Broadford, Skye
Broadford
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 Overlooking Broadford village |
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 Broadford
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| Broadford shown within the Isle of Skye | |
| Population | est. 620 (2006) |
| OS grid reference | NG642234 |
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| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ISLE OF SKYE |
| Postcode district | IV49 |
| Dialling code | 01471 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Broadford (Scottish Gaelic: An t-Àth Leathann), together with nearby Harrapool, is the second-largest settlement on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Broadford is within the parish of Strath.
Like many places in Skye, Broadford derives its name from Old Norse. To the Norsemen this was Breiðafjorðr - the wide bay. The Gaelic name is of modern derivation and assumes that the "ford" element meant a river crossing.
West of Broadford in Glen Suardal, on the lower slopes of Beinn na Caillich, is Goir a' Bhlàir, 'the field of battle' (grid reference NG624234 ). The battle concerned was apparently a decisive action by the Gaelic Clan Mackinnon against the Norsemen.
Broadford was a cattle market until 1812, when Telford built the road from Portree to Kyleakin. Veterans of the Napoleonic Wars settled during the first half of the 19th century. Writing in the middle of the 19th century, Alexander Smith said, "If Portree is the London of Skye, Broadford is its Manchester."
Legend holds that the recipe for the liqueur Drambuie was given by Bonnie Prince Charlie to Clan MacKinnon who then passed it onto James Ross late 19th century. Ross ran the Broadford Inn (now the Broadford Hotel), where he developed and improved the recipe, initially for his friends and then later to patrons. Ross then began to sell it further afield and the name was registered as a trademark in 1893.
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