Ullinish

Ullinish (Gaelic: Uilfhinis[1]) is a crofting township on Loch Bracadale, on the southwest coast of Skye, Scotland. The only promontory fort on Skye is located at Ullinish.[2] It is situated to the west of Struan and just south of the hamlet of Ebost. Historically, Ullinish is associated with the MacLeod family. Of literary note, Samuel Johnson's views and denunciation of James Macpherson's Ossian were confirmed while Johnson was in Ullinish.[3][4]

Ullinish
Ullinish
Location within the Isle of Skye
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townISLE OF SKYE
Postcode districtIV56
Dialling code01470
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Etymology

The name Ullinish is from Old Norse úlfa-nes, meaning "promontory of the wolves".[1] In Gaelic, it is sometimes spelt as Uilinis or Uilbhinis.[5]

Geography
Entering Ullinish

Located on the Inner Hebrides, Ullinish lies on a small peninsula, with a boggy moorland ending at Ullinish Point.[6] Loch Caroy is situated between Ullinish Point and Harlosh Island.[7] The small tidal island of Oronsay is joined to Ullinish Point at low tide,[8] and separated by a breakwater.[9]

The town is overlooked by the low, basalt cliffs of the Cuillin Hills,[4] and MacLeod's Table.[10] Knock Ullinish is a small hill east of Ullinish.[11]

Fauna and flora

The common teal nests in Ullinish. Other avifauna include the common raven, long-eared owl, hen harrier, merlin, osprey, black grouse, and bar-tailed godwit.[12]

Landmarks
View towards the Lodge

The largest building in the area is the Ullinish Country Lodge, a historic hotel which contains six rooms. Originally a farmhouse, it was built in 1757.[13] The building is sheltered by a small brae and surrounded on three sides by lochs.[14] James Boswell and Doctor Johnson stayed in the farmhouse between September 21–23, 1773 during their famous literary tour of the Hebrides, documented in The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides that was published in 1775.[15][16] While in Ullinish, Johnson's views and denunciation of Macpherson's Ossian were confirmed. Here, too, Boswell remarked that the mountain view reminded him of those seen in Corsica.[17] After two nights in Ullinish, they departed by boat for Talisker.[18]

Remains of a chambered cairn consisting of a denuded circle of boulders are found just north of the lodge.[19][20] Also of archaeological interest is a partly destroyed Earth house on the east side of the northern extremity of Knock Ullinish.[11]

Notable people
  • Sergeant Donald McLeod (June 20, 1688-?)[17]
  • Mary MacLeod
  • Sheriff Alexander MacLeod, one of the first Sheriffs Principal in Skye[21]

References
  1. "Place name database - Ullinish". Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  2. Scottish field. 133. Holmes McDougall. 1987. p. 78. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  3. Clark, J. C. D. (1994). Samuel Johnson: literature, religion, and English cultural politics from the Restoration to Romanticism. Cambridge University Press. pp. 80–. ISBN 978-0-521-47885-4. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  4. Martin, Peter (1 March 2002). A Life of James Boswell. Yale University Press. pp. 317–. ISBN 978-0-300-09312-4. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  5. Mac an Tàilleir, Iain. "Ainmean-Àite". Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
  6. Marsh, Terry (15 August 2009). The Isle of Skye. Cicerone Press Limited. pp. 186–. ISBN 978-1-85284-560-5. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  7. United States. Hydrographic Office (1917). Publications. pp. 48–. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  8. Birkett, Bill (26 June 2008). Year in the Life of the Isle of Skye. frances lincoln ltd. pp. 12–. ISBN 978-0-7112-2644-9. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  9. "Over the sea to Skye and the Hebrides". The Sunday Times. 10 September 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  10. Bath, Richard (18 January 2009). "Restaurant review: Ullinish Country Lodge". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  11. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions of Scotland; Herbert Maxwell (1928). Ninth report with inventory of monuments and constructions in the outer Hebrides, Skye and the Small Isles. H.M. Stationery off. [printed by J. & J. Gray]. p. 148. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  12. Harvie-Brown, John Alexander; Macpherson, H. A. (1904). Fauna of the North-West Highlands and Skye. D. Douglas. pp. 110, 129, 134, 172, 178, 233, 266, 305. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  13. Tisdall, Nigel (3 June 2009). "Dr Johnson's Scotland: in the Western Isles". The Telegraph. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  14. "Ullinish Country Lodge, Skye – Head Chef Bruce Morrison". Dine Online. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  15. Boswell, James (1961). Boswell's Journal of a tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, 1773. McGraw-Hill. p. 473. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  16. Best Loved Hotels (2006). Best Loved Hotels 2007: Britain and Ireland. Best Loved Hotels. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-898889-81-6. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  17. Prebble, John (1984). John Prebble's Scotland. Secker & Warburg. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  18. Maclean, Virginia (12 July 1973). Much entertainment: a visual and culinary record of Johnson and Boswell's tour of Scotland in 1773. Dent. p. 49. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  19. Graham Ritchie; Mary Harman (October 1996). Argyll and the Western Isles. HMSO. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-11-495287-7. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  20. Feachem, Richard (1963). A guide to prehistoric Scotland. B. T. Batsford. p. 60. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  21. Nicolson, Alexander; Maclean, Alasdair (1994). History of Skye: a record of the families, the social conditions and the literature of the island. Maclean Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-9516022-7-0. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
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