Colbost - Colbost Croft Museum

Colbost Croft Museum

The Colbost Croft Museum, also known as the Folk Museum, is a simple open air exhibit, set in a garden. At the centre of this simple grassy garden is a perfectly preserved 19th century Hebridean crofter's black house, of which there would have been thousands on Skye before the tragic Highland clearances. The house incorporates dry stone walls and a heather-thatched roof. Inside there is the simple furniture that would have been found in such a cottage as well as newspaper clippings related to the clearances. The smell of smoke is dominant, as there is no chimney to accommodate the open fire - just a hole in the roof. At the back of the garden there is more vegetation and two little huts where produce would have been stored, one of which contains a mock illegal whisky brewing plant. Lying around the garden there are various agricultural tools including an old rusty plow. The self-service ticket office is housed in a small shack with an upturned boat for a roof. Sheep often wander into the garden to graze making this not only an open air museum but also a living museum.