Miabhag/Miavaig
The name Miavaig is from the norse mjo vagr for 'narrow bay', which accurately describes it.
It is located at the head of Valtos Glen and at the short causeway to the Valtos peninsula.
The village was during the last century a hub for Uig, consisting of the pier to which supplies were brought, with a blacksmith, post office, shop (initially on a visiting boat), tearoom and the residence of the Registrar and Inspector of the Poor, who for several decades at the end of the 19th century was James Macrae. Mr Macrae had a large house very near the shore, with an attached storeroom for provisions for the relief of the destitute. The arable land was mostly given over to Mr Macrae as a farm, to supplement his income. Two tenants, Mackay and Gillies, once lived on high ground near the entrance to Glen Valtos, but they moved to Carishader.
The post office – the first in the district – was originally on the main road opposite the end of the pier road, but later moved to the by then redundant police house, opposite the church. The post office is no longer in operation.
At the Disruption the Free Church was built on reclaimed ground here, and a manse was built nearby in Uigen. A Free Presbyterian Church was constructed later, first as a corrugated iron building.
Today there is a working pier with pontoons and moorings, a fishfarm, the surgery and the two churches.
We will be digitaising all of our archives soon…
The archives we have are currently in the Museum. Most of the known genealogy of Miavaig has been documented on Hebridean Connections.
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You can visit our facebook page Uig Historical Society where we will be able to contact you. We have a great facebook family who are always happy to help with anything from dates, photographs and any information regarding Uig.