This is not the piping museum Boreraig, of which Derek Cooper wrote in his 1970 guide to Skye. This is another Boreraig on the shores of Loch Eishort. The village is abandoned, and has been so since it was cleared in 1853.
The highland clearances were an unhappy period in the history of the highlands and were the gradual process of forced eviction and emigration of crofters in the 19th century.
By 1800 the highlands were overpopulated relative to the means of subsistence. Many landowners seeking to support their tenants were ruined by the collapse of the kelp industry over the period 1815 to 1825.
Furthermore, estate owners realised that sheep were, from the point of view of profitability, a better bet than people. The introduction of breeds of black faced sheep which were hardy enough to withstand the weather, and the fact that sheep farming requires little labour in comparison with other forms of farming, meant that turning the land over to sheep generated a greater income than that to be had from the rents of tenants. Also, sheep were not a liability to the landlord. Unlike people they were not dependent upon crops and did not seek the support of the laird when crops failed.
The tenants had little security of tenure at this time and they were consequently evicted from their crofts, some being forced to emigrate, others finding a living elsewhere.
Parliamentary agitation by crofters, who voted for the first time in 1885, against a background of occasional violent protest finally secured land reform in an Act of Parliament of 1886 which gave the crofters security of tenure.
All this was too late for the people of Boreraig, which is why the village is abandoned.
To walk to the village, leave Broadford on the Elgol road and, after about two miles you will see, on the right a reedy loch, Loch Cill Chriosd. At the start of the loch there is a ruined church, and some ruins to the left of the road. Park there.
The next four miles or so is all on foot. it is necessary to go southfrom the road, where one picks up a track which goes through what appear to be old mine or quarry workings. After climbing and passing Ben Suardal on the left, the path continues south across the moor, past Loch Lanachan and eventually drops down to the coast, following the right hand side of a gorge until one reaches the ruined village.
A map and compass (and the ablity to use both) are essential, since the track on the moor becomes more indistinct as the years pass and the terrain can get confusing if the weather clamps down. Pick a dry day. The moor can be very boggy and it is easy, if you do not tread carefully, to go well over the top of your climbing boots into the peat.
After the clearances were over and done with and reform of land law had taken place, the authorities offered the crofters at Sconser assistance to re settle the old village of Boreraig. The Sconser crofters declined giving amongst their reasons the fact that the beach at Sconser was better for the launching of their boats and that Boreraig had always been an unhealthy place.
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Copyright © Gareth Boote 2000