Reimagining Strathaird

The John Muir Trust is looking to develop the site it owns at Strathaird in southern Skye. The Trust wants to deliver a collaborative project that seeks to understand the needs of local residents and businesses, while supporting the Trust to deliver its objectives as a wild places charity.

The John Muir Trust believes that wild places are for everyone, and that at Strathaird it has an opportunity to inspire people to connect with and share in the value of wild places. Its approach is to collaborate with others on innovative solutions that address both global crises and local issues.

The Site

The focus of this project is the Strathaird site, a non-crofted land holding which currently hosts a disused fish hatchery, several underutilised buildings, and a former church building which carries historic and cultural significance. It is also the start for a popular walking route to Camasunarie Bay that connects with the Skye Trail.

The site sits within the larger Strathaird Estate that the John Muir Trust has stewarded for many years, along with adjoining land in Sconser and Torrin. It is surrounded by land under active crofting tenure.

Why Now?

Access to the Kilmarie Hatchery is currently through Strathaird Farm. Buying the redundant Hatchery and surrounding land in 2021 brought both sites together, and created opportunities for development.

As a charity, the John Muir Trust has a duty to move beyond remedial work that maintains underused and disused structures (including the church, hatchery and cottages) to developing a site that considers local needs and benefits, while supporting the Trust to deliver its objectives as a wild places organisation.

Learn more about the John Muir Trust’s work on Skye here.