Talisker
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|---|---|
 Talisker Bay | |
  Talisker Location within the Isle of Skye | |
| OS grid reference | NG3230 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Historic county | |
| Post town | ISLE OF SKYE |
| Postcode district | IV47 |
| Dialling code | 01478 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Talisker (Scottish Gaelic : Talasgair) is a settlement on the Minginish peninsula in the Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Talisker was for centuries a possession of the Clan Macleod. For nearly two hundred years it was associated with a cadet branch of the chiefly line, founded by Sir Roderick Macleod, 1st of Talisker (1606-1675). Sir Roderick was the second son of Rory Mor Macleod (d.1626) and Isabel, daughter of Donald Macdonell, 8th of Glengarry. Along with his brother, Sir Norman Macleod of Bernera, he was knighted in 1661 for his services to the royalist cause. He married first a daughter of Lord Reay and secondly Mary, daughter of Lachlan Og Mackinnon of Mackinnon. [1]
John Macleod, 2nd of Talisker, who died in about 1700 was the subject of an elegy, Cumha do Fhear Thalasgair (“Lament for the Laird of Talisker”), written by the blind harpist, Ruaidhri Dall MacMhurich. [2]
Johnson and Boswell visited Talisker in 1773. Johnson’s Journey reveals him to have been impressed by his host, Talisker’s then tacksman, John Macleod, 4th of Talisker, but less so by the location itself:
...our next stage was to Talisker, the house of colonel Macleod, an officer in the Dutch service, who in this time of universal peace, has for several years been permitted to be absent from his regiment. Having been bred to physick, he is consequently a scholar, and his lady, by accompanying him in his different places of residence, is become skilful in several languages. Talisker is the place beyond all that I have seen, from which the gay and the jovial seem utterly excluded; and where the hermit might expect to grow old in meditation, without possibility of disturbance or interruption. It is situated very near the sea, but upon a coast where no vessel lands but when it is driven by a tempest on the rocks. Towards the land are lofty hills streaming with waterfalls. The garden is sheltered by firs, or pines, which grow there so prosperously, that some, which the present inhabitant planted, are very high and thick.
Boswell’s own Journal confirms Johnson’s description in its physical essentials, but concludes more charitably that “Talisker is a better place than one commonly finds in Sky”.
In 1820 Donald Macleod, 6th of Talisker, a major in the 56th Regiment, sold his interest in Talisker and emigrated to Van Diemen’s Land (financed by his father-in-law, Alexander Maclean of Coll). He travelled with 36 Highlanders of his connection and secured a grant of 2,000 acres (800 hectares). [3]
In 1825, Hugh MacAskill took over the Talisker estate and completed the clearance process begun under his predecessor. Five years later, he founded the Talisker distillery, which is in fact located some 5 miles (8 kilometres) away from Talisker at Carbost, Loch Harport. MacAskill gave up his lease of the Talisker lands in 1849. [4]
The estate includes two hills (Preshal More, which was climbed by Boswell, and Preshal Beg) of considerable geological interest. As described by B.R.Bell and I.T.Williamson: [5]
At the base of the twin summits of Preshal More and Preshal Beg, near Talisker, the laterally-restricted Preshal Beg Conglomerate Formation crops out. These heterogebeous sedimentary rocks include debris flow (?lahars), alluvial fan and fluviolacustrine facies volcanoclastic deposits accumulated with a substantial and long-lived valley drainage system which developed upon the Glen Oraid Lava Formation surface. Subsequently this topography was inundated by two thick (at least 120 m or 390 ft) intracanvon flows of compositionally distinctive tholeiitic basalt belonging to the Talisker Lava Formation. These flows mark a significant change in the chemical signature of the lava sequence and have a strong compositional affinity with the various intrusive units of the Cuillin Centre. … the Preshal More flows may represent the only remnants of an originally significant lava shield that developed above the Cuillin centre.
