Sligachan Hotel and Sgurr-Nan-Gillean, Skye

ID: QZP40_CARD_2540 DESCRIPTION: Even in black and white, this early postcard conveys the dramatic location of the Sligachan Hotel, with the backdrop of the snow-covered Cuillin mountains. Originally located about half a mile from the current site, Sligachan was an isolated droving inn situated at the ford of the river where it flowed into Loch Sligachan, and at the junction of the roads from Dunvegan and Portree to Broadford. The present building, still without near neighbours, dates from the 1830s, with the original barely noticeable at the centre of several additions and alterations. Sligachan became the centre for climbing enthusiasts in the mid-19th century and by the 1880s the hotel was attracting many high profile mountaineers including the Pilkington brothers of the St Helens glass manufacturing family. They and other experienced Alpine climbers returned regularly to test themselves on the nearby peaks of the Cuillin range. Professor Norman Collie is perhaps the most well known climber associated with Sligachan. He first came to Skye around 1886 and pioneered many routes on the mountains, along with local crofter and Scotland's most renowned mountain guide, John MacKenzie. Collie's love of Skye was such that he spent his last years staying at Sligachan Hotel and when he died there in 1942, was buried at Struan churchyard, alongside his climbing companion, MacKenzie. Although Glen Brittle and the hostel there later came to prominence as a base for exploring the Cuillin, Sligachan Hotel, now with a camp site alongside, remains a popular centre for visitors to Skye PLACENAME: Sligachan, Sconser OLD COUNTY/PARISH: INVERNESS PERIOD: 1900s; 1910s SOURCE: Highland Libraries COLLECTION: Highland Libraries' Postcard Collection Asset ID: 34446 KEYWORDS:

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