Ob Dubh

The croft museum in the township of Colbost, on the west shore of Loch Dunvegan, was established in 1969 by local man Peter MacAskill as the first of several heritage projects in the area. Its centrepiece was a restored island blackhouse (Taigh Dubh), constructed of rough unmortared stone and replicating typical living conditions in 19th-century rural Skye. There were two doors, one for the crofter's family who occupied two thirds of the building and the other for the animals housed in the byre which took up the remaining space. There were no windows or chimneys; daylight entered through the doorways and smoke from the central peat fire, continuously burning in its hearth on the floor of the living room, escaped though a raised opening in the thatched roof. The interior was thus dark and smoky and the floor was of beaten earth. Kettles and cooking pots were hung on a slabhraidh (chain) suspended from the rafters over the fire, and crockery and utensils was kept in a dresser and presses (cupboards) against the walls. A replica of an illicit whisky still could be seen to the rear of the museum. The adjoining Three Chimneys restaurant was also opened by Peter, initially to provide refreshments for visitors to the museum, and takes its name from the Kent hamlet near Sevenoaks where Peter had formerly lived. Sadly the museum was not able to reopen following its closure just before the Covid pandemic of 2020, and by 2023 it stood derelict with the neglected roof thatch disintegrating.

A view across the sea loch from Colbost on a June evening. Dunvegan Castle in NG2449 is prominent on the eastern shore.

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The castle provides opportunities for trips to see seals.

Three years on from the closure enforced by Covid, the restored black house at the centre of the Colbost Croft Museum is showing sad signs of severe neglect. The central section of the thatched roof has given way, leaving only the retaining wire netting, while rank weeds have invaded the remaining parts of the thatch. An upturned wheelbarrow is quietly rusting away in the foreground.

Three years on from the closure enforced by Covid, the restored black house is showing sad signs of severe neglect. The central section of the thatched roof has given way, leaving only the retaining wire netting, while rank weeds have invaded the remaining parts of the thatch. Agricultural machinery and an old wheel lie among the long grass.

For historical information, see ‘Skye, Dun Totaig | Canmore’. 2023. Canmore.org.uk <Link > [accessed 14 July 2023] ‌

Peggy Chisholm's Bridge carries the B884 Glendale road over the Brunigill Burn near its outflow into Loch Erghallan, just south of the township of Skinidin (Sgianaidin). In the early 20th century Peggy lived in a house near the bridge, of which no traces remain. The parapets have frequently had to be rebuilt following impacts by vehicles on the narrow road. The Ordnance Survey Name Books of 1876-8 record Brunigill as the name "applied to a house one Storey high thatched and in ordinary repair Situated about ½ mile to the South-east of Skinidin Property of McLeod of Mcleod"; this may have been Peggy's home. Alexander Forbes in his 1923 work on the place names of Skye derives the name from the Norse "Brunnr" indicating a ravine. This image shows the downstream side of the bridge. For the view from upstream see NG2247 : Drochaid Peigi Siosalaiche (2).

Peggy Chisholm's Bridge carries the B884 Glendale road over the Brunigill Burn near its outflow into Loch Erghallan, just south of the township of Skinidin (Sgianaidin). In the early 20th century Peggy lived in a house near the bridge, of which no traces remain. The parapets have frequently had to be rebuilt following impacts by vehicles on the narrow road. The Ordnance Survey Name Books of 1876-8 record Brunigill as the name "applied to a house one Storey high thatched and in ordinary repair Situated about ½ mile to the South-east of Skinidin Property of McLeod of Mcleod"; this may have been Peggy's home. Alexander Forbes in his 1923 work on the place names of Skye derives the name from the Norse "Brunnr" indicating a ravine. This image shows the view from upstream. For downstream side of the bridge see NG2247 : Drochaid Peigi Siosalaiche (1).

Viewed from Colbost, the windjammer Sea Cloud II lies at anchor off the Fiadhairt peninsula in Loch Dunvegan. She is a 3-masted barque of 3,849 tons built in Castropol in northern Spain in 2000 and registered in Valetta, Malta. For more details see the following: Marine Traffic Link Wikipedia Link and the ship's own site Link