Talisker, Skye
Encyclopedia
Talisker is a settlement on the Minginish
peninsula in the Isle of Skye.
. For nearly two hundred years it was associated with a cadet branch of the chiefly line, founded by Sir Roderick Macleod, 1st of Talisker (1606-1675). Sir Roderick was the second son of Rory Mor Macleod
(d.1626) and Isabel, daughter of Donald Macdonell
, 8th of Glengarry. Along with his brother, Sir Norman Macleod of Bernera, he was knighted in 1661 for his services to the royalist cause. He married first a daughter of Lord Reay
and secondly Mary, daughter of Lachlan Og Mackinnon of Mackinnon
.
John Macleod, 2nd of Talisker, who died in about 1700 was the subject of an elegy, Cumha do Fhear Thalasgair (“Lament for the Laird of Talisker”), written by the blind harpist, Ruaidhri Dall MacMhurich.
Johnson
and Boswell
visited Talisker in 1773. Johnson’s Journey
reveals him to have been impressed by his host, Talisker’s then tacksman
, John Macleod, 4th of Talisker, but less so by the location itself:
Boswell’s own Journal
confirms Johnson’s description in its physical essentials, but concludes more charitably that “Talisker is a better place than one commonly finds in Sky”.
In 1820 Donald Macleod, 6th of Talisker, a major in the 56th Regiment, sold his interest in Talisker and emigrated to Van Diemen’s Land (financed by his father-in-law, Alexander Maclean of Coll
). He travelled with 36 Highlanders of his connection and secured a grant of 2,000 acres.
In 1825, Hugh MacAskill took over the Talisker estate and completed the clearance
process begun under his predecessor. Five years later, he founded the Talisker
distillery, which is in fact located some five miles away from Talisker at Carbost, Loch Harport. MacAskill gave up his lease of the Talisker lands in 1849.
. The designation is based in part on Talisker's geological features (described above), but in part also on the presence of two rare species of Zygaenidae
, the Talisker burnet moth and the transparent burnet moth
.
poem, Tràighean, begins with a powerful evocation of the physical features of Talisker. In its English translation:
The shore is accessible by foot-path and is a popular destination for walkers:
Minginish
Minginish is a peninsula on the island of Skye in Scotland. It is situated in south central Skye, between Loch Scavaig and Glen Drynoch in the west and Loch Harport and Glen Sligachan in the south and east. It includes most of the peaks of the Cuillin hills including Sgurr Alasdair, the highest...
peninsula in the Isle of Skye.
History
Talisker was for centuries a possession of the Clan MacleodClan MacLeod
Clan MacLeod is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the Macleods of Harris and Dunvegan, whose chief is Macleod of Macleod, are known in Gaelic as Sìol Tormoid ; the Macleods of Lewis, whose chief is Macleod of The Lewes, are known in...
. For nearly two hundred years it was associated with a cadet branch of the chiefly line, founded by Sir Roderick Macleod, 1st of Talisker (1606-1675). Sir Roderick was the second son of Rory Mor Macleod
Roderick Macleod of Macleod
Sir Roderick Macleod of Macleod, also known as Rory Mor, was the 15th chief of Clan MacLeod. His seat as Clan Chief was Dunvegan Castle.-Biography:...
(d.1626) and Isabel, daughter of Donald Macdonell
Chiefs of Clan MacDonell of Glengarry
The Scottish Highland Clan MacDonell of Glengarry is a branch of the Clan Donald. The clan chiefs of the Clan MacDonell of Glengarry were originally seated at Strome Castle but later moved to Invergarry Castle...
, 8th of Glengarry. Along with his brother, Sir Norman Macleod of Bernera, he was knighted in 1661 for his services to the royalist cause. He married first a daughter of Lord Reay
Lord Reay
Lord Reay, of Reay in the County of Caithness, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Lord Reay is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Mackay, whose lands in Strathnaver and northwest Sutherland were known as the Reay Country. The land was sold to the Earls of Sutherland in the 18th century...
and secondly Mary, daughter of Lachlan Og Mackinnon of Mackinnon
Clan MacKinnon
Clan Mackinnon or Clan Fingon is a Highland Scottish clan associated with the islands of Mull and Skye, in the Inner Hebrides.Popular tradition gives the clan a Dalriadic Gaelic origin. The 19th century historian W. F. Skene named the clan as one of the seven clans of Siol Alpin - who according to...
.
John Macleod, 2nd of Talisker, who died in about 1700 was the subject of an elegy, Cumha do Fhear Thalasgair (“Lament for the Laird of Talisker”), written by the blind harpist, Ruaidhri Dall MacMhurich.
Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
and Boswell
James Boswell
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland; he is best known for the biography he wrote of one of his contemporaries, the English literary figure Samuel Johnson....
visited Talisker in 1773. Johnson’s Journey
A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland
A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland is a travel narrative by Samuel Johnson about an eighty-three day journey through Scotland, in particular the islands of the Hebrides, in the late summer and autumn of 1773...
reveals him to have been impressed by his host, Talisker’s then tacksman
Tacksman
A tacksman was a land-holder of intermediate legal and social status in Scottish Highland society.-Tenant and landlord:...
