local Area

Soak up the magical atmosphere and ancient history

Fìor Sgeir Cottage looks over Dunscaith Castle, the oldest castle on the Isle of Skye. Legend has it that Queen Sgàthaich built Dunscaith in one night and that here she taught the great Celtic hero, Cù Chulainn, the arts of war. People have lived in the area since at least 2000 BC. The castle was occupied by the MacAskills and the Macleods before it became the stronghold of the MacDonalds in the 15th century. In the early 19th century, Lord MacDonald moved the inhabitants from their traditional clachan with shared fields onto individual crofts, which remain the basis of land use today.

A very special environment

Ancient Atlantic oak woodlands with veteran oak trees, birch and hazel stands, and lush ferns, mosses and lichens, give Tokavaig its special character. Our croft encompasses part of this rare and wonderful habitat. We have begun a programme to restore the woodlands which have been damaged by overgrazing. Guests are welcome to walk on our croft and soak up the magical atmosphere of the gnarled trees, the ruined black-houses built by previous generations of crofters, and the nearby Bronze-age sites.

Free range sheep roam across Tokavaig’s traditional crofting landscape. Red deer and pine martens live in the woods, and otters fish around the castle when the tide is right. At Tokavaig and nearby you can see many bird species including golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, hen harrier, whooper swan and great northern diver. With no street lights, you can enjoy amazing starscapes on clear nights, and even the aurora if you are lucky.

Photo by Marcel Wagenaar.

A WEALTH OF THINGS TO see and DO

Tokavaig is one of four hamlets off the beaten track, on the north side of the Sleat peninsula along the shore of Loch Eishort. Tokavaig beach and the beach at Ord, one mile up the road, are perfect for launching canoes and kayaks, and wild swimming. Walk two miles the other way to admire Tarskavaig’s neat houses and crofts nestling in a green hollow with the Cuillins beyond.  A few miles further on, on the spine of the peninsula, you’ll have a stupendous view of the mountains of the mainland and, looking back, the Cuillin ridge.

On the south side of the Sleat peninsula are a range of restaurants, pubs and cafés, a whisky distillery, two community-run shops, post offices and a petrol station as well as clothing stores, gift shops, craft shops and artists’ studios. The Clan Donald Centre houses a museum and has wonderful gardens to explore. There is a wealth of things to see and do. Check out the VisitSleat website for more information.