Baille Grianan - House History
The site for the house was bought in February 2004 during one of our short visits to Skye. Although we had been searching for a while we were very fortunate to be on the spot when it became available as the deal was done immediately with a shake of hands. We bought the 10 acre site which was part of a croft because of its superb position and the stunning views out to the Western Isles.
Bare croft before the house was built at the bottom of the bracken line
We moved to Skye in October 2004 living in rented accomodation in Portree while the house was being built. The site clearance started in January 2005, building started in February and the house was completed by May. It then took us 3-4 months to get all of the internal decorating completed, in between hosting the first of our many visitors during 2005.
Site ready for concrete flooring Roof Girders going on before trusses
We named the house Baille Grianan following a long conversation with the previous owner of the croft, where we learnt a lot about the history of the immediate area. The name is Gaelic for 'village, or place in the sun', and has been carried over from the crofts' previous tenants from many years back. A neighbouring house used the name until the owner passed away, so we decided to keep it going. A century ago it was a working croft, probably home to many families. There are still a lot of ruins scattered around the croft including one behind our house.
Winter afternoon sun on Loch Greshornish
The croft was previously occupied by tenants who worked it and fished the loch and beyond. It would have been a very hard life and with so little land it would be hard to make a living other than subsistence. Very few people on Skye make a living from their croft, most have other jobs to supplement their income, as we will.
There is much discussion about the future of crofting in the Highlands, but as more and more crofters are selling off plots of land to meet the strong demand for housing, that suggests that it is not good. One plot of land sold is more than they would earn from the croft in a decade. The romantics will deny it, but if it does not provide a living then there is no future.
Completed house - May 2005
In December 2005 we bought a further 11 acres beside us from our neighbour to give us a shoreline of approx 700m and some good grazing for cattle.
Common Spotted Orchid Bog Asphodel
The land across the whole 21 acre croft differs from wet, peaty ground just below the house to good grazing above and alongside. There is thick bracken in patches right across the croft and the only way to deal with it is to cut it right back each year. I have a petrol brush cutter and it is probably the hottest, dirtiest job all year for me. But if its not cut it harbours ticks which can be a real problem if you walk through it. We normally get a few each summer and the two cats get plenty, one of the perils of living here I'm afraid.
Since the house was completed we have added a large agricultural shed beside the garage to store hay, straw and croft equipment such as quad and trailer.
Home News Croft About Weather What to do Photos Recipes Visit
Website by Annealan Design