Shieling women in Aird

"In the old days here, they had what they called ‘Shieling Women’. They had shielings 3.5 miles from here. During the spring and the summer, in the afternoon or evening, they had to herd the cattle down there and they had a couple of shaves of corn under their arm to feed the cows. They’d go down there and then sleep overnight. They’d wake up in the morning, milk the cows and take the milk home to the house, feed the family and do the housework. At night they’d hoof away back.

I saw the last woman from the village who did that when she was a young girl. She used to tell me about it. It was a hard life, eh?"

As told by Charlie MacGillivray, resident of Aird of Sleat, Skye

More information on visiting the area can be found here.