Monument record MHG54524 - Skye, Allt Na Buaile Dubh

RCAHMS Canmore description:
This sheep wash is situated 60m above sea level, on the N bank of an un-named burn that runs off Sgeir hill and joins Allt na Buaile Duibh about 100m further S. It lies just inside the hill boundary fence on Claigan Croft No 1.

The funnel-shaped structure is approximately 13.5m long and is placed on the bank of the burn above a small man-made pool into which sheep were herded to wash their fleeces and remove dirt and grit before shearing. It is 10m wide at the entrance and tapers to 3.8m wide above the washing pool.

Since falling out of use (possibly when the sheep dip was built at Claigan Fank, c1923), the narrow end has been built up to form a holding pen and boulders carted off the nearby field have been dumped at the entrance. It is said that some of the stones from this structure were robbed to build croft house at No 1 Claigan in the 1920s and that rough stones off the field were used heighten the walls again so that it could then be used to hold sheep for feeding and at lambing time.
Information from Marjorie MacInnes, August 2010. <1>