For centuries blackhouses have been the homes of people of Highland Scotland, the Hebrides, and other parts of the (Gaelic) world. They provided shelter to both man and beast, all under the same roof.
Blackhouses do not have a chimney and given the fact, a peat fire that was kept on at all times, the houses had quite a distinct smell. Keeping the peat fire going was important as the smoke not only killed bugs, it also preserved the thatch roof.
The blackhouse at no. 42 Arnol is kept in the state it was in when the last occupants left in 1966(!) It gives you a fine taste of how one used to live in those days. Though the smell of peat is quite pervasive, you get used to it quite quickly, allowing you to take in the atmosphere and imagine actually living there.
Going with modern times, people gradually left their blackhouses for “normal” homes, the so called whitehouses. The whitehouse at no. 39 Arnol was first occupied in 1930 (by the people living in the blackhouse situated next to it) and is left pretty much in the state it was in when the last resident moved-out in 1976.
