Exploring Scotland 1 Castle at a Time, Part 27, Portree and Dunvegan Castle
We didn't get to spend nearly as much time on Skye as we'd have liked. Portree is the major town on Skye. At one time it was called Kiltraglen. In 1540 King James V sailed into the harbor with a fleet of warships demanding the island lords support. The name was changed to Portree which comes from the Gaelic Port-an- Righ which means Kings Port. Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed in what was MacNabs Inn at the time and which is now the Royal Motel. He bade Flora MacDonald, and Scotland, good-bye from there in 1746. In the early 1700 overpopulation and poverty forced the citizens of Portree onto ships bound for America. Sir James MacDonald developed the port as a fishing port and brought new industry into the town preventing a larger exodus. In 1846 the potato famine hit Portree followed by the clearance and a large part of the population once again boarded ships for America and Australia. Today it is a thriving town built around the harbor that has bee...