Portree Fishing Port - Portree, Scotland, UK
N 57° 24.715 W 006° 11.522
29V E 668660 N 6366723
The town of Portree, located on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, gets its name from the Gaelic Port-an-Righ, which translates as "King's Port." It has been a fishing port since 1771.
Waymark Code: WMT4YH
Location: Northern Scotland, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/26/2016
Views: 9
"Portree is the main town on Skye. Its name comes from the Gaelic Port-an-Righ, which translates as "King's Port" and dates to a visit by King James V, plus a fleet of warships, in 1540, to persuade the island clans to support him. It had earlier been known as Kiltraglen.
The main street running parallel to the back of the harbour is Bank Street. This is perhaps best known for the Royal Hotel. In an earlier guise, as MacNab's Inn, this was where Bonnie Prince Charlie bade farewell for the last time in 1746 to Flora MacDonald, who had famously conveyed him "Over the Sea to Skye".
Portree saw other sad departures later in the 1700s, when Skye folk, fleeing poverty and overpopulation, boarded ships bound for North America. James Boswell, visiting Skye in 1773 noted: "Last year when the ship sailed from Portree for America the people on shore were almost distracted when they saw their relations go off. This year not a tear is shed. The people on the shore seemed to think they would soon follow."
More would have left had not an unusually enlightened laird, Sir James Macdonald, developed Portree as a fishing port from 1771. From 1826 Portree hosted weekly steamers from West Loch Tarbert via Tobermory, Isleornsay and Kyleakin, while from 1851 the weekly ship between Glasgow and Stornoway called here. In the 1820s Thomas Telford built roads across Skye linking Portree with Uig and Kyleakin. He also built Portree's pier.
1846 brought potato famine to Skye, and during the following fifty years clearance and emigration of a large part of the population, many through Portree, took place. Better times followed, and by 1894 there were daily steamer services to Strome Ferry, and other links to places as far afield as Ullapool, Oban, Lochinver and many ports in the Western Isles.
Modern Portree offers visitors all the necessities of life, plus a great deal more. The town has a wide choice of accommodation ranging from upmarket hotels through guest houses and B&Bs: and those looking for hostel accommodation will find no shortage here either. There is also a campsite nearby. The excellent Cuillin Hills Hotel, which is glimpsed in views across the harbour from Portree, is located on the eastern edge of the town and offers iconic views back across the harbour to the Cuillins.
The centre of life in Portree has to be its harbour. This is in a superb natural setting, being surrounded by high ground and cliffs. The peninsula to the south is unflatteringly knows as "The Lump", and once provided a spectacular setting for public hangings on the island. Today the harbour continues to be used by fishing boats, but is also home to other vessels, from pleasure craft to the lifeboat."
--Undiscovered Scotland (
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