Srath Suardal, Skye. 12/12/10
"Mid-winter on the Strathaird peninsula, Skye. The shaded southern side of Strath Suardal (Scots Gaelic: Srath Suardal) remains heavily frosted, while to the west the lower slopes of Beinn Dearg Bheag are illuminated by the mid-day sun.
The pile of rocks in the foreground is one of several hereabouts. It may well be that these are the remains of 19th-century crofts. Certainly the forced evictions that took place in nearby Suisnish and Boreraig in 1854 were among the most notorious of the Clearances.
"...agus ged a nochainn Pàrras,
de b' fhiach a ghealach-san gun Bhlà Bheinn?"
"...and even if I came in sight of paradise,
what price its moon without Blaven?"
— Sorley MacLean, ‘An t-Eilean ’ (The Island)."
