Shiel Bridge & Glenelg

The village of Glenelg is located in the north west Highlands, on the mainland close to Skye. It is reached by a high and narrow road from Shiel Bridge on the A87, or you can take a ferry from Kylerhea on Skye.

The village itself is tiny, and there is not a lot to see or do. There is a small local shop, selling general groceries, but worth popping into if you fancy some local produce. They stock local meat and cheese. The cheese is from the Achmore Dairy, and seeing as the dairy itself is never open (despite claiming to be open 10-4 every day – trust me, my parents have tried several times to visit), this may be your best chance to try their products! There is also a small local craft shop which is run by the same family who run the village store, and again it is worth popping into although it is nothing special and not worth the trip just to visit it.

As you drive into the village on the road which comes over the hill from Shiel Bridge, you can spot an old stone ruined building on the right hand side through the trees. This is what remains of the Bernera Barracks, one of several built in the early eighteenth century by the Hanoverian government, with the purpose of housing soldiers to suppress the Jacobite uprisings. The importance of the location at Glenelg is that from there the soldiers could control the crossing to Skye at Kylerhea.

The barracks are in ruins now, but the external structure is more of less intact. You can get quite close to the barracks, but they are fenced off so you can’t actually get inside the ruin. The walls are fairly stable but unsecured, so for safety reasons visitors can’t go inside.

At the opposite end of the village, as you are heading towards the Pictish Brochs (see separate review), there is the Glenelg Inn. It is a very pretty one storey whitewashed building, complete with ivy growing on the walls. It is another of these places however which doesn’t seem to be open much! We didn’t try on this trip, but my parents have looked before and never found it open.

Although not in the village itself, Glenelg has a small harbour where you can catch the ferry across to Kylerhea on Skye. The harbour is accessed along a very narrow road so is not suitable for larger vehicles, can I think the ferry itself only holds around 6 cars/vans. We didn’t go on the ferry, but we watched it cross to Skye and back. It isn’t anything fancu, just a flat bed with a fence round it and a wheelhouse. The bed of the ferry moves so they can turn it to meet the dock. However, the best thing about watching the ferry is the captains dogs! There were two collies running all over the boat, round the outside of the fence and barking at the waves! They seemed to be having the time of their lives going mad – and they looked like they would be doing it all day!

Glenelg is worth a visit once you take into account everything that is on offer there. The road over from Shiel Bridge has some stunning views, the Pictish Brochs are very interesting, and the village is good for pottering around. If you are in the area and have the time, I would definitely recommend heading over for an afternoon.

During our recent trip to the Skye & Lochalsh region, my parents and I decided we would visit the village of Glenelg and the Pictish Brochs. In order to get there, we had to drive over a very high, very windy and very narrow road. You can get onto this road from close by the village of Shiel Bridge on the A87, it is signposted for Glenelg.

We took the turn off and very soon the road started climbing through thick pine forest. At this point there wasn’t a great deal to see, but once we got about halfway to the top, we stopped at a viewpoint on the right hand side where we had a great view of Loch Duich and the village of Shiel Bridge. It was however rather chilly up high so we soon got back into the car and carried on!

A little further on there was another viewpoint, but we didn’t stop at this on the way to Glenelg. Before too long we were over the crest of the hill and descending into Glenelg. The first stretch of the road which was snaking down the side of the glen was encased in pine forest, but it soon opened out.

The road at this point was very narrow, single track only with passing places. As we looked down into Glenelg we could see a caravan site on the bottom of the glen. My parents are keen caravanners, and my dad is very experienced when it comes to towing, but both of them balked somewhat at the thought of taking a caravan down that road!

The view from the road descending into the glen was beautiful. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but the patchwork of fields spread out below was a lovely, peaceful view. It was however a little nerve-wracking peering out of the car window with a steep drop down the side of the glen to the bottom!

As we got further down the road towards the village of Glenelg, we noticed large static caravans. In all seriousness, how those things got there I do not know.

We reached the village of Glenelg, and had a potter around there, went to visit the brochs and went to the harbour where the ferry to Skye goes from. After that, we turned and head back along the road we had come on.

Oddly, the return journey seemed to take less time than the way there. I admired the same views of Glenelg, but the stand out point of the return journey, and of the whole drive, was stopping at the viewpoint that we had ignored on the way over the hill.

This viewpoint had a small car park on one side of the road, and a bench and viewing sign on the other. My dad and I left my mum in the car (it was too cold for her!) and we crossed the road to the viewpoint itself. There we were greeted by an absolutely astounding view, which I could have stared at all day – the mountains known as the Five Sisters of Kintail spread out in a row above Loch Duich and the village of Glen Shiel. The sign helpfully showed silhouettes of each peak and named them for us, although my dad being a keen walker we didn’t actually need that. The view was simply stunning, and even though the weather was dull the mountains looked absolutely beautiful. As it was cold however we couldn’t stand there all day!

