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Overlooking
the Sound of Sleat, this intimate village lies
at the southern end of the Sleat peninsula –
the so-called ‘Garden of Skye’ - close to
Armadale.
It’s a haven for walkers, anglers
and nature lovers, with seals and eagles
patrolling the shoreline. |
Ardvasar Harbour - Photo:
Bob Jones
CCL |
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Armadale Castle - Photo:
Colin Price
CCL |
Located on
the Sleat peninsula, this picturesque port
lies on one of the most fertile farming areas
of Skye. Its ruined 19th century castle has
been partly restored by a trust which has also
created the Museum of the Isles dedicated to
the history of the MacDonalds of Sleat. A
ferry brings visitors here from the mainland
town of Mallaig.
The Sleat peninsula also boasts ruined
Dunscaith Castle, home of the MacDonalds until
the 16th century, and the romantic remains of
Knock Castle. The latter was built by the
MacDonalds’ rivals, the MacLeods, in the 15th
century. |
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| Sorry, no information
currently available. |
View from Lower Breakish across to Beinn
Caillich on the left - Photo:
wfmillar
CCL |
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Broadford Pier -
Photo:
Gordon McKinlay
CCL |
One of Skye’s
most popular tourist centres, Broadford is the
island’s second largest town and was a mere
cattle market until 1812 when the great
engineer Thomas Telford built a road linking
Portree and Kyleakin. Veterans of the
Napoleonic Wars were among the first people to
live here.
An ideal base from which to
explore the island, it boasts two harbours and
is overlooked by the beautiful Red Hills. The
soaring peak of Beinn na Caillich has a cairn
dating to the 13th century containing the
remains of a Norwegian princess. |
Broadford’s main claim to fame
involves the fugitive Bonnie Prince Charlie who
not only hid here after the Jacobite rebellion but
also left a ‘secret’ with his saviours, the
McKinnons. It was the recipe for the popular
tipple Drambuie.
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Shop-free Canna is owned by
the National Trust for Scotland and operated as a
working farm. The main harbour is linked at low
tide to nearby Sanday island. Both were bequeathed
to the National Trust for Scotland in 1981 by the
Gaelic scholar Dr John Lorne Campbell in 1981. He
lived on Canna and Canna House acts as the
repository of his Gaelic archive.
This remote ‘castaway’ island is famous for its
seabirds, including Manx shearwaters and puffins,
and its striking basalt pillars and soaring
cliffs. There are numerous ancient sites on the
island, include nine monuments of national
importance.
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This pretty
village sits on Loch Harport and hosts the
famous Talisker whisky distillery. Built in
1830, it produces Skye’s only single malt and
boasts dramatic views over the Cullin
mountains.
There are many opportunities here
for walking and climbing, activities that
apply to the entire island. |
Carbost Distillery - Photo:
Paul Stone
CCL |
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| Beautifully
situated on Loch Harport, this small village
has spectacular views of the Black Cuillin
mountain range. It was here that one of the
oldest breeds of cairn terrier – the
‘shorthaired Skye terrier’ - was first
introduced to the world by the Highland
sportsman Captain Martin MacLeod. |
Drynoch salt marsh - Photo:
John Allan
CCL |
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Dunvegan Castle - Photo:
Pam Brophy
CCL |
The
fascinating village of Dunvegan lies near the
head of Loch Dunvegan and is a tourist and
trade hub for the northwest region of Skye.
A
former port, it developed around Dunvegan
Castle, one of Scotland’s most important
tourist magnets. The stunning building sits on
a rock and looks out imperiously on the loch
and the nearby hills. |
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Dating to the 13th
century, the imposing castle has been the
ancestral seat of the MacLeod clan since that
time and is even considered the oldest
residence in Scotland to have been
continuously occupied by a single family.
The
castle’s treasures include the famous ‘Fairy
Flag’ – a piece of silk with magical
properties! |
Dunvegan childrens playground -
Photo:
Richard Dorrell
CCL |
An oddity in Dunvegan is a
museum dedicated to Angus MacAskill, reputedly
Scotland’s tallest-ever man. He was 7ft 8
inches tall and weighed 425lb. He died in 1863
at the age of 38 but not before achieving
worldwide fame. After emigrating to America he
made his fortune working in travelling shows.
