Where the sheep roam free
a short explanation of Common Grazings
If you have ever driven around on Skye, you will know that it isn’t uncommon to find sheep roaming along the roads. They sleep on the tarmac, graze the verges and will take advantage of any garden gate which has been absentmindedly left open. While the locals are (mostly) used to the ever present sheep population, visitors to the island are amused and perhaps a little confused by the whole thing. Let me try and explain….
Skye is largely, but not completely, made up of crofting townships - a type of land system which the Crofter’s Commission says is unique to Scotland. While I agree to an extent, I think that there are similar tenanted farmland and communal grazings to be found in other parts of the world. But I am getting ahead of myself. What even is a croft?
A croft is a relatively small piece of land for agriculture which is usually rented, but sometimes bought. A house upon the land is a ‘croft house’ and the person working the land is the ‘crofter’.
In addition to this ‘inbye’ land, the crofter will often have hill shares, which gives them the right to graze a communal area of hill ground which is located within the township. This is the Common Grazings.
The history of crofting, use of the hills and the clearances on Skye is a truly fascinating rabbit hole to go down. It's messy, intriguing, not-at-all-romantic and at times plain depressing. I won't go into the history in depth here, but if you are interested, I thoroughly recommend reading the 1883 Napier Commission Report into the “conditions of the crofters and cottars in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland”. There you will find voices from the past, who tell of their daily life and frustrations. I was amazed to discover that the tenants in my area were not allowed to keep sheep for nearly forty years at one point, by strict ruling of the landlord. Thankfully, while it can still be complicated and messy, times changed.
The Common Grazings are vast and often without fences, open to the main roads. Residents fence their gardens (or don’t) but otherwise, the sheep roam free. Some townships have cattle grids to stop livestock from completely leaving an area but sheep mostly stay due to their hefting nature and a lot of shepherding. So that is why you will see lots of sheep by the roads as you travel around Skye.