Tarskavaig
Tarskavaig
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 Tarskavaig
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| Tarskavaig shown within the Isle of Skye | |
| OS grid reference | NG586094 |
| Council area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | IV46 8 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Tarskavaig (Tarsgabhaig in Scottish Gaelic) is a crofting village on the West coast of Sleat on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It sits in a glen which meets Tarskavaig Bay and lies opposite the Isles of Eigg, Rum and Canna. It is often said that Tarskavaig has the best view of the Cuillin in Skye.
Tarskavaig is a traditional crofting village with a high number of Gaelic speakers, several families with children, and active crofters. It has an SSSI related to the Tarskavaig Moine Thrust, which is located at Achnacloich. The crofting township of Achnacloich or Achadh na Cloiche (Scottish Gaelic: "Stonefield") is located on the outskirts of Tarskavaig by the Gillean Burn watercourse.
The small coastal crofting community of Tarskavaig is located, within Lord MacDonald’s old estate, on the Sleat peninsula of Skye. The first Norwegian settlers arrived on Skye around 875 AD and with inter-marriage a Celtic-Norwegian population was quickly established. The name of the village reflects the long and mixed history of the village, being an Old Norse name, þorskavágr (or þorskavík), modern Norwegian Torskavåg (alternatively Torskavik), which translates as "Cod Bay" in English. This connection between the Vikings and the Gaels can be seen by the inclusion of tarsk as a loan word in Gaelic, from torsk in Norwegian. The recent discovery of a very significant Viking boatyard at Rubha an Dùnain, located only 13 miles from this crofting/fishing community, indicates the possibility of a Viking maritime link between the two sites.
Up until the 16th century the area around Tarskavaig was subject to feuds between the MacLeod and MacDonald clans. However, it was not until the 17th century (Charter of 1617) that the MacDonalds finally established control of the area and the clan chief settled at Armadale.
Tarskavaig first appeared on Lord MacDonald’s estate rental records in 1718, but it was not until 1766 that the small farming community appeared on a map. The sale of black cattle, as in other parts of Skye at the time, provided the main source of income to pay the rent. The village of Tarskavaig was developed in 1811 to allow Lord MacDonald to exploit the resources of the sea and the under-utilized, poorer-quality land along the coast. The village was laid out to 31 small crofts, but they were not big enough to support a family from the land alone, so the tenants were forced to earn money from kelping and fishing in order to pay the rent.
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Wikipedia