Sleat
Encyclopedia
Sleat is a peninsula on the island of Skye
in the Highland
council area of Scotland
, known as "the garden of Skye". It is the home of the clan MacDonald of Sleat. The name comes from the Scottish Gaelic Sléibhte (or Slèite), which in turn comes from Old Norse
sléttr (smooth, even), which well describes Sleat when considered in the surrounding context of the mainland, Skye and Rùm
mountains that dominate the horizon all about Sleat.
Sleat is a traditional parish that has several communities and two major landowners (the Clan Donald Lands Trust and Eilean Iarmain Estate. Sleat Community Trust (Gaelic: Urras Coimhearsnachd Shlèite), the local development trust
, has purchased the Skye Ferry Filling Station at Armadale
and in common with many communities is investigating the options for renewable energy production. It also owns Sleat Renewables Ltd., a timber production company. In October 2007 the Trust hosted the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company
annual conference.
Recently the final section of a new double-track road through Sleat to Broadford
was finished. Most teenage school-children in Sleat attend Portree High School
, where there is a hostel for those who live particularly far away.
peninsula, the Sleat peninsula is the second strongest Gaelic-speaking area in Skye. In the 2001 census, the highest percentage of Gaelic speakers in Sleat lived in Tarskavaig
and Achnacloich with 54%, and the lowest in Armadale
with 29%. The local primary school, Bun-sgoil Shèite, is a designated Gaelic-medium school. There was some local and national controversy in 2006 about the decision to change the status of the school from an English school with a Gaelic medium unit to a Gaelic school but in the end the Highland Council opted for a compromise solution, designating the school as an all-Gaelic school but with an English-medium unit. Sleat is home to Scotland's only Gaelic-medium college, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
, which provides university-level education in a number of subjects in Gaelic, and is the largest employer in the area. The Gaelic feature-length film, Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle
, was largely filmed in Sleat and produced by Christopher Young, a Sleat resident and fluent Gaelic speaker.
Skye
Skye or the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills...
in the Highland
Highland (council area)
Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute. Their councils, and those of Angus and...
council area of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland 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...
, known as "the garden of Skye". It is the home of the clan MacDonald of Sleat. The name comes from the Scottish Gaelic Sléibhte (or Slèite), which in turn comes from Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
sléttr (smooth, even), which well describes Sleat when considered in the surrounding context of the mainland, Skye and Rùm
Rùm
Rùm , a Scottish Gaelic name often anglicised to Rum) is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, in the district of Lochaber, Scotland...
mountains that dominate the horizon all about Sleat.
Sleat is a traditional parish that has several communities and two major landowners (the Clan Donald Lands Trust and Eilean Iarmain Estate. Sleat Community Trust (Gaelic: Urras Coimhearsnachd Shlèite), the local development trust
Development trust
Development Trusts are organisations which operate in the United Kingdom that are:*community based, owned and led*engaged in the economic, environmental and social regeneration of a defined area or community...
, has purchased the Skye Ferry Filling Station at Armadale
Armadale
-Places in Australia:*Armadale, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne*Armadale, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth*City of Armadale*Electoral district of Armadale*Armidale, New South Wales -Rail in Australia:...
and in common with many communities is investigating the options for renewable energy production. It also owns Sleat Renewables Ltd., a timber production company. In October 2007 the Trust hosted the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company
Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company
Community Energy Scotland is an independent Scottish charity established in 2008 that provides advice and financial support for renewable energy projects developed by community groups in Scotland...
annual conference.
Broadford, Skye
Broadford , together with nearby Harrapool, is the second-largest settlement on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, lying on the SW corner of Broadford Bay, on the A87 between Portree and the Skye Bridge....
was finished. Most teenage school-children in Sleat attend Portree High School
Portree High school
Portree High School is a state co-educational comprehensive school in Portree, on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The school currently enrolls 640 pupils and employs 60 teachers...
, where there is a hostel for those who live particularly far away.
Gaelic
After the TrotternishTrotternish
Trotternish or Tròndairnis is the northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye, in Scotland.One of its more well-known features is the Trotternish landslip, a massive landslide that runs almost the full length of the peninsula, some...
peninsula, the Sleat peninsula is the second strongest Gaelic-speaking area in Skye. In the 2001 census, the highest percentage of Gaelic speakers in Sleat lived in Tarskavaig
Tarskavaig
Tarskavaig is a crofting village on the West coast of Sleat on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It sits in a glen which meets Tarskavaig Bay and lies opposite the Isles of Eigg, Rum and Canna....
and Achnacloich with 54%, and the lowest in Armadale
Armadale, Isle of Skye
Armadale is a village near the southern end of the Sleat Peninsula, on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Like most of Sleat, but unlike most of Skye, the area is fairly fertile, and though there are hills, most do not reach a great height...
with 29%. The local primary school, Bun-sgoil Shèite, is a designated Gaelic-medium school. There was some local and national controversy in 2006 about the decision to change the status of the school from an English school with a Gaelic medium unit to a Gaelic school but in the end the Highland Council opted for a compromise solution, designating the school as an all-Gaelic school but with an English-medium unit. Sleat is home to Scotland's only Gaelic-medium college, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is a Scottish Gaelic medium college located about north of Armadale on the Sleat peninsula of the island of Skye in northwestern Scotland. It is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands and also has a campus on Islay known as Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle.The college was...
, which provides university-level education in a number of subjects in Gaelic, and is the largest employer in the area. The Gaelic feature-length film, Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle
Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle
Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle is a 2007 Scottish Gaelic feature film by first-time director, Simon Miller from a story by Simon Miller and Joanne Cockwell...
, was largely filmed in Sleat and produced by Christopher Young, a Sleat resident and fluent Gaelic speaker.