The town is the gateway to
a region which boasts a number of Iron Age
forts – including Dun Hallin and Dun Fiadhairt
– as well as Skye’s folk museum and a piping
museum.
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Loch Greshornish - Photo:
Kev Duncan
CCL |
A picturesque
and tranquil crafting village at the head of
Loch Greshornish, Edinbane is situated in the
northern part of Skye south of the Waternish
peninsula.
It was created by the well-to-do
Kenneth MacLeod after he had made a fortune in
India. |
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This tiny
island was purchased from its private German
owner in 1997 by the Isle of Eigg Heritage
Trust - a conservation group which included
local crofters, the Highland Council and the
Scottish Wildlife Trust - following a public
appeal. Mains electricity finally arrived in
2008.
Covering a mere 12 square miles, Eigg
was cleared of people in the 19th century to
make way for sheep farming.
Its most remarkable feature is a 1,300ft sheer
rock, the Sgurr of Eigg. The main settlement,
Cleadale, has a ‘singing’ beach which makes a
noise when the dry sand is trampled underfoot. |
The nose an Squrr -
Photo:
Mick Garratt
CCL |
The monastery at Kildonan was
the scene of a famous massacre in the 7th century
when the Irish missionary, St Donan, and his monks
were slaughtered by Pictish women built like
Amazons. In the 16th century the island’s
MacDonald clan was killed by suffocation when
their arch-enemies, the MacLeods, lit a fire at
the entrance of a cave in which had taken refuge.
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Until 1995
Kyleakin was the first place visitors saw of
the Misty Isle after being ferried from the
mainland. Now it is bypassed by the
privately-funded Skye road bridge and has a
pleasing air of tranquility.
The Bright Water
Visitor Centre focuses on the area’s natural
beauty and the importance of the nearby island
of Eilean Ban, one-time home of the author and
conservationist Gavin Maxell whose book on
otters, ‘Ring of Bright Water’, was turned
into a film. |
Kyleakin Harbour -
Photo:
Dave Fergusson
CCL |
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View from Muck over to Isles of Skye and Eigg
- Photo:
Lisa Jarvis
CCL |
Muck only has
a tiny population - many of whom have
journeyed far in search of a quieter way of
life - and measures a mere two miles in
length. Its only road links the main harbour
at Port Mor with a farmstead at Gallanach.
Idyllic and remote, it is noted for its
wildlife – including seals and porpoises – and
depends on ferries from the mainland for its
provisions, although it has a modern school.
Pupils over 12 years of age have to continue
their education as boarders on the mainland.
Electricity comes from wind power. |
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The
spectacular capital of Skye, Portree has a
natural harbour, dramatic scenery and is the
hub of the island’s tourist trade, offering
facilities for shopping and evening
entertainment. Sheltering at the mouth of a
bay on the Sound of Raasay, it makes the
perfect base for those wishing to explore
Skye’s various charms.
The Edinburgh-born engineer Thomas Telford
designed Portree’s pier and the town’s name –
meaning port of the king - may be related to
King James V of Scotland who traveled to Skye
in 1540. |
Portree Harbour - Photo:
Norrie Adamson
CCL |
The Royal Hotel is reputedly
the site of an old inn where Flora MacDonald bade
farewell to Bonnie Prince Charlie as he fled to
France after his humiliation at the Battle of
Culloden in 1746.
The Portree Highland Games are staged here each
summer. The 13-mile island of Raasay can be
visited via a local ferry.
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Brochel Castle - Photo:
Chris Mclean
CCL |
Wild and so
far unspoiled, this 15-mile island lies off
Skye’s east coast and still echoes with the
horrors of one of the most shocking chapters
in British history. After the fugitive Bonnie
Prince Charlie had been secreted here by the
ruling MacLeods following the failure of the
1745 Jacobite rebellion, government troops
sacked the island, destroying every house in
their path. Then in the 19th century came the
potato famine, the sale of the island by the
last member of the MacLeod family and,
finally, the Highland clearances. |
Today’s Raasay is tranquil
once again and attracts visitors drawn by both the
island’s history and its evocative landscape.
