Portree | |
Scottish Gaelic: Port Rìgh | |
Portree Harbour |
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Portree
Portree shown within the Isle of Skye |
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Population | 2,491 [1] |
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OS grid reference | NG483454 |
Council area | Highland |
Lieutenancy area | Ross and Cromarty |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | PORTREE |
Postcode district | IV51 |
Dialling code | 01478 |
Police | Northern |
Fire | Highlands and Islands |
Ambulance | Scottish |
EU Parliament | Scotland |
UK Parliament | Ross, Skye and Lochaber |
Scottish Parliament | Skye, Lochaber & Badenoch |
Website | skye.co.uk |
List of places: UK • Scotland • |
Portree (Scottish Gaelic: Port Rìgh, pronounced [pʰɔrˠʃt̪ˈtʰɾiː]) is the largest town on Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.[2] It is the location for the only secondary school on the Island, Portree High school. Public transport services are limited to buses.
Portree has a harbour, fringed by cliffs, with a pier designed by Thomas Telford.[3] Attractions in the town include the Àros centre which celebrate the island's Gaelic heritage. The town also serves as a centre for tourists exploring the island.[4]
The Royal Hotel is the site of MacNab's Inn, the last meeting place of Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1746.[2][5]
The town plays host to the Isle of Skye's shinty club, Skye Camanachd.[6] They play at Pairc nan Laoch above the town on the road to Struan.
Around 939 (37.72%) of the population can speak Scottish Gaelic.
The A855 road leads north out of the town, passing through villages such as Achachork, Staffin and passes the rocky landscape of The Storr before reaching the landslip of the Quiraing.
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The current name, Port Rìgh translates as 'king's harbour', possibly from a visit by King James V of Scotland in 1540. However this etymology has been contested, since James did not arrive in peaceful times. The older name appears to have been Port Ruighe(adh), 'slope harbour'.[7]
Prior to the sixteenth century the settlement's name was Kiltaraglen ('the church of St. Talarican') from Gaelic Cill Targhlain.
Portree shale is a geologic association in the vicinity of Portree, the existence of which is linked with potential petroleum occurrences of commercial importance.[8]