Soay, Skye Elgol. The island is part of the Cuillin Hills National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland. The name derives from Old Norse "Sauða-ey" meaning "Sheep Island". Camas nan Gall (G: "Bay of Foreigners") is probably named after the Norse invaders, after whom the Hebrides ("Na h-Innse Gall") are also named. The population peaked at 158 in 1851, following eviction of crofters from Skye in the Highland Clearances. In 1946, author Gavin Maxwell bought the island and established a factory to process shark oil from basking sharks. The enterprise was unsuccessful, lasting just three years. Maxwell wrote about it in
Skye at Waterstein Head. Oolitic loam provides good arable land in the main valley. Lochs Bracadale and Harport and the island of Wiay lie between Duirinish and Minginish, which includes the narrower defiles of Talisker and Glen Brittle and whose beaches are formed from black basaltic sands. Strathaird is a relatively small peninsula close to the Cuillin hills with only a few crofting communities, the island of Soay lies offshore. The bedrock of Sleat in the south is Torridonian sandstone, which produces poor soils and boggy ground, although its lower elevations and relatively sheltered eastern shores enable a lush growth of