Another final battle between the Macdonalds and MacLeods

The A863 road to Dunvegan, where it crosses the head of Loch Caroy, is quite speedy and most drivers accelerate to maintain their momentum as they ascend the Harlosh Peninsula. Drivers therefore will overlook the two significant stone mounds on the left, situated above the brown moorland. According to tradition, this magnificent location was the site of the final clash between the rival Macdonald and MacLeod clans — not another one. The battle took place in the mist, dyeing the heather a deeper shade of purple with the blood of the clansmen. After the day ended, the bodies of the slain chiefs and warriors were laid to rest here, with the enormous cairns erected as memorials above them. At the turn of the 20th century, the chief of MacLeod attempted to excavate one of the mounds, but the laborious nature of the task, combined with the community’s opposition to disturbing the deceased, led to the abandonment of the project. Additionally, the workers may have feared encountering the powerful ghost known as the “barrow-dweller,” who had often frightened and engaged in single combat with those who robbed ancient Viking graves¹MacCulloch, J.A. “The Misty Isle of Skye”. Page 93. Eneas Mackay. 1936..

Such is the local legend, but according to modern interpretation, these mounds are chambered cairns from the Neolithic era, predating any recorded clan conflicts²‘Skye, Vatten North | Canmore’. 2023. Canmore.org.uk <https://canmore.org.uk/site/10862/skye-vatten-north> [accessed 11 June 2023]³‘Skye, Vatten South | Canmore’. 2023. Canmore.org.uk <https://canmore.org.uk/site/10841/skye-vatten-south> [accessed 11 June 2023]. It appears that several smaller cairns can be found scattered across the moor⁴MacCulloch, J.A. “The Misty Isle of Skye”. Page 93. Eneas Mackay. 1936..

• 1
  MacCulloch, J.A. “The Misty Isle of Skye”. Page 93. Eneas Mackay. 1936.
• 2
  ‘Skye, Vatten North | Canmore’. 2023. Canmore.org.uk <https://canmore.org.uk/site/10862/skye-vatten-north> [accessed 11 June 2023]
• 3
  ‘Skye, Vatten South | Canmore’. 2023. Canmore.org.uk <https://canmore.org.uk/site/10841/skye-vatten-south> [accessed 11 June 2023]
• 4
  MacCulloch, J.A. “The Misty Isle of Skye”. Page 93. Eneas Mackay. 1936.