Over the Sea to Skye

Skye or the Isle of Skye (/skaɪ/; Scottish Gaelic: An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or Eilean a' Cheò) is the largest and most northerly large island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillins, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. Although it has been suggested that the Gaelic Sgitheanach describes a winged shape there is no definitive agreement as to the name's origins.

The island has been occupied since the Mesolithic period and its history includes a time of Norse rule and a long period of domination by Clan MacLeod and Clan Donald. The 18th-century Jacobite risings led to the breaking up of the clan system and subsequent Clearances that replaced entire communities with sheep farms, some of which also involved forced emigrations to distant lands. Resident numbers declined from over 20,000 in the early 19th century to just under 9,000 by the closing decade of the 20th century. Skye's population increased by 4 per cent between 1991 and 2001. About a third of the residents were Gaelic speakers in 2001, and although their numbers are in decline this aspect of island culture remains important.

The village of Uig (Scottish Gaelic: Ùige) lies at the head of the sheltered inlet of Uig Bay on the west coast of the Trotternish peninsula on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Uig is situated partly on the raised beach around the head of the bay and partly on the steep slopes behind it. Two watercourses enter the bay at Uig; the River Rha from the north and the River Conon which drains Glen Uig to the east. The lower courses of both of these small rivers are characterised by waterfalls.

From its sheltered port, Caledonian MacBrayne ferries run to Tarbert on Harris and Lochmaddy on North Uist providing links with the Outer Hebrides.

Uig is served by the A87 road from Portree and Kyle of Lochalsh to the south and the A855 road which runs northwards around the end of the Trotternish peninsula before also turning south to Portree. As of August, 2006, Uig is accessible via intercity buses on Skye, and Scottish Citylink buses, which travel as far south as Fort William and Glasgow.

The Inner Hebrides (Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan a-staigh, "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of Mainland Scotland, to the southeast of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. There are 36 inhabited islands and a further 43 uninhabited Inner Hebrides with an area greater than 30 hectares (74 acres). The main commercial activities are tourism, crofting, fishing, and whisky distilling. In modern times the Inner Hebrides have formed part of two separate local government jurisdictions, one to the north and the other to the south. Together, the islands have an area of about 412,850 hectares (1,594 sq mi), and had a population of 18,257 people in 2001. The population density is therefore a little over 4 persons per km² (11 persons per square mile).

There are various important prehistoric structures, many of which pre-date the first written references to the islands by Roman and Greek authors. In the historic period the earliest known settlers were Picts to the north and Gaels in the southern kingdom of Dalriada prior to the islands becoming part of the Suðreyjar kingdom of the Norse, who ruled for over 400 years until sovereignty was transferred to Scotland by the Treaty of Perth in 1266. Control of the islands was then held by various clan chiefs, principal of whom were the MacLeans, MacLeods and MacDonalds. The Highland Clearances of the 19th century had a devastating effect on many communities and it is only in recent years that population levels have ceased to decline.

Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba (Scottish Gaelic: [ˈal̪ˠapə] ( listen))) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland is made up of more than 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

Edinburgh, the country's capital and second largest city, is one of Europe's largest financial centres. Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, was once one of the world's leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil capital.