Building record MHG16907 - Struan Inn, Bracadale

19th century date suggested by present appearance, and said to have been built as an inn. Located close to shore and fronting roadway leading to pier, nearby. Not all one build; single storey cottage type building, with attic dormers; front elevation 2 + 3 bays - 2-bay part (with door and window) presumably an addition, as is centre entrance gable on 3-bay part. Rendered (evidence surviving beneath to show former eaves level, where wallheads were heightened), glazing mostly 4-pane sashes; skews; end stacks, roof over 2-bay outshot covered with diamond-shaped ('asbestos) tiles, remainder slate-roofed. <1>

This place was once associated with a grandiose dream: '… the Islands will be opened up …The railway will send an electric shock through the entire island; the turf-hut will disappear'. It was proposed that the Skye railway would arrive here from Isle Ornsay, transforming it into 'the Milford Haven of the north' - the house and its adjacent stable/gighouse would have then become the railway company's offices. <2>

Depicted and marked as 'Struan Inn' on both 1st and 2nd edition Ordnance Survey mapping. <3><4>

In a derelict state, and on the Buildings at Risk Register. First noted in poor condition in March 1996, a site visit in September 2010 recorded that the building was no longer weatherproof, and that ceilings had collapsed. See links below. <5>