Galtrigill - The Land that seems to Remember
The historic township of Galtrigill once stretched across this slope at the far northwest tip of Skye –long before crofting became law, long before maps gave it shape. You don’t see a village today. You see where the old one ended – and something else continued. Historical maps show that Galtrigill once comprised thirty-two roofed buildings, as recorded on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map. Today, they are in ruins, though some still stand to eaves height. They follow no modern street grid – only the terrain and the logic of use.
 One of the most remarkable structures lies among a small stand of alder and aspen trees. Its stonework is sturdier, more deliberate – and local tradition holds that this may be the ruined house of Donald MacLeod, Tacksman of Galtrigill and known for having briefly sheltered Bonnie Prince Charlie during the prince’s escape across Skye in 1746. 
Whether true or not, the building remains – weathered, roofless, and dignified. In 1988, archaeological surveys documented several crofting structures in Galtrigill. Interior divisions could still be traced in places; other buildings had collapsed to footings. Many were built using a local technique: double-walled dry dykes filled with stone rubble, laid to follow the slope and resist the wind. No plaques name the former tenants. But the layout of the ground does. Long field lines run outwards like ribs from a spine.The land shows how it was used – and how much effort it took. Some say ten families lived here. Others say fewer. Records blur. The walls remain.
 The township was not cleared by force.The historic township structure faded – its shared routines, its clustered dwellings, its names. Economics, remoteness, soil exhaustion, younger generations leaving. But Galtrigill was never fully abandoned. Today, a number of houses stand nearby. Croft 9 now covers part of what was once the centre of Old Galtrigill. The current owner is planning to restore one of the former houses soon — bringing back a blackhouse to croft 9 after centuries. The story will be continued.
Dunvegan Head – Traces of the Deep Past
​On the ridge above Galtrigill, at Dunvegan Head, archaeologists have identified the remains of prehistoric hut circles – evidence of continuous or repeated settlement reaching back to the Bronze Age (2400–551 BCE).
These early structures, likely built of turf and stone, suggest that people lived, worked and watched the sea from this place long before there was a township.
The landscape has been marked by centuries of use – not erased, only overwritten.
The Galtrigill Burn
A small burn runs quietly through the land. It springs in the moor above Croft 9 and cuts through a narrow, tree-lined gully before reaching the sea. The path it takes is not dramatic, but deliberate – shaped by time, rain, and the steady logic of land that remembers being lived on. In the past, this burn was more than water.
It was lifeline, boundary, and gathering place – used for drinking, for animals, for washing, and for marking out the edge between lands. Many of the ruined dwellings were built within reach of it – a practical decision, but also one that gave rhythm to daily life. And now, it flows through what’s left.
It passes by tumbled stones that once framed doors, runs beneath where footbridges may have been, and enters the sea just below a small cliff edge. Standing where the Galtrigill Burn meets the sea, you can feel both closeness and distance: To the lives that were lived here.
To the sound of water that hasn’t stopped.​
The Manners Stone – Between Memory and Mirth
At the end of the surfaced road in Galtrigill, in a field scattered with the ruins of former croft houses, stands a low, flat stone supported by three smaller ones – known locally as the Manners Stone.
It appears unremarkable. Yet it has a name, a place on the OS map, and several stories attached to it.
While traditions linger and interpretations differ, the Manners Stone continues to speak.
New stories have been written by the stone keeper – a series of personal tales, imagined episodes, and odd recollections. They grew from days spent nearby, shaped by weather, silence, simply the presence of this enchanted place.
The Ice House and Piper´s Cave
Near the shoreline below Croft 9 stands the ruin of the old ice house. Made of thick stone walls, the structure likely served as a place to salt fish. Its location close to the sea and its partially earth-covered construction are typical of such utilitarian buildings. Though roofless today, it remains a visible trace of practical life in a remote setting.
​Not far from the salt house along the shoreline near the mouth of the Galtrigill Burn lies a small sea cave – locally known as the Piper’s Cave. According to tradition, members of the MacCrimmon piping family once used this spot to practise or retreat, especially in times when piping was forbidden or frowned upon.
The cave is modest in size yet steeped in atmosphere – reachable only at low tide and best approached with caution. Its connection to local music lore adds a layer of intangible heritage to the physical landscape.The cave offers a place of echo and imagination.
The Cairn at Borreraig
Not far from Galtrigill, near the coastal settlement of Boreraig, stands a cairn dedicated to the MacCrimmon pipers. This monument marks the area traditionally associated with the famous piping school that trained generations of musicians in the service of Clan MacLeod.
Though Borreraig is not part of Galtrigill itself, it belongs to the wider cultural and geographic landscape of this part of Skye.
Together with the Piper’s Cave and the Manners Stone, the Borreraig cairn forms a kind of silent triad – each site distinct, yet bound by memory, music, and land. These points offer a loose alignment: a triangle of presence, where story, tradition, and topography meet.