Brochel Castle – once home to the McLeod of Raasay
– is now a romantic ruin while Raasay House,
another McLeod residence, has been transformed
into a hotel complex. Dr Johnson and his friend
James Boswell stayed here on a visit to the island
in 1773. Dun Borodale is an Iron Age broch.
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This is a
real-life ‘castaway’ island with a picturesque
harbour and a handful of holiday cottages.
Just a few miles long, it lies north of Raasay
and was abandoned by its inhabitants in 1922,
only to be bought by a Danish ecologist who
introduced deer and made sure there was modern
accommodation available for holidaymakers.
Maintained by a resident caretaker, the
private island is an oasis of peace and is
replete with fauna and flora. A local cave
once used as a church can still be visited.
Day visitors receive a warm welcome. |
Rona Lighthouse -
Photo:
Calum McRoberts
CCL |
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Kinloch Castle - Photo:
John Allan
CCL |
Probably the
most spectacular of the Small Isles, Rum is
now a nature reserve run by Scottish National
Heritage. Formerly the private, sporting
estate of the wealthy industrialist John
Bullough, and later his son George, it was
purchased in 1957 and is a wildlife habitat of
international significance. The island has its
own range of mountains as well as the world’s
first wind-powered telephone exchange.
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Rum was where sea eagles were reintroduced
to Scotland and is at the centre of extensive
research into red deer. All of its 30 or so
inhabitants live in the village of Kinloch,
site of the Bullough family’s former Edwardian
mansion Kinloch Castle. The island has the earliest
evidence of human occupation in Scotland. Humans
were living here at least 10,000 years ago. In
common with other members of the Small Isles,
Rum’s people were forced to emigrate to make way
for sheep in the 19th century. Today’s visitors
arrive by ferry from Mallaig on the mainland.
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View across to Meal Na Suiramach in the
background - Photo:
John Allan
CCL |
Situated on a
sweeping bay, this picturesque fishing village
is surrounded by the splendid scenery of the
Trotternish peninsula and lies close to the
Quirang, an area of strange rock formations
and pinnacles. One of its most notable
features is The Needle, a 120ft pinnacle. The
160ft black basalt column known as the Old Man
of Storr lies south on the road to Portree.
The bay is famous for its dinosaur
footprints and has yielded numerous dinosaur
fossils, some of which can be seen at the
community-run Staffin Museum.
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Surrounded by
rugged scenery, Struan is a small village on
Skye’s west coast straddling the shoreline of
Loch Beag.
Nearby is one of the best-preserved
Iron Age broch forts in Scotland, Dun Beag.
The ancient, round-tower fortress was built
around 100 BC. |
Dun Deag Broch -
Photo:
Richard Dorrell
CCLl |
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Situated on
the western coastline of the Waternish
peninsula, this remote village has gone down
in Scottish history as notorious, as the place
where a bitter clan feud led to two massacres
in the space of a day.
They happened in 1579
in Trumpan’s now ruined church when members of
the MacDonald clan set fire to the building,
sealing the fate of their rivals, the MacLeods,
as they worshipped inside. The sole survivor,
a young girl, raised the alarm and the rest of
the MacLeods arrived to extract revenge on the
MacDonalds before they could make good their
escape. |
Trumpan Church Ruins -
Photo:
Dave Fergusson
CCL |
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Uig Bay - Photo:
Andrew McLean
CCL |
Situated on
the western shore of the Trotternish
peninsula, this spectacular coastal town and
ferry terminal offers sea-crossings to the
Isle of Harris. The magic of Scotland is
symbolised in the nearby Faerie Glen which
contains a stone circle.
North of Uig is the fascinating village of
Kilmuir which plays host to the must-see
Museum of Island life, housed in a series of
thatched cottages. Kilmuir is also the burial
place of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s serving woman
Flora McDonald. Beyond the village are the
romantic ruins of Duntulum Castle, built by
the McDonald clan on the site of an old Celtic
fort. |
The islands of Canna, Rum,
Eigg and Muck are usually reached by the ferry the
MV Lochnevis which operates a pattern of services
from Mallaig calling at two, three or all four of
the islands on six days of the week.
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