Dùn an Sticir: Where the Skulker was Captured

New island, new weather. We drove off the ferry at Berneray into sheets of rain, with gales on the way. The forecast promises little joy, so we will be hunkering down until the storm has had its fun.

Before the worst of it, I managed to photograph Dùn an Sticir, set on a small islet in a tidal loch that shares its name. “An Sticir” translates as “The Skulker”—a fitting title. What remains above ground likely dates to the 16th century, though it stands on the bones of an older Iron Age broch¹Dun an Sticir. Canmore ID 10294. http://canmore.org.uk/site/10294.

This was where the riever Hugh Macdonald took refuge in 1586, after plotting to kill his cousin, Donald Gorm, the 8th Chief of the Macdonalds of Sleat. His hiding place did not last. Betrayed by the woman who brought his food, he was dragged back to Skye and left to die of thirst in the dungeon of Duntulm Castle. He did not last long.

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  Dun an Sticir. Canmore ID 10294. http://canmore.org.uk/site/10294