The road to Glenelg really was a great surprise – it’s not just a means to an end, it’s worth driving for itself. And it is certainly worth driving for that view of the Five Sisters – that view was one of the highlights of my holiday, never mind just a highlight of the day.

Whilst driving from Inverness to Balmacara, the small village we stayed in on our recent holiday in Skye & Lochalsh, my parents pointed out a cute whitewashed pub in Glen Shiel, called the Cluanie Inn, in an absolutely stunning setting in the bottom of the high sided glen. It is located on the A87, the Road to the Isles - the road from Inverness, through the Great Glen and onto Skye, and beyond via ferry.

My parents told me they had eaten there before and it was fantastic. So a few days into our holiday we decided to go there for lunch - this was the main plan of the day, as it was going to be a special lunch and it was about 45 minutes drive from our cottage.

On the way there, my mum was going on about the wonderful menu, all the Scottish dishes on it and the interesting combinations - she told me several times about the black pudding and goats cheese dish she had had last year. My dad was looking forward to the local real ales on offer. I was just hungry.

When we reached the inn, my dad thought it was a great idea to have a little walk into the glen before lunch. The temperature was 6C - having come from London in a warm September, I was pretty cold. But off we went. The walk lasted about five minutes. My teeth were chattering in the wind, and seeing signs warning of a deer cull in progress I refused to go any further. So off we went for lunch.

We knew that since my parents last visit a year ago, the inn had changed hands. It had had an excellent reputation under the previous management, so we were keen to see if it was still as good.

The interior of the inn is quite typical Scottish country pub. Tartan carpets, prints of paintings like the Monarch of the Glen on the wall, all accompanied by a good if bizarrely mixed soundtrack of Scottish music- ranging from traditional pibroch to accordion ceilidh tunes to Runrig and the Red Hot Chili Pipers. The bar was clean and appeared well maintained, with a variety of table sizes and a nice big window at the front. There are two parrots in a large cage in the hall, African Greys I think, which were squawking a lot.

Things got off to a bad start. My dad went to the bar to order drinks - an ale for him, lemonade for me and coffee for my mum. He asked for a pint of Hebridean Ale, but before he could take a taste he knew it was off from the smell. So he asked for a pint of Red Cuillen - which wasn't so whiffy but in his words was "barely drinkable". My lemonade was warm and flat. My mum's coffee was fine though.

With our disappointing drinks in front of us, we had a look at the menu. Immediately we could see this was not up to the standards of what my parents had experienced at the Cluanie previously. The menu was printed on a folded and slightly ratty piece of A4 paper, which didn't bode well. The food on offer looked fine - light bites such as sandwiches, toasties and baked tatties, alongside more substantial dishes such as fish and chips and haggis. But it was all fairly standard, there was nothing different or special here, yet the prices were a little higher than you would expect.

We decided to just have a lighter lunch than planned, given that the main menu wasn't that exciting. I chose a cheese and bean baked tattie, my dad went for a BLT and my mum had the leek and tattie soup. When the food came, there really was nothing wrong with it - but it was boring. I could have had the same baked tattie from the café in my office building, and for less than half the price. The same with the sandwich and soup - they were fine, but very ordinary. This was a real letdown for my parents, as they had really loved the Cluanie under the previous owners, and it was a bit of a let down for me, but less so as I hadn't been there before.

The prices for our meals were £6.50 for the baked tattie, £5.25 for the sandwich and £3.75 for the soup. Certainly the baked tattie and the sandwich should have been priced lower, although around £4 is the going rate for soup in pubs I think. The main meals on the menu were almost all over £10, which is high even for a tourist area - and given that the lighter meals we had weren't worth the prices, I'd guess the main meals may well be the same.

The service at the Cluanie Inn wasn't bad, but it could have been better. There seemed to be one girl working the bar and waitressing, which seemed odd for lunchtime - there were quite a few people in. She was very friendly, but personally I thought she was a little overfamiliar - too chatty, and a bit too informal. That said, the service was reasonably quick, and she certainly wasn't rude.

The Cluanie Inn probably makes its money from a mix of passing trade and locals travelling for a special meal. However, given the quality now compared to what it used to be, business will be falling - we heard from the lady who owned the cottage we were staying in that a hotel further down the glen was doing very well since the new owners took over at the Cluanie.

My dad is a keen hillwalker, and told me that the Cluanie Inn used to be a favourite spot for a post-climb pint with walkers, being very close to numerous Munroes, including the Five Sisters of Kintail. He even pointed out the area which used to be where all the climbers would sit with a pint after a day on the hills - but now it seems to just be another part of the lounge bar. His observation was that if the Cluanie Inn always offers off real ales like he experienced, they will soon lose the custom of the walkers - why would anyone go there for a well earned pint if the beer is off??

