERY (this will also work for any other location...)
One useful site is this DRYNOCH one, which links to a set of holiday cottages. Has a fabulous image of the estuary of the Drynoch with the Cuillins in the background, and some nice images of the area around Carbost: home of the Talisker distillery. I recommend you go to the site and give your eyes a treat, then get a bottle of Talisker and give your taste buds a treat.
A better one is this site, which has an excellent LANDSAT image and other aerial views. There are some great things out there if you have a look. Some of these Skye images are really cool!
Some other excellent images have been posted by BOB PERT. Some good images of the Cuillins showing weathered landscapes. Thanks for permission to reproduce a few examples Bob. Not quite got round to selecting some yet - maybe at the weekend.
Spooky or what..... the A2 paper for last year (2002) featured Skye as the chosen location for the Synoptic paper. Lots of useful stuff on landscape and how it affects human activities. All good stuff, and these pictures would have been useful.
The other case study that we tend to use is the English LAKE DISTRICT, notably the LANGDALE VALLEY. Follow the link for some useful details on the Langdale Valley based on fieldwork visits in 1999 and 2000. Thanks to the change to AS/A2 these were knocked on the head...
Coming soon is SKYE: THE MOVIE. I was contacted recently by Moody Drury of SCOTTISH FILMS who told me about the PHOTO PAGE at the Scottish Films website. This has some great HI-RESOLUTION images to get a feeling for the island. You can also download a trailer for SKYE the MOVIE.
A recent (2005) find is BLAVEN: a site with a nice design. This has information and images about one of my favourite places in the world. If you want to be completely cheered up and forget the world, drive from Broadford to Elgol.... the old kirk, the reedy loch, the first view of Blaven, down to Loch Slapin, Dun Ringill, the first glimpse of the Cuillins, then down the hill to the beach... and if you want to, carry on to Glasnakille....
http://www.cankitaphotos.co.uk/gallery/index.php?groupid=3&lang=eng&pass=public - some great images of Skye....
MISTER P's PHOTOS (a brief selection)
Corrie Lagan: note the jagged arete on the skyline, scree/talus slopes and polished rock knob in foreground at the lip of the corrie. Picture by Mister P
Upper Corrie Ghrunnda - a fantastic corrie example - bowl shape, lake in the depression, and the glacier moved off to the right. A great place to sit for a while and get your breath back. Picture by Mister P
Top of Cioch Wall, beneath the Cioch itself. Mister P in far distance, heading for the top. Picture by CEK.
Pinnacle Ridge: Sgurr nan Gillean. Picture by CEK.
On the 'tourist route' up to summit of Sgurr nan Gillean. Picture by CEK.
One of the great places of the world: the Quiraing. The cliffs on the left hide a secret valley with a flat piece of grass the size of a football pitch where cattle used to be hidden. The middle pinnacle is called 'The Prison'. The whole feature is a massive landslide. At the foot of the feature is Digg, where I will live when I'm old... Picture by Mister P. The road up to the car park is featured in many advertising campaigns.
Talisker Bay - nice whisky too....black volcanic sand and a good river walk to get to the bay. Picture by Mister P.
VIRTUAL TOURISM
There is an excellent tour of the village of Kyleakin: at one end of the Skye Bridge HERE. This is a well put together 'walk' with pictures showing you the view in different directions as you wander round. I've passed through many times en route to the ferry, but now it's been largely bypassed by the structure pictured below (in one of the pictures from the site) - this was recently (December 2004) purchased by the Scottish Executive.
A great illustrated report on a walking tour around the Isle is HERE. It has some great mountain scenery featured in the many photos following a tour from the south of the island near Tarskavaig, to the Duntulm Castle hotel. Once had 2 weeks in a self-catering cottage next to the castle.
And how about the Skye economy ? Here's a snippet from the SCOTSMAN article listed above which gives a flavour of the economy of the island:
Skye is
booming: its population surged by 3.4 per cent in the last decade at a time when
Scotland’s overall population is shrinking. It is growing steadily wealthier.
This is entirely due to the magnetism of its stunning geography and thriving
communities and culture. Demonstrably, people think the bridge toll is a price
worth paying for access to the island.
Broadband internet has allowed a new generation of cottage industry:
self-employed, working from home. Skye’s business start-up rate is the strongest
in the Highlands. Talisker, its sole whisky, ranks among the nation’s
best-selling malts.
True, a handful of tourists (1.5 per cent) turn back when they find out about
the toll. But this is more than offset by Skye’s attractions, from Dunvegan
Castle to the Sabhal Mor Ostaig college.
Scotland, as a nation, would be lucky if it could emulate the economic and
population growth experienced by the island - which ministers seem to consider a
charity case.
Source: The Scotsman - excellent article HERE
When I win the lottery , one of the things I'm planning to do is take a lengthy course in Gaelic at SABHAL MOR OSTAIG.
There are links to lots of issues, and this page is an attempt to bring together a range of resources on the island. Anyone from the island who comes across this and knows of any other links or wants to make a contribution please e-mail me.
GENERAL SKYE SITES
One of the things I will do if I win the lottery is enrol for a Gaelic course at the SABHAL MOR OSTAIG college. For those who want a good start in the basics of GAELIC, go to this rather fabulous BBC Scotland site complete with sound files, and learn a few phrases BEAG AIR BHEAG. Recommended. (Apparently that means 'Little by Little')
J BUTLER has some illustrated journeys on Skye. There are other travels as well, but the quality of some of the scanned images is a little 'dark'.
There's a webcam set up HERE, but for some reason it points to the old bridge outside the Sligachan Hotel and not to Glamaig or Sgurr nan Gillean, so the most excitement you get is seeing the occasional van go past.
UNDISCOVERED SCOTLAND has some information on the area, and they also have some fabulously detailed wallpapers to download. I currently have Glen Etive decorating the desktop which I spent a sunburnt and midge bitten summer down in 1983 - so long ago!
Try the Obvious places: SKYE.CO.UK, ISLEOFSKYE.COM and ISLEOFSKYE.NET
Some material at ISLE OF SKYE.ORG
Try the site of KYLEAKIN: next to the bridge on the island side.