Cuillins of Skye Poster. Scotland It’s Highlands & Islands Royal Route – Tom Gilfillan
Poster : Cuillins of Skye, Isle of Skye Travel Poster. Scotland It’s Highlands & Islands Royal Route
This is a superb reproduction of a wonderful Cuillins Isle of Skye poster. It was created by the artist Tom Gilfillan to promote travel around Scotland and its Highlands and Islands. Gilfillan’s painting perfectly captures the cool, swirling waters of Loch Alsh. The loch is bathed in the warm golden light of a beautiful summer’s evening. The Loch, is a sea inlet between the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides and the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The artist has depicted the 12km stretch of water surrounded by the majestic, rugged beauty of the famous red and black landscape of the Scottish mountainside.
The Scottish travel poster takes in the view from Eilean Donan to The Cuillin mountain range on the Isle of Skye. A distance of almost 50 miles.
Eilean Donan Castle
In the foreground at the foot of the poster is the island of Eilean Donan. The small tidal island is situated where the waters of Loch Duice, Loch Long and Loch Alsh meet. Eilean Donan is connected to the mainland by a footbridge built in the twentieth century. The island is dominated by a picturesque castle. The islands original Eilean Donan Castle was built in the thirteenth century. It was a stronghold of the Mackensie and MacRae clans until it was destroyed by government ships in 1719 during the Jacobite rebellions. The present-day castle is Lieutenant-Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap’s 20th-century reconstruction of the old castle. The castle is used extensively in the promotion of tourism and travel to Scotland. You may even recognise the castle from movies including the James Bond film, The World Is Not Enough.
Above the castle, Loch Alsh stretches out past several small islands including Glas Eilean and Sgeir na Caillich. Several Scottish villages including Ardelve, Nostie, Auchtertyre, Kirton, Balmacara are all located on the right-hand bank of the loch before you get to The Narrows and village of Kyle of Lochalsh.
MacBrayne and The Royal Route
The Cuillins Isle of Skye poster was originally produced for the MacBrayne Shipping Company to promote their Royal Route Service. The shipping company, initially formed in 1851, and passed to David MacBrayne in 1878. MacBrayne’s ships featured red tunnels with a black top. The artist Tom Gilfillan has included one of the company’s vessels crossing the Inner Sound, from right to left, in the centre of the poster. The Royal Route was an express sailing service run by the MacBrayne shipping company that had one ship sailing from Glasgow to Ardrishaig. The route went from Glasgow down the Firth of Clyde through the Crinan Canal to Oban and Fort William. It continued on through the Caledonian Canal to Inverness. Later services were added to include Islay and the Outer Hebrides.
In the distance, beyond the ship, Gilfillan has is the rocky coast of the Isle of Skye and the Cuillins silhouetted against the skyline.
The Isle of Skye
The picturesque, unspoilt and magical, Isle of Skye forms part of the Inner Hebrides chain of islands off Scotland’s west coast. It is only a couple of kilometres from the Scottish mainland and is connected to the mainland by Skye bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh to Kyleakin.
Skye is the largest, and arguably best known, of Scotland’s Inner Hebrides. It is well-known for its rugged landscapes, medieval castles and picturesque fishing villages and outstanding scenery. The island has strong historical connections with the Jacobite Rising, the Highland Clearances and famous Clan battles.
