Saucy Mary

Children at Kyleakin Primary School celebrated a colourful local character through a 'star story'. Saucy Mary was a Norwegian Princess who reputedly married into the Mackinnon clan and became resident at Castle Moil. She was infamous for running a chain between Kyleakin and Kyle to extract tolls from passing boats.

The children's version of the story had her doing this to pay for her precious pints of beer at the bar each night, with the horns on her Viking helmet visibly growing at each new bag of coins extracted. But angry fishermen pulled up her chain and fed it into a local whirlpool, where the resident sea monster rose up and spat it into the skies. It can still be seen at night today acting as a reminder to residents on each side of the water never to pay tolls again!





The view from Kyle of Lochalsh Primary School, with the bridge linking them to Kyleakin (now toll-free) far left.