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Isle of Skye

An Crùbh

A café, shop, post office and hall built by the people of Camuscross and Duisdale, looking across the Sound of Sleat.

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Welcome

On the road down Sleat, a low building of stone and dark timber stands on the open ground above Camuscross, with picnic tables on the gravel, a row of flower-planted wellies along the fence and a sign that says Fàilte, welcome.

An Crùbh is Gaelic for the hub, and that is what it is: the community's own café, shop and hall, built and run for the people who live here and for anyone passing through.

The café is bright and high-ceilinged, with coffee sacks hung from the beams and tall windows looking over the Sound of Sleat to the hills and sea lochs of the mainland. Vegetarian dishes and generous puddings are its strengths. Next door the shop stocks groceries alongside local vegetables, meat, seafood and honey, and there is a play area outside for children. Stop for lunch on the way to the Armadale ferry.

Before you go

An Crùbh sits beside the main road through Sleat.

The café has an inglenook and a fire for cold days, and seats outside in summer.

Café
Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm; the kitchen closes at 3pm.
Shop
Monday to Thursday 10am to 4.30pm; Friday and Saturday 10am to 5.30pm; Sunday 10am to 4pm.
Post office
Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.
Motorhomes
Five pitches with hook-up, open all year and booked online; vehicles up to 8.5 metres.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
10am–4.30pm
Tuesday
10am–4.30pm
Wednesday
10am–4.30pm
Thursday
10am–4.30pm
Friday
10am–5.30pm
Saturday
10am–5.30pm
Sunday
10am–4pm

Did you know

A timber and stone building with a pitched roof, diners visible inside beside picnic tables on the terrace
Did you know

A wish list of three.

Asked what they needed most, the community put three things at the top: a shop, a real hall, and somewhere to meet. Work began in 2011, and An Crùbh opened in April 2017 with all three under one roof.

An outdoor play area with wooden climbing frames and flags set on grass, hills rising behind
Did you know

The children cut the first sod.

At the beginning of 2016, it was the children of Camuscross and Duisdale who cut the first sod for the building.

A timber-clad building with picnic tables set on gravel, hills rising behind under a clear sky
Did you know

Built on the common grazing.

The hub stands on what was an unremarkable patch of grazing land, with the support of the crofters who share the common grazings.

A stone and timber building with a sign reading Post Office, Oifis a' Phuist, beside a red postbox
Did you know

The post office kept.

The building also secured the future of the Isle Ornsay Post Office, which now runs from inside the shop.

A dining room with a vaulted ceiling hung with woven tapestries, tables set beside windows overlooking hills
Did you know

Cèilidhs to circus training.

The hall, with its view over the Sound of Sleat, has held weddings, stand-up comedy, yoga and circus training, and many a cèilidh.

A modern timber and stone building with pitched roofs set among dune grass under a clear sky
Did you know

Funded by the crowd.

The community has raised more than its £20,000 target to put solar panels on the hub and make its woodchip boiler more efficient.

A picnic table on a stone patio seen through open glass doors, mountains and moorland stretching beyond, houseplants and a wooden floor inside
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Where it is

Beside the main road through Sleat at Camuscross, near Isleornsay.

Close byThe places nearest An Crùbh, on Sleat.
  1. Torabhaig DistilleryTorabhaig DistilleryThe second licensed distillery in Skye's history, in a restored farm steading on the Sound of Sleat.3 miles4 min by road
  2. Knock CastleKnock CastleThe ruin of Caisteal Chamuis, a MacLeod and then MacDonald castle, on a promontory over Knock Bay.3 miles4 min by road
  3. Yellow kayak passes through a narrow rock cleft towards open waterSouth Skye Sea KayakSea kayaking trips around the coasts of south Skye.4 miles7 min by road
  4. White tower buildings on a rocky headland above the seaSabhal Mòr Ostaig – Gaelic College & Culture CentreThe Gaelic college, its white buildings set into the hillside over the Sound of Sleat.5 miles9 min by road
  5. Armadale Castle GardensArmadale Castle GardensThe ruined seat of the Macdonalds and 40 acres of woodland gardens, half a mile from the ferry pier.6 miles9 min by road
  6. Dunscaith CastleDunscaith CastleA ruined castle on a sea rock by Tokavaig, once the seat of the Macdonalds of Sleat.8 miles11 min by road
  7. The road sign for Tarskavaig above the bay.TarskavaigThe largest of the small settlements along the west coast of Sleat.11 miles15 min by road
Directions
Isle of SkyeEilean Sionnach Lighthouse CottageSleeps 8 · 1.3 miles
A table set under a brass chandelier in a bay window over the sea loch at Duisdale.RestaurantsDuisdale House1.6 miles
Kinloch Lodge, Isle of SkyeIsle of SkyeKinloch LodgePlace to stay · 3.9 miles
A timber shepherd's hut with a curved roof stands on a grassy slope, a bench and picnic table in front and hills rising behind.HeastBothan BuidheagSleeps 2 · 4.1 miles
Bothan Beileag, Isle of SkyeHeastBothan BeileagSleeps 2 · 4.1 miles
A dark timber-clad cabin with a corrugated metal roof sits on a gravel drive amid moorland scrub.Isle of SkyeStonechat BothySleeps 2 · 4.8 miles
Cloud-capped mountain above a coastal village on the sea loch shoreAttractionsWaterloo Beach8.7 miles
A freestanding bath stands on a decked platform beside a red timber shed, potted plants and a wooden fence surrounding the garden.Isle of SkyePtarmigan CottageSleeps 2 · 8.7 miles
The Misty Bottle, a white cottage with an orange roof, a red phone box and an old green van outside, Breakish.ShoppingThe Misty Bottle Shop9.1 miles
Stay nearby

Places to stay near An Crùbh, and when each is next free.

Eilean Sionnach Lighthouse Cottage
  • Sleeps 8
  • In the Isle of Skye
  • A mile from An Crùbh
Check datesKinloch Lodge, Isle of SkyeKinloch Lodge
  • To stay
  • In the Isle of Skye
  • 2 miles from An Crùbh
Check datesA dark timber-clad cabin with a corrugated metal roof sits on a gravel drive amid moorland scrub.Stonechat Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In the Isle of Skye
  • 2 miles from An Crùbh
Free 2–5 NovBothan Beileag, Isle of SkyeBothan Beileag
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Heast
  • 4 miles from An Crùbh
Free 31 Oct – 2 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay on SkyeAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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