Torrin

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.

Torrin from the west bank of Loch Slapin.

Torrin from the west bank of Loch Slapin.

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.

Housing

A number of new houses have been built in Torrin in recent decades. During the 1970s and 1980s, like much of the Highland and Islands, the village suffered from an outbreak of largely characterless kit-built, white rough-cast boxes. These days thankfully the new build houses have what Estate Agents describe as charm, adopting a traditional architectural style that is more empathetic with the surroundings.

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 capped Blaven can been seen in the background.

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 capped Blaven can been seen in the background.

Many of the older buildings in the village have been sympathetically modernised and been turned in to comfortable homes of the highest order. At the end of 1998 the Old Post Office that features in many old postcards of the village was sympathetically converted in to a modern dwelling. The village church that closed in 1990 likewise underwent renovation in 1992 and is now let as a holiday home appropriately called The Old Church.

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.

The primary school, which in the 1920s was attended by over 20 children, closed in 1961 and is today used by The Highland Council as an outdoor activity centre. Primary school children living in Torrin travel the 9km (six miles) to Broadford Primary School whilst the older children make a daily 48km (30 miles) journey by bus to Portree High School.

Crofting

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.

"Ben Blaven (sic) from Torrin" circa 1880 by pioneering Scottish photographer George Washington Wilson (1823-1893). This scan of an original albumen print is courtesy of Gordon Bushnell of Torrin. The albumen photographic process uses egg whites to coat the photographic paper and it was the first commercially successful method of producing images from negatives.

"Ben Blaven (sic) from Torrin" circa 1880 by pioneering Scottish photographer George Washington Wilson. Click on image to read more.

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.

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.

Torrin telephone box, +44 (0)1471 822313.

Torrin telephone box, +44 (0)1471 822313.

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.

Wildlife

Skye has few beaches primarily because the erosion of the main rock types found around 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 Isle of Rùm 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!

Torrin Marble

Outside of crofting, quarrying is still a major industry in the Strath, relatively speaking. The first major quarry, actually a series of quarries, operated during the 18^th century around Ben Suardal on the road between Broadford to Torrin. The last of these closed in 1914 though the complex re-opened briefly between 1935 and 1939. Torrin lays claim to two quarries at opposite ends of the village, one of which is still in producing Skye Marble.

The remains of the first Torrin marble, opened in 1951 and now only used for storage by the new quarry (and sheep!).

The remains of the first Torrin marble, opened in 1951 and now only used for storage by the new quarry (and sheep!).

The first and smaller of the two quarries opened in 1951 at the northern end 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 lime has a neutralising value of 55% which makes it suitable as a liming agent to increase the pH of soil and reduced the level of acidity. Its high magnesium content enables it to be used as an additive for soils deficient in magnesium.

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 cleared and landscaped but some of the buildings, structures and old machinery stand rusting gracefully in the salt-laden air.

Glasgow paint manufacturer, William Thomson Forsyth, started the main quarry at the southern, 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 3,200 tonnes (3,500 tons) of product per year, most of it being for use 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. This sign at the entrance to Torrin quarry has perhaps seen better days.

Danger blasting. This sign at the entrance to Torrin quarry has perhaps 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.

Test bores around Torrin have shown that the Durness limestone reserves total approximately 750,000 tonnes (827,000 tons). The white limestone is quarried as a high value aggregate for cladding panels, roughcasting and ready-mix concrete. Unfortunately dolerite dykes cut across the limestone at irregular intervals and since the market demands the aggregate to be white, any of the black-coloured dolerite needs to be removed using complex plant visible from the road between Kilbride and Camas Malag.

The limestone from Torrin also has finds uses in agriculture. The limestone has a neutralising value of 55% which makes it suitable as a liming agent to increase the pH of soil and make it less acidic. Its high magnesium content enables it to be used as an additive for soils deficient in magnesium.

Skye marble made in to souvenirs may be purchased locally in Broadford or on-line from Isle of Skye Cuillin Marbles.

John Muir Trust

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.

John Muir commemorative 25-cent coin selected by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and first issued in 2005.

John Muir commemorative 25-cent coin selected by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and first issued in 2005.

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.

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.

Shops

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 corrugated iron hut attached to a house, closed in the late 1960s. The shop is just visible in the postcard here. Relocated, the hut continues to serve to this day as a domestic garage and shed in the village. Residents of Torrin now do their shopping in the supermarkets of Broadford, Kyle of Lochalsh, Portree and Inverness.

This cafe and shop opened in Torrin during 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.

This cafe and shop opened in Torrin during 2001. 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). Costing £24,000 to build, it was funded by the John Muir Trust, Highland Council and Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise. 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.

Gallery

A selection of photographs of Torrin appear below. More photographs of Blaven, Torrin, Isle of Skye and beyond can be found on the Gallery page.

More information

If you are interested in finding out more about the heritage and culture of Torrin visit the Elgol and Torrin Historical Society website.