Talisker

Talisker was for centuries a possession of the Clan Macleod. For nearly two hundred years it was associated with a cadet branch of the chiefly line, founded by Sir Roderick Macleod, 1st of Talisker (1606-1675). Sir Roderick was the second son of Rory Mor Macleod (d.1626) and Isabel, daughter of Donald Macdonell, 8th of Glengarry. Along with his brother, Sir Norman Macleod of Bernera, he was knighted in 1661 for his services to the royalist cause. He married first a daughter of Lord Reay and secondly Mary, daughter of Lachlan Og Mackinnon of Mackinnon. John Macleod, 2nd of Talisker, who died in about 1700 was the subject of an elegy, Cumha do Fhear Thalasgair (“Lament for the Laird of…

NatureScot has designated Talisker as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The designation is based in part on Talisker's geological features (described above), but in part also on the presence of two rare species of Zygaenidae, the Talisker burnet moth and the transparent burnet moth.

Talisker Farm now extends to 2475 acre. The house, a handsome Georgian mansion, stands among old trees, just to the west of its 17th-century predecessor. Begun in 1717, it was much extended in the 18th and 19th centuries. It has been listed since 1971 with the following description:<blockquote> It has an early-18th-century core with later additions; harled, ashlar dressings. It has two storeys and attic, 6 wide bays; 2-bay piended projecting wing to front (west) elevation with porch in left re-entrant, a single-storey addition with 5 long multi-pane windows in right re-entrant and bow window to centre of wing; it has crenellated parapets, 5 piended dormers with decoratively carved wood…