Skye Museum of Island Life
Group of thatched cottages at Kilmuir on the Isle of Skye showing crofting life of the late 19th century, including a croft house lived in until 1957.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Skye Museum of Island Life at Kilmuir opened in 1965 to keep alive a way of life that was disappearing. It was founded by Jonathan MacDonald MBE (1932–2021), a crofter and cultural historian born on Skye, who spent decades collecting, restoring and explaining the buildings and objects that form the museum today.
The museum is made up of eight thatched cottages, each showing a different part of island life at the end of the nineteenth century. The first cottage opened to the public dates from the mid-nineteenth century and shows a typical Skye home. The old croft house, built more than two hundred years ago, was lived in until 1957.
Other buildings include a byre, a ceilidh house, a smithy, an old shop, a weaver’s house and a barn with farm tools, as well as Taigh Eòin, named after the founder. Together they show how crofting families lived, worked, farmed and fished, and how traditions such as Gaelic song and storytelling were passed on.
Highlights
- Eight thatched cottages showing island life around the end of the 19th century
- Old croft house, lived in until 1957
- Ceilidh house, smithy, old shop and weaver’s house
- Barn with traditional farm tools
- Taigh Eòin, a house named after the museum’s founder
Permanent exhibition
- The thatched cottages – Eight thatched buildings showing life on Skye around the end of the 19th century, including the old croft house, byre, smithy, weaver’s house and barn.
- Founded
- 1965
Admission & discounts
| Adults | £8 |
|---|---|
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 14 · Children under 15 are free when accompanied by an adult. |
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 14 |
|---|
Children under 15 enter free if accompanied by an adult.
Getting there & parking
The museum is at Kilmuir, near Portree. It can be reached on the A855, either by the east coast route through Staffin or via Uig and then north.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
