The settlement of Heaste [Heast/Heasta/Heist] sits at the end of a single track road five miles to the west of Broadford, the second largest town on the Isle of Skye. The settlement sits either side of the track as it runs down to Loch Eishort.

Heaste is an unassuming settlement of fourteen crofts; the fourteenth was added in 2017. Many Skye residents have never even visited Heaste. To reach the settlent one has to climb the bleak slopes of Benin nan Carn before descending towards Heaste and finally Loch Eishort.

Although Heaste is, on the surface, an unassuming settlement it has proved to be a fascinating case study.

When tracing the history of Heaste it quickly became apparent that the data available varied enormously across time. There was very little documentary information available up to the mid eighteen century, although there were some archeological remains on the ground. However, thereafter the documentary information became increasingly abundant as estates and parishes began to keep systematic records, the Ordnance Survey introduced standardised mapping systems, and numerous surveys and statistical accounts of the Highlands and Islands were undertaken.

As a result historical study provides a particularly rich picture of nineteenth century Heaste which compliments the more generalised studies of the Highlands and Islands written by academics such as Alexander Fenton, Tom Devine, James Hunter and Robert A. Dodgshon.