Skye is the largest island in the Inner Hebrides, known in Gaelic as An t-Eilean Sgithe…

Skye is the largest island in the Inner Hebrides, known in Gaelic as An t-Eilean Sgitheanach — “the winged isle” — after its peninsulas radiating out like wings from the Black Cuillin mountains at its centre. The name “Skye” probably comes from the Norse for “cloud island.” Vikings ruled it from the 9th century until the Treaty of Perth handed it to Scotland in 1266, and most coastal place names are still Old Norse. The MacLeods and MacDonalds fought over it for centuries after that. Flora MacDonald helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape through Skye after Culloden — she’s buried at Kilmuir. The Highland Clearances devastated the island, dropping the population from over 20,000 to under 9,000 as families were forced off the land for sheep. Gaelic speakers fell from 75% in 1921 to about a third today, but Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Sleat is now Scotland’s Gaelic college and the language is heard again in shops and pubs across the north of the island. Talisker has been distilling whisky here since 1830. Connected to the mainland by bridge since 1995.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​