History
Eight thousand years on one island
A timeline of the island
Follow the line as it grows
Neolithicc. 4000 BC
The first islanders
North Uist has been settled since Neolithic times. The stone circle at Pobull Fhinn and the chambered burial cairn at Barpa Langass still stand on the island, and excavations at Udal have traced 8,000 years of continuous settlement.
9th centuryAD ~800
Kingdom of the Isles
From the 9th century, North Uist fell under Norse rule as part of the Viking Kingdom of the Isles, before being ceded to the Scottish crown under the 1266 Treaty of Perth.
1495–1855
The Macdonalds of Sleat
The island was granted to the Macdonalds of Sleat in 1495 and remained in the family for three and a half centuries, until 1855.
1855–1961
Orde and Campbell-Orde
Later owners Sir John Powlett Orde and Sir Arthur Campbell-Orde began re-establishing crofting tenure on the island, laying the groundwork for the system still in place today.
1961–present
The Granville family
In 1961, the 5th Earl and Countess Granville bought the Estate. The Granville (Leveson-Gower) family still lives on North Uist and still has a hand in running it day to day, now into its third generation.
Meet the Estate
Still a family home, not just a family name
Plenty of Scottish sporting estates changed hands again and again through the twentieth century. North Uist didn’t. Since the 5th Earl and Countess Granville bought the Estate in 1961, the Leveson-Gower family has lived on the island itself, not managed it from a distance.
You can see that in how the Estate runs today: a resident family, a long-serving Estate Factor, guides and keepers who have worked the ground for decades, and an Estate Office that knows the island well. North Uist is also home to 400-plus tenant crofters, whose tenancy matters go directly through the Crofting Commission (opens in a new tab).
Parts of North Uist are designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest for their plant, animal and marine life.
Ready when you are
Plan your trip to North Uist
Got your dates, or still deciding? Tell us what you'd like to do and we'll put a trip together around the fishing, stalking, wildfowling or wildlife that suits you.
- Run by the same family since 1961
- Local guides and keepers who know the ground
- A reply within one working day