I was very disappointed by the Cluanie Inn, given what I had been told about it by my parents, and also from the look of the place. It's a lovely building in a stunning location, and the interior is well looked after. But the owners really need to buck up their ideas about what to serve and what to charge. Skye & Lochalsh is an area my parents visit annually, and the Cluanie Inn has certainly lost their custom after this last visit.

Beyond the village of Glenelg, tucked away in the glen, are the remains of a number of Pictish Brochs. Glenelg is located in the north west Highlands, reached either by road a rather windy narrow road signposted from the A87 at Shiel Bridge or by ferry from the Isle of Skye. The Brochs are signposted from the village of Glenelg. They are owned and maintained by Historic Scotland.

The Picts were a confederation of tribes living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland before the Roman conquest of Britain until the 10th century. Pictland (or Pictavia) gradually absorbed the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata (or Dalriada) to form the Kingdom of Alba. Glenelg is located on the northern edge of what was Dál Riata.

A broch is a hollow walled, round stone structure which is only found in Scotland. It was roofed, and used to house people and animals, and had areas for cooking and work, for example weaving.

There are two well preserved brochs in Glenelg, along with a few more which are barely recognisable. The two which are in good condition are a couple of miles from the village. Access is along a very narrow road. There is no defined parking, just a lay by beside each broch – they are about a mile apart.

The first broch is Dun Telve. There are two information boards, which are really interesting. They show artists impressions of what the broch was probably like when it was lived in over 2000 years ago, which are very helpful as the internal timber structure is no longer there.

The broch is not intact. About half of the external wall survives, and only a small part of the staircase which ran inside the wall. It is however an excellent example of a broch, the only one more complete is on Shetland. In some ways I found the fact that only half the external wall is standing made it easier to see the structure of the broch, as I could see the two external walls and where the stairs had been.

The second broch is Dun Troddan. It is a little further up the glen, and again there is only a lay by to park in. It is worth pointing out that while Dun Telve is on the same level as the road, Dun Troddan is up a short but steep slope from the road and so may not be accessible to all.

Overall, Dun Troddan is in a similar condition to Dun Telve. There are information boards, and half the external walls remain standing. There is however a good section of stairway remaining which is still in excellent condition so you can climb up it.

I really enjoyed visiting the brochs, as I found them fascinating. These are structures which were built 2000 years ago, and yet they are more or less still standing. In fact, the reason they are not completely intact is because the stones were used in the 18th century by the locals to build houses. Had they been left to nature they would likely be intact.

There is no charge to visit the brochs, and as access is not controlled they are open 24 hours a day, and every day of the year.

Shiel Bridge is a very small village located at the head of Loch Shiel. It is on the A87 Road to The Isles, and so if you are heading to Kyle of Lochalsh or on to Skye and beyond, you will pass through it.

There is not a great deal to actually do in Shiel Bridge. There are two places to eat, The Jac-O-Bite and the Kintail Hotel, both of which have reasonable prices and are recommended. The Kintail Hotel is of a higher standard, and is a nice place to go for a more special occasion. The Jac-O-Bite is popular with walkers and climbers after a tough day on the hills. Both of these are located on the roadside, so you see them as you pass through.

Alongside the Jac-O-Bite is a shop which advertises itself as a souvenir and craft shop. It is a very strange place. It has a selection of extremely tacky Scottish souvenirs, cheap handbags and gloves, a small selection of CDs and books, and a large sections of antiques/bric-a-brac. I say antiques or bric-a-brac because although it looks like junk, you might actually find something worthwhile in the stacks of china, ornaments and other strange items. The shop also seems to like playing the worst imaginable Scottish music – not bagpipes or traditional, but that really twee rubbish which some people seem to think tourists from overseas enjoy. All Scots hate this kind of music, and I’d like to appeal to those from abroad who visit our country – we make better music than you hear in the souvenir shops! Seek it out!

What I like most about Shiel Bridge is the views. From the small car park outside the Jac-O-Bite and the strange shop you can look right down the glen in the direction of Eilean Donan Castle. While I was there the weather wasn’t very clear, but I think that even on a clear day you would be able to see the castle as it is round a corner of the glen. However, the view without the castle is still beautiful.

Shiel Bridge is located in the shadow of the Five Sisters of Kintail, but unfortunately as the village is located right at the foot of the mountains, you cannot get a good view from it. The best place to view the Five Sisters from is on the road to Glenelg, but that is a story for another day.

Shiel Bridge is not a place where you can while away hours, but it is certainly somewhere I would advise stopping at en route somewhere else. You can have some good food, but even if you are not hungry it is worth stopping in the car park to check out the views.