NatureScot has designated Talisker as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The designation is based in part on Talisker's geological features (described above), but in part also on the presence of two rare species of Zygaenidae, the Talisker burnet moth and the transparent burnet moth. [6]
Sorley Maclean's poem Tràighean (from Dàin do Eimhir) begins with a powerful evocation of the physical features of Talisker: [7]
Nan robh sinn an Talasgar air an tràigh
far a bheil am beul mòr bàn
a' fosgladh eadar dà ghiall chruaidh,
Rubha nan Clach 's am Bioda Ruadh,
sheasainn-sa ri taobh na mara
ag ùrachadh gaoil 'nam anam
fhad ‘s a bhiodh an cuan a'lìonadh
camas Thalasgair gu sìorraidh:
sheasainn an siud air lom na tràghad
gu 'n cromadh Priseal a cheann àigich.
If we were in Talisker on the shore
where the great white mouth
opens between two hard jaws,
Rubha nan Clach and the Bioda Ruadh,
I would stand beside the sea
renewing love in my spirit
while the ocean was filling
Talisker bay forever:
I would stand there on the bareness of the shore
until Prishal bowed his stallion head.
Talisker Farm now extends to 2,475 acres (1,002 hectares). [8] The house, a handsome Georgian mansion, stands among old trees, just to the west of its 17th-century predecessor. Begun in 1717, it was much extended in the 18th and 19th centuries. [9] It has been listed since 1971 with the following description:
It has an early-18th-century core with later additions; harled, ashlar dressings. It has two storeys and attic, 6 wide bays; 2-bay piended projecting wing to front (west) elevation with porch in left re-entrant, a single-storey addition with 5 long multi-pane windows in right re-entrant and bow window to centre of wing; it has crenellated parapets, 5 piended dormers with decoratively carved wood jambs; 2 stair windows to rear; 12-pane and lying pane glazing; end and ridge stacks; slate roof. Interior: projecting front wing (circa 1780) contains dining room at ground floor and drawing room above. Original ornate plaster ceiling in drawing room. Dining room plaster ceiling dates from 1865, when the bow window was added. [10]
The shore is accessible by foot-path and is a popular destination for walkers:
Talisker Bay is a beautiful beach of stones and sand, best visited at low tide. There is both black and white sand on the beach, often mottled together to create patterns. The northern side of the bay is hemmed in by vertical cliffs and an impressive waterfall, whilst the southern side is closed off no less impressively by a great sea stack. [11]
The Cuillin is a range of rocky mountains located on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The main Cuillin ridge is also known as the Black Cuillin to distinguish it from the Red Cuillin, which lie to the east of Glen Sligachan.
Talisker distillery is an island single malt Scotch whisky distillery based in Carbost, Scotland on the Minginish Peninsula on the Isle of Skye. The distillery is operated by Diageo, and Talisker's 10 year old whisky has been nominated as part of their Classic Malts series. The brand is considered a premium Single Malt Whisky.
Rùm, a Scottish Gaelic name often anglicised to Rum, is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, in the district of Lochaber, Scotland. For much of the 20th century the name became Rhum, a spelling invented by the former owner, Sir George Bullough, because he did not relish the idea of having the title "Laird of Rum".
Clan MacLeod is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan, whose chief is MacLeod of MacLeod, are known in Gaelic as Sìol Tormoid ; the Clan MacLeod of Lewis and Raasay, whose chief is MacLeod of The Lewes, are known in Gaelic as Sìol Torcaill. Both branches claim descent from Leòd, who lived in the 13th century.
The Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles (Scottish Gaelic: Triath nan Eilean or Rìgh Innse Gall) is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title was held by a series of his descendants, the Norse Gaels rulers of the Isle of Man and Argyll and the islands of Scotland in the Middle Ages. They wielded sea-power with fleets of galleys (birlinns). Although they were, at times, nominal vassals of the Kings of Norway, Ireland, or Scotland, the island chiefs remained functionally independent for many centuries. Their territory included much of Argyll, the Isles of Arran, Bute, Islay, the Isle of Man, Hebrides, Knoydart, Ardnamurchan, and the Kintyre peninsula. At their height they were the greatest landowners and most powerful lords after the Kings of England and Scotland.
