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I have long been intrigued by this peninsula with the crown shaped top on the Isle of Skye. It juts out into Loch Harport and I had previously tried to find a satisfying way of photographing it, usually from the slopes of the nearby Boust Hill. I was never happy with the results and on this occasion I had wandered down into the little village of Struanmore for the first time.
It was late in the day by the time I reached there and the light was dropping quickly, soon the sun and last remnants off light would be gone and I felt that I was probably going to fail again to capture this peninsula.
I got out of the car and looked down Loch Harport to be delighted with the view of the peninsula and the backdrop of the Cuillin mountains. I only had time for a few shots before the last glimmers of light faded and the scene fell into complete gloom.
North-west Highland Place Names
The landscape of the North-west Highlands and the Gaelic language are intimately connected. Other languages have contributed to the richness of our place names, notably Norse, but the North-west Highlands have for centuries been a Gaelic landscape. In listing the meanings of place names I have relied on authoritative sources wherever possible. For further information about sources please refer to North-west Highland Place Names in the main menu.
Boust Hill; On Skye, I could find no references to this name. However Alex MacBain’s ‘Place names of Highlands & Islands of Scotland’ explains that ‘bost’ is a common suffice in place names from the Norse bólstaðr meaning steading or farm. So perhaps it means ‘farm hill’.
Cuillin; This is the anglicised spelling of the Scottish Gaelic An Cuilthionn or An Cuiltheann. From my researches into the meaning of the Gaelic names An Cuilthionn and An Cuiltheann it appears that etymologists are unable to provide a definitive answer. Some suggest the range owes its name to the legendary heroic figure, Cú Chulainn while others propose cuilionn, the Gaelic for holly. However, given the island's Viking heritage and the aspect that the Cuillin ridge presents from afar, the contention that the name comes from the Norse kjollen or keel-shaped, appears to be the most likely explanation.
Loch Harport; From old Norse meaning loch by the goat fjiord.
Skye; Skye's history includes the influence of Gaelic, Norse and English speaking peoples and the relationships between their names for the island are not straightforward. The Gaelic name for the "Isle of Skye" is An t-Eilean Sgitheanach (or Sgiathanach, a more recent and less common spelling). The meaning of this name is not clear. Various explanations have been proposed, such as the ‘winged isle’ or ‘the notched isle’ but no definitive solution has been found to date.
Stuanmore; From the Gaelic An Sruthan Mór, ‘the big stream’.
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