Broadford, Isle of Skye

infobox UK place
official_name = Broadford
country = Scotland
map_type = Scotland
population= est. 620 [http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data] (2006)
os_grid_reference = NG650230
latitude = 57.24
longitude = -5.88
post_town = ISLE OF SKYE
postcode_area = IV
postcode_district = IV49
dial_code = 01471
gaelic_name = An t-Àth Leathann
constituency_westminster = Ross, Skye and Lochaber
constituency_scottish_parliament = Ross, Skye and Inverness West
unitary_scotland = Highland
lieutenancy_scotland = Ross and Cromarty
website =

Broadford ("An t-Àth Leathann" in Scottish Gaelic) is the second-largest town on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. It lies on the A87 between Portree and the Skye Bridge.

History

Broadford was a cattlemarket until 1812, when Telford built the road from Portree to Kyleakin. Veterans of the Napoleonic Wars settled during the first half of the 19th century. Writing in the middle of the 19th century, Alexander Smith said, "If Portree is the London of Skye, Broadford is its Manchester." [" [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xSENAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA98&dq=broadford+skye&as_brr=3| A Summer in Skye] " (1865), which includes a lengthy description of Broadford fair.]

ervices

With a co-op supermarket,which recently took over the twenty-four hour petrol station and is due for a major refurbishment in May 2008, a few restaurants(namely the Claymore,Broadford Hotel, Dunollie Hotel,and Hebridean Hotel amongst others)the world famous Skye Serpentarium and a youth hostel, it is a key service centre for southern Skye. It also has a small airfield at Ashaig. The local hospital, the MacKinnon Memorial Hospital has a small ward and casualty department.

In popular culture

*There is a song by the rock band Jethro Tull called "Broadford Bazaar" (on the remastered version of the "Heavy Horses" album) which is named after this town.

* There is also a song entitled 'The Trip to Broadford' on the 1990 album "Room to Roam" by The Waterboys.

Geology

The mineral harkerite was first found near Broadford by the petrologist Alfred Harker . [Alec Livingstone, 2002, "Minerals of Scotland", Edinburgh, National Museums of Scotland]

References

External links

* [http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/skye/broadford/index.html Article on Undiscovered Scotland]