The Isle of Skye

The Pull of the Mountains

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The Cuillen Photo - Scotland, United Kingdom

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The Isle of Skye is somewhere I have wanted to visit my whole life, but have never had the chance. The Scottish Isles for me have a sort of mystique about them, the isolation and the tradition they have, but Skye has always been the one I’ve wanted to go to. I think a lot of it has to do with my favourite band, Runrig, being from there – their songs are often about the landscape they grew up in, and they even have a song called Skye. Finally, at the end of September this year, I went to the island with my parents. Having been staying on the mainland for several days in rubbish weather, the first remotely decent day we had we jumped in the car and shot across the bridge, as they knew how ex...Read More

The Isle of Skye is somewhere I have wanted to visit my whole life, but have never had the chance. The Scottish Isles for me have a sort of mystique about them, the isolation and the tradition they have, but Skye has always been the one I’ve wanted to go to. I think a lot of it has to do with my favourite band, Runrig, being from there – their songs are often about the landscape they grew up in, and they even have a song called Skye.

Finally, at the end of September this year, I went to the island with my parents. Having been staying on the mainland for several days in rubbish weather, the first remotely decent day we had we jumped in the car and shot across the bridge, as they knew how excited I was to go to the island, and we didn’t want to miss the best weather we were likely to have (best in this sense is mainly dry with showers, and clouds high enough that we could see some of the views).

We visited the town of Broadford, and then headed further north on the road to Portree. My parents had told me to keep looking at the views, so I was getting rather excited at this point at the prospect of finally seeing the famous Cuillen mountain ranges.

This was my favourite part of our day on Skye. On the road from Broadford to Portree we could see the Cuillens and the separate mountains Glamaig and Bla Bheinn. The best view is from Sligachan, which is basically just a pub and campsite at the end of the sea loch of Loch Sligachan, all sitting in the shadow of the incredible mountains. The closest to Sligachan is Sgurr Alasdair, but you can see much of the ridge, and you can see through to Bla Bheinn further south. The campsite at Sligachan looks amazing, to look out of your tent or caravan every morning at that view would be incredible. The campsite and the pub are very popular with climbers wanting to do the Cuillen, but they are for serious and experienced climbers only – my dad has been hillwalking for many years, and he has only done one of the twelve Munroes Skye has to offer.

The views just took my breath away, I really could have looked at the mountains all day. I’ve travelled a lot within Scotland, although this was my first time on one of the islands, but I can truly say no landscape has moved me as much as the landscape of Skye did. I’m not from the area but there was something about that place that made me feel like I was home. I can’t explain it; even now while I think back on it I feel a kind of pull to the landscape of Skye.

Later in the day we headed north from Portree, so that I could see the famous Old Man Of Storr. This is a pillar of rock which stands out from the mountains, and is really quite striking. Unfortunately by this time the rain and mist had come back, but I still got a reasonable view of it. On the road my mum, who is now fairly immobile, was happily pointing out the ridges she had climbed with my dad back in 1980, which was odd as I didn’t know her back in her hillwalking days – I knew she had as I inherited her boots, but it was odd to see her remembering the views!

I loved my day on the island, the landscape really touched me – perhaps it was better I visited as an adult rather than a child as I probably appreciated it more. I really loved it, and I intend to go back one day – hopefully when it’s sunny!
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Portree

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Attraction | "Pottering around Portree"

Portree Harbour Photo - Portree, Scotland

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Portree is what you could call the "capital" of Skye. It is the main town on the island, and the largest in the area, even bigger I believe than Kyle of Lochalsh on the mainland. I would expect all visitors to Skye to visit Portree, and here is what I got up to on my visit there earlier this year.My parents and I had driven to Skye from Balmacara on the mainland, and having visited Broadford and Kyleakin, we continued on the road north to Portree. On the way there we stopped on a few occasions to gawp at the views, but that’s a story for another day.On the way into Portree, we stopped at the Aros