Torrin, or Na Torran to use its Gaelic name, is a picturesque crofting
community nestling near the head of Loch Slapin, a narrow sea loch in southwest
Skye. The community which dates back over 2,000 years, is the foreground to
what many regard as one of the finest mountain views in Scotland, Blaven.
Torrin itself sits on Durness limestone, which accounts for the greenness,
abundance of trees and varied plant flora, including more than a dozen species
of orchids. Indeed much of the area is designated a site of special scientific
interest. Amid the starkness of the generally treeless landscape of Skye,
the area is truly an oasis.
The community is 9km (6 miles) by road from Broadford, 50km (30 miles)
from Portree and 148 km (92 miles) from Inverness, the capital of the Scottish
highlands.
A number of new houses have been build though sadly these are of the featureless
kit-built, white roughcast variety that permeates the Highlands and Islands.
At the end of 1998 the old post office was sympathetically converted in to
a modern ”traditional“ dwelling. A number of other traditional buildings,
including the Church that closed in 1990, are likewise undergoing renovation
and restoration.
The primary school at Torrin was used during the 1940s by Royal
Marine Commandos as a base for mountain training. The building is now used as a school outdoor
activity centre. A snow covered Blaven can been seen in the background
The primary school, which in the 1920s was attended by over 20 children,
closed in 1961 and is today used as a school outdoor activity centre.
At its peak in the last century around 120 people lived in the community.
By 1989 this had dropped to 40 people. Today this has risen to around 65 over
a third of whom speak Gaelic. The increase is due mainly to families with
children, and a number of young couples, having moved to Torrin in the last
few years. Children form a quarter of the present population, which bodes
well for the future. Primary school children living in Torrin go to Broadford
Primary School on the Royal Mail post bus. Older children travel daily by
bus to Portree High School.
There are five working crofts in Torrin with some 60 cattle and 500 sheep.
The sheep belong to a stock club in which the crofters, including some
non-working crofters, have shares. As well as having their own crofts, the
crofters also share common grazing rights. The common grazing land
surrounds Torrin and extends up on to red granite hills of 709m (2,326
feet) Beinn Dearg Mhor, literally ”the big red hill“, and 584m (1,916
feet) Beinn Dearg Bheag, ”the small red hill“, which rise immediately to
the north of the community. The common grazing continues beyond the head
of Loch Slapin towards Luib and round to the front of Blaven.
Sheep, sheep everywhere. Freshly fleeced sheep huddle
together for warmth! There are approximately 100,000 sheep on Skye,
roughly 55 per square kilometer (140 per square mile)
Sheep live on the common grazing throughout the year and cattle are kept
there during the summer. Crofters buy in hay from the mainland to feed their
animals in the winter and while some grow their own hay as well, this is never
enough for the whole winter. Recent Crofter Forestry legislation allows crofter
to grow trees on common grazing land without the landlord having the right
to the proceeds received from selling the timber. Grants are available to
assist crofters to establish such forests. Crofters in Torrin are considering
whether to participate in the scheme. Any new forest would be of the mixed
variety, not like the vast plantations of Sitka Spruce we are used to seeing
today.
Approaching the village of Torrin from Broadford with Blaven in
the background
In the middle of the 19th Century Alexander Macalister owned
the adjacent Strathaird estate. In 1851 he decided to graze sheep on the lower
slopes of Blaven giving the excuse that his tenants owed him £450 in rent
arrears. He thoughtfully offered to forget the debt if the tenants gave him
a ”douceur“ of £1,200 and emigrated to Australia or Canada. Predictably, and
as he had hoped, most of his tenants were forced to emigrate.
In 1980 plans were put forward to build a water sports centre on Loch Slapin
with power boating, water skiing and accommodation for around 50 tourists.
Despite the strong opposition of the crofters, planning permission was granted.
Only the unforeseen death of the developer stopped this environmentally damaging
scheme going ahead.
Skye has few beaches primarily because the erosion of the main
rock types found around the the coastline do not produce a suitable
sandy sediment. Combined with the long deep sea lochs and steep
coastal shelves it is not surprising that Skye has only a handful of
sandy beaches. Fortunately one of those sandy beaches can be found
in Torrin.
A variety of wildlife including
seals may be seen the beach. You may also see otters there and on the
neighbouring headland but they are very secretive. Golden eagles can occasionally
be spotted high above Torrin. If you are fortunate you may also see Sea Eagles
which not so long ago were reintroduced into Scotland on the nearby Island
of Rum and have now spread to Skye. Other large birds common around Torrin
include herons, buzzards, guillemots and greenshanks. Finally the area has
over 30 different species of mollusc - if you don't know what this means you
probably don't want to ask!
