The granite Celtic cross over Flora MacDonald's grave in Kilmuir burial ground, with the Minch behind it.

Isle of Skye

Kilmuir Cemetery

The old burial ground at Kilmuir, above the Minch, where Flora MacDonald lies under a granite Celtic cross with words by Samuel Johnson on it.

Welcome

The old burial ground at Kilmuir stands on the slope above the Minch, walled in 1832, on the site of the parish church of St Mary, of which nothing is left.

It was the burial place of the MacDonalds of the Isles, and among its stones are two carved in the Middle Ages, one with the effigy of a knight in armour cut in high relief; those two are protected in their own right. The grave-slab of Charles Macarthur, piper to the MacDonalds, is here as well, probably late seventeenth century.

A granite Celtic cross some twenty-eight feet high stands over the grave of Flora MacDonald, who brought Charles Edward Stuart from Uist to Skye dressed as her maid, was arrested for it and held in the Tower of London, and died in March 1790. The cross replaced an earlier monument that a gale brought down, and a marble plaque was added in 1922. The words on it are Samuel Johnson's, who met her at Kingsburgh in 1773.

A short drive awayKilvaxter SouterrainAn Iron Age passage under a field, a few minutes down the road.3 min by roadSee it

The Kilvaxter souterrain at Kilmuir: the stone-lined entrance open in the turf beside a fenced path, with the interpretation board behind it.

Before you go

The graveyard is at Kilmuir at the north end of Trotternish, next door to the Skye Museum of Island Life, and is reached on the A855 either by Staffin and the east coast or through Uig.

It is a working burial ground kept by the Highland Council, so the ordinary courtesies apply: no dogs except guide dogs, nothing climbed on or moved, and the car park is for people visiting graves rather than for staying the night.

Where: Kilmuir, north Trotternish, beside the Skye Museum of Island Life. IV51 9UE.
Getting there: On the A855, by Staffin and the east coast, or north from Uig.
Dogs: Guide dogs only. It is a working burial ground.
Parking: For visitors to the graves. No overnight parking or camping.

Where it is

At Kilmuir at the north end of Trotternish, beside the Skye Museum of Island Life, off the A855.

Close byThe rest of Kilmuir and the top of the peninsula.