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Kyleakin (;
The village of Kyleakin is also the site of Castle Moil, an ruined fortress built in the late 15th century. Legend states that there were much older fortifications on the site, and that it was originally built for a Norwegian princess known as 'Saucy Mary' who would charge a toll to any boat using the narrow channel by hanging a chain from the castle to the mainland to prevent unpaid crossings. Her remains are said to be buried on the top of Beinn na Caillich (Gaelic for "mountain of the old woman"), the large mountain to the rear of the castle ruins. However, some local historians contest this and claim that she was laid to rest by another mountain of the same name a few miles west in the village of Broadford, so that she may forever face the land of her birth.
Image:Castle Moil - Kyleakin.jpg, Caisteal Maol.
Image:Kyleakin harbour.jpg, The Skye Bridge spanning Kyle Akin.
Image:Bronze_otter_sculpture_Kyleakin_Isle_of_Skye_by_sculptor_Laurence_Broderick.jpg, Bronze Otter at Kyleakin, by sculptor Laurence Broderick
Kyleakin village website
{{Skye Populated places in the Isle of Skye
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well a ...
: ''Caol Àcain'') is a village situated on the east coast of the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides
The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...
, Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
. The village is along the strait of Kyle Akin opposite the northwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
mainland town of Kyle of Lochalsh. Kyleakin is within the parish of Strath.
History
The etymology of Kyleakin is disputed. The most popular account is that the name is derived from 'Strait of Haakon' named after the KingHaakon IV of Norway
Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; Old Norse: ''Hákon Hákonarson'' ; Norwegian: ''Håkon Håkonsson''), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 ...
whose fleet moored there prior to the Battle of Largs in 1263 which ended Norwegian rule of the island. Another possible origin from Acunn
The brothers Acunn and Riadh (or Rhea, Readh) are Celtic mythological heroes and fénnids featured in the Scottish Fenian narratives.
In one version of the legend, Acunn and Riadh were great friends, living in two towers in Glenelg. However, ...
, a Celtic mythological hero.
In the early 19th century, Lord Macdonald conceived a grandiose plan for the development of Kyleakin, to be re-christened "New Liverpool". A contemporary print, intended to illustrate his plans, shows row upon row of tenement buildings but the project never came to fruition.
The village of Kyleakin is also the site of Castle Moil, an ruined fortress built in the late 15th century. Legend states that there were much older fortifications on the site, and that it was originally built for a Norwegian princess known as 'Saucy Mary' who would charge a toll to any boat using the narrow channel by hanging a chain from the castle to the mainland to prevent unpaid crossings. Her remains are said to be buried on the top of Beinn na Caillich (Gaelic for "mountain of the old woman"), the large mountain to the rear of the castle ruins. However, some local historians contest this and claim that she was laid to rest by another mountain of the same name a few miles west in the village of Broadford, so that she may forever face the land of her birth.
Transport
From 1841 to 16 October 1995 a ferry service operated from Kyleakin to the mainland across the narrow strait of Loch Alsh, until it was replaced by the controversial Skye Bridge. Initially atoll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or '' toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road ...
, the tolls were discontinued in 2004 following protests by local people.
Sport
Kyleakin plays host to Kyleakin Football Club, who won the Skye and Lochalsh Bagshaw league in 2009, goalkeeper Lennie Chiffers is also part of an accomplishedbowls
Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-g ...
team in the village. It also hosts a new year football match between bachelors and married men. It is also a breeding ground for shinty
Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, and ...
players, including John "Slippy" Finlayson, who won the Camanachd Cup with Skye Camanachd in 1990 and Steven Morrison, Scotland Under-21 Captain. Kyleakin Primary School are also the only primary school age team to have ever won the Mod Cup
The Mod Cup (Scottish Gaelic Cupa a' Mhòid), also known as the Aviemore Cup'is a trophy in the sport of shinty first competed for in 1969, traditionally played for by the two teams who are based closest to the host venue of the Royal National Mo ...
in 2001.
See also
* Caisteal MaolReferences
External links
Kyleakin village website
{{Skye Populated places in the Isle of Skye