Outside of crofting, quarrying is still a major industry, relatively speaking,
in the Strath valley. The Ben Suardal quarry on the road from Broadford to Torrin closed
in 1914 (though it briefly reopened between 1935 and 1939). The community
of Torrin however once boasted two quarries at either
end of the village, one of which is still in producing Skye Marble.
The site of the disused Skye marble quarry at Cnoc Slapin has
recently been partially landscaped however some of the old structures
remain
The first and smaller of the two quarries opened in 1951 on the Blaven side of
Torrin, nestling on the shore of Loch Slapin at Cnoc Slapin. The extracted rock was
used primarily in the production of agricultural lime.
The abandoned quarry is no longer used for extraction and is something
of an eyesore. Long outstanding plans to landscape the area finally came
to partial fruition at the end of 2001 with the removal of the industrial
flotsam littering the site. The area was partially landscaped but some of
the old buildings and structures remain rusting gracefully in the
salt-laden air.
Glasgow
paint manufacturer, William Thomson Forsyth, started the main quarry at the
Broadford end of Torrin in 1960. He leased the land extracting and
grinding up the lime and magnesium rich marble for agricultural usage. By 1965 the quarry was producing around
3,500 tons of product per year most of being used on Skye. Messrs N McLeod and Co. of
Portree reached agreement in 1966 with the then owners, Kneeshaw Lupton
and Co. to extract marble for building purposes.
Danger blasting. The sign at the entrance to the active Torrin quarry has seen
better days
In 1970 McLeod and Co. purchased the quarry. Today the quarry is owned
by Leiths Group and provides valuable employment for around 12 people. The extent of the
quarry workings are best appreciated from the road to Kilbride.
Marble continues to be mined and crushed on site. The main
products are agricultural lime, pebbledash for housing, ready-mix
concrete products and some decorative marble. Larger pieces of
marble are used for souvenirs which can be purchased locally in
Broadford or on-line from Isle
of Skye Cuillin Marbles.
In 1991 the 2,020 hectare (5,000 acre) Torrin estate, comprising the crofts
and common grazing but not houses, buildings or gardens, was purchased for
£180,000 by the John Muir Trust,
one of Britain’s youngest conservation bodies.
John
Muir is very well known in the US as a leading historical conservationist
but practically unknown in his native Scotland. He was born 1838 in Dunbar,
East Lothian but his family emigrated to America in the first half of the
19th century when he was 11 years of age. In the later half of
the 19th century he was instrumental in the campaign to preserve
the Yosemite area of California and in the formation of the US national parks.
He is also the principle founder powerful Sierra Club environmental
group.
Californians celebrate ”John Muir Day“ every year on the 21st of April.
Nigel Hawkins, a Dundee environmental consultant, the late Chris
Brasher CBE, Olympic gold
medallist, journalist and founder of the London
Marathon, author Nicholas Luard and Denis Mollison formed the John
Muir Trust in 1983. The group chose Muir’s name because they felt he should
be celebrated in his own country.
The patron of the trust since 1988 is His Royal Highness The Prince of
Wales who visited the estate in June 1992.
John Muir commemorative 25-cent coin selected by California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and first issued in 2005
In November 1994 the John Muir Trust purchased the neighbouring Strathaird
Estate which includes Blaven and 47 crofts from Ian Anderson. Anderson, lead
vocalist and flautist of 1970s group Jethro Tull, had been the hands-on landlord
for the previous 16 years. Today he continues to take an interest in the company
he founded, Strathaird Farms Ltd, which continues to operate a number of fish
farms, including the Strathaird estate.
Today the Trust is managing the area jointly with the local community.
Footpath repairs, archaeological digs, drystane dyking, bracken removal and
tree planting projects are being carried out.
As with many villages throughout Britain, facilities in Torrin diminished
over the years due to the decline in population and the ascendancy of the
motor car as part of rural life. At one time Torrin had a number of shops
but the last one, a tin hut in the centre of the village, closed in the late
1960s. Today the residents do their shopping in the supermarkets of Broadford,
Kyle of Lochalsh, Portree and even Inverness.
This shop in Torrin opened in 2001. Costing £24,000 to
build, it was funded by the John Muir
Trust, Highland Council and Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise. This is the first shop
to trade in the village
since the last one closed in the late 1960s
Shopping returned to the village in June 2001 when the Torrin Management Committee
opened Am Bothan (the Gaelic name for a small hut or shed).
Initially run by Marina Campbell and her mother Mairi Stoddart it
was renamed The Blue Shed Cafe in early 2005. It is currently
run by Angela Smith and offers essential groceries, a selection of
local crafts, childrens play area and, of course, a cafe.