Point, also known as the Eye Peninsula, is a peninsula some 11 km long in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The majority of Point is connected to the rest of the Isle of Lewis by a narrow isthmus, one mile in length and at one point barely 100 metres wide. The peninsula is just 6 km east of the regional capital of Stornoway, however the district of Point actually starts at the Parkend estate on Stornoway's outskirts. Point is home to around 2,600 people and is one of the few districts of the Western Isles where the population is increasing. There are about 17 villages and hamlets in Point: Melbost (Mealabost), Branahuie, Aignish (Aiginis), Knock, Swordale (Suardail), Garrabost, Lower Bayble, Eagleton, Upper Bayble, Shulishader, Sheshader (Seisiader), Flesherin (Fleisirin), Cnoc Amhlaigh, Portnaguran, Aird, Broker (Brocair), and Portvoller.
Wiay is an uninhabited island in Loch Bracadale, off the coast of the Isle of Skye
Broadford, together with nearby Harrapool, is the second-largest settlement on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Lying in the shadow of the Red Cuillin mountains, Broadford is within the parish of Strath. A long meandering village historically consisting of a few buildings on either side of the Broadford River, the many small townships around the wide sweep of the bay have grown together and Broadford now stretches for 1+1⁄2 miles around the southern side of Broadford Bay.
The Fairy Flag is an heirloom of the chiefs of Clan MacLeod. It is held in Dunvegan Castle along with other notable heirlooms, such as the Dunvegan Cup and Sir Rory Mor's Horn. The Fairy Flag is known for the numerous traditions of celtic fairies, and magical properties associated with it. The flag is made of silk, is yellow or brown in colour, and is a square of side about 18 inches. It has been examined numerous times in the last two centuries, and its condition has somewhat deteriorated. It is ripped and tattered, and is considered to be extremely fragile. The flag is covered in small red "elf dots". In the early part of the 19th century, the flag was also marked with small crosses, but these have since disappeared. The silk of the flag has been stated to have originated in the Far East, and was therefore extremely precious, which led some to believe that the flag may have been an important relic of some sort. Others have attempted to associate the flag with the Crusades or even a raven banner, which was said to have been used by various Viking leaders in the British Isles.
Maol Cheann-dearg is a Scottish Mountain situated between Upper Loch Torridon and Loch Carron, in the Coulags deer forest in Wester Ross, Highland region. It is one of three Munros in this area and reaches a height of 933 metres (3,060 feet), it is slightly isolated from the other two being separated by a low col of 420 metres and therefore tends to be ascended separately. The mountain is typical of the region in that geologically it is made up of a mixture of sandstone and quartzite, it has a steep flanks and is rock-strewn. The dome shaped summit is littered with red sandstone boulders and lacking in vegetation making its translated name of “Bald Red Head” especially appropriate. The mountain is not to be confused with Maol Chinn-dearg, another Munro on the south Glen Shiel ridge.
Donnchadh MacRath, also known as Duncan MacRae of Inverinate and Donnchadh nam Pìos, was a Scottish Gaelic poet and the compiler of the Fernaig manuscript which he committed to paper using an English-influenced system of orthography.
Heasta, Heast, or the anglicised form Heaste, pron. /heɪst/, is a small settlement on the island of Skye, Scotland. It is located on the west coast of the island five miles south of Broadford extending down to the north shore of Loch Eiseort, facing out to the Atlantic to the south west and is in the Scottish council area of Highland.
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The Chiefs of Clan MacLeod claim descent from Leod, a high-born Norse-Gael who is thought to have lived in the 13th century, but whose ancestors are known from multiple pedigrees at least into the early 12th or late 11th centuries. It is said that the chiefs of the clan have been seated at Dunvegan Castle since the time of Leod, and this on the Isle of Skye where for centuries they were sovereign within their own territories.
Rubha an Dùnain or Rubh' an Dùnain is an uninhabited peninsula to the south of the Cuillin hills on the island of Skye in Scotland. It contains unique archaeological sites which in 2017 were designated as a Historic Monument of national importance by Historic Environment Scotland.
Sir Lachlan Mackinnon was chief of the Scottish Highland clan Mackinnon and played a prominent part in the troubled and transitional politics of the West Highlands in the early 17th century.
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