Image Details
This image was taken many years ago and now that I come to write the story about it I find my memory of the occasion is a bit vague. My wife and I had travelled up the the eastern coast of the Trotternish peninsula and we stopped at a convenient lay by to enjoy the view.
The precise location of this stop is what is vague in my mind, it was somewhere between Inver Tote and Leac Tressirnish. I tried to nail it down exactly with Google Earth only to be disappointed that this one small part of Skye is not yet covered by high res imagery!
Whatever the exact location this image is looking south down the Sound of Raasay towards the Cuillin mountains on Skye. The dark outline of the Isle of Raasay is to the left of the photograph. The small rocky island is called Holm Island lying offshore from the deserted village of Holm on Skye.
It was an overcast afternoon, not normally ideal for landscape photography, but I liked the peaceful tranquility of this scene. It also appears to be virtually an unspoiled wilderness, but although not visible in this image it is dotted throughout with human settlements.
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.
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.
Holm Island; There are many islands in Scotland containing the word Holm. It is derived from the old Norse holmr meaning ‘a small and rounded islet’.
Inver Tote; A hybrid Gaelic/Norse name Inbhir Thobhta meaning ‘the river mouth at the house site'.
Leac Tressirnish; Leac is a Gaelic word referring to a flat ledge of rock but I have been unable to ascertain the meaning of Tressirnish.
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.
Sound of Raasay; Named after the island of Raasay. In Gaelic Raasay is Ratharsair or Ratharsaigh from the old Norse words Raa-s-oy, Ross-oy, Rásey or Hrossey meaning ‘roe deer island’. In Gaelic the island is also known as Eilean nam Fear Móra, ‘the island of the great men.
Trotternish; from the NorseTròndairnis meaning ‘Thrond’s Headland. Trotternish people were nicknamed coin ‘dogs’, and known as stapagaich, ‘stapag people’ by their neighbours in Duirinish. Troternish itself was known as Dùthaich nan Stapag or am Fearann Stapagach, the stapag land’, stapag being an oatmeal-based dish.
Images; Copyright © Gordon C Harrison All Rights Reserved. No reproduction without permission.
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