Duirinish Byres, Western Range

Duirinish (Norse: headland of the deer) Straddling a burn in linear plan, this is one of a number of crofting and fishing settlements cut off by the railway from the sea. The village is approached from the east on a steep, rubble ramp. This abuts onto a tall, turf-coped bridge, 1826, which stands above the village like a viaduct. Most of the houses here started life as simple thatched cottages, 'improved' by the Mathesons of Duncraig in the later 19th century. But Duirinish's most memorable feature is the survival of its traditional barns - at least one to almost every house, with a group of about 15 - known as 'the sheds' - arranged about a green at the village's west end. Concern persists as to the future survival of this unique group of single-storey structures, which are mostly drystone with louvred sides, corrugated iron replacing their original thatch.

Taken from "Western Seaboard: An Illustrated Architectural Guide", by Mary Miers, 2008. Published by the Rutland Press http://www.rias.org.uk