, John Macleod, 4th of Talisker, but less so by the location itself:
...our next stage was to Talisker, the house of colonel Macleod, an officer in the Dutch service, who in this time of universal peace, has for several years been permitted to be absent from his regiment. Having been bred to physick, he is consequently a scholar, and his lady, by accompanying him in his different places of residence, is become skilful in several languages. Talisker is the place beyond all that I have seen, from which the gay and the jovial seem utterly excluded; and where the hermit might expect to grow old in meditation, without possibility of disturbance or interruption. It is situated very near the sea, but upon a coast where no vessel lands but when it is driven by a tempest on the rocks. Towards the land are lofty hills streaming with waterfalls. The garden is sheltered by firs, or pines, which grow there so prosperously, that some, which the present inhabitant planted, are very high and thick.
Boswell’s own Journal
The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides
The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D. is a travel journal by Scotsman James Boswell first published in 1785. In 1773, Boswell enticed his English friend Samuel Johnson to accompany him on a tour through the highlands and western islands of Scotland. Johnson was then in...
confirms Johnson’s description in its physical essentials, but concludes more charitably that “Talisker is a better place than one commonly finds in Sky”.
In 1820 Donald Macleod, 6th of Talisker, a major in the 56th Regiment, sold his interest in Talisker and emigrated to Van Diemen’s Land (financed by his father-in-law, Alexander Maclean of Coll
Coll
Coll is a small island, west of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and for Breachacha Castle.-Geography and geology:...
). He travelled with 36 Highlanders of his connection and secured a grant of 2,000 acres.
In 1825, Hugh MacAskill took over the Talisker estate and completed the clearance
Highland Clearances
The Highland Clearances were forced displacements of the population of the Scottish Highlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. They led to mass emigration to the sea coast, the Scottish Lowlands, and the North American colonies...
process begun under his predecessor. Five years later, he founded the Talisker
Talisker
Talisker is an Island Single Malt Scotch whisky produced by the Talisker Distillery, Carbost, Scotland; the only distillery on the Isle of Skye. The distillery is operated by United Distillers and Vintners for Diageo, and is marketed as part of their Classic Malts series...
distillery, which is in fact located some five miles away from Talisker at Carbost, Loch Harport. MacAskill gave up his lease of the Talisker lands in 1849.
Geology
The estate includes two hills (Preshal More, which was climbed by Boswell, and Preshal Beg) of considerable geological interest. As described by B.R.Bell and I.T.Williamson:
At the base of the twin summits of Preshal More and Preshal Beg, near Talisker, the laterally-restricted Preshal Beg Conglomerate Formation crops out. These heterogebeous sedimentary rocks include debris flow (?lahars), alluvial fan and fluviolacustrine facies volcanoclastic deposits accumulated with a substantial and long-lived valley drainage system which developed upon the Glen Oraid Lava Formation surface. Subsequently this topography was inundated by two thick (at least 120m) intracanvon flows of compositionally distinctive tholeiitic basalt belonging to the Talisker Lava Formation. These flows mark a significant change in the chemical signature of the lava sequence and have a strong compositional affinity with the various intrusive units of the Cuillin Centre. … the Preshal More flows may represent the only remnants of an originally significant lava shield that developed above the Cuillin centre.
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Scottish National Heritage has designated Talisker as a Site of Special Scientific InterestSite of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
. The designation is based in part on Talisker's geological features (described above), but in part also on the presence of two rare species of Zygaenidae
Zygaenidae
The Zygaenidae moths are a family of Lepidoptera. The majority of zygaenids are tropical, but they are nevertheless quite well represented in temperate regions. There are about 1000 species. Various species are commonly known as Burnet or Forester moths, often qualified by the number of spots,...
, the Talisker burnet moth and the transparent burnet moth
Zygaena purpuralis
The Transparent Burnet is a moth of the Zygaenidae family. It is found in most of Europe.The wingspan is 30-34 mm. Adults are on wing in June and early July...
.
Literature
The first verse of Sorley Maclean'sSorley MacLean
Sorley MacLean was one of the most significant Scottish poets of the 20th century.-Early life:He was born at Osgaig on the island of Raasay on 26 October 1911, where Scottish Gaelic was the first language. He attended the University of Edinburgh and was an avid shinty player playing for the...
poem, Tràighean, begins with a powerful evocation of the physical features of Talisker. In its English translation:
- If we were in Talisker on the shore
- where the great white mouth
- opens between two hard jaws,
- Rubha nan Clach and the Bioda Ruadh,
- I would stand beside the sea
- renewing love in my spirit
- while the ocean was filling
- Talisker bay forever:
- I would stand there on the bareness of the shore
- until Prishal bowed his stallion head.
Present day
Talisker Farm now extends to 2,475 acres. The house, a handsome Georgian mansion, stands among old trees, just to the west of its 17th century predecessor. Begun in 1717, it was much extended in the 18th and 19th centuries. The house is available for holiday letting. It has been listed since 1971 with the following description:
Early 18th century core with later additions; harled, ashlar dressings. 2 storey and attic, 6 wide bays; 2 bay piended projecting wing to front (west) elevation with porch in left re-entrant, single storey addition with 5 long multi-pane windows in right re-entrant and bow window to centre of wing; have crenellated parapets. 5 piended dormers with decoratively carved wood jambs; 2 stair windows to rear; 12-pane and lying pane glazing; end and ridge stacks; slate roof. Interior: projecting front wing (circa 1780) contains dining room at ground floor and drawing room above. Original ornate plaster ceiling in drawing room. Dining room plaster ceiling dates from 1865 when bow window added.
The shore is accessible by foot-path and is a popular destination for walkers:
Talisker Bay is a beautiful beach of stones and sand, best visited at low tide. There is both black and white sand on the beach, often mottled together to create patterns. The northern side of the bay is hemmed in by vertical cliffs and an impressive waterfall, whilst the southern side is closed off no less impressively by a great sea stack.