On The Trail Of A Scottish Heroine

The Isle of Skye has spawned many legends, but few as retold as those linked to Flora MacDonald, the girl who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape

- Sally Coffey

The largest of the Inner Hebrides isles, with its jagged peaks that pierce the sky, and moody mountains that loom over eerily still lochs, Skye is a place that has inspired many a storyteller.

In Scottish folklore, myths and legends were traditionally passed down from generation to generation as a way of helping people understand the world around them or to instil confidence (or fear) in a clan.

On Skye there is much to fathom: the Old Man of Storr, for instance, a rocky pinnacle that juts skywards from the Trotternish Ridge, is said to be the thumb of a giant, frozen in time. Meanwhile, it is said that Clan MacLeod, who once controlled much of Skye and have their family seat at Dunvegan Castle in the northwest of the island, owe much of their success on the battlefield to the Fairy Flag – a banner bequeathed to one of the chieftains by his fairy lover before she returned to her own world.

However, while many of these stories could be put down to creative imaginings, one of the island’s most talked about legendary figures was very real indeed (even if a certain degree of poetic licence has been allowed). Flora MacDonald is perhaps one of the most universally accepted heroines in the whole of Scotland, and it was here on Skye that many of her proudest moments took place.

Though she was born on the Hebridean isle of South Uist – the remains of Flora’s family home can still be seen – thanks to her actions in helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape the clutches of government forces, Flora will forever be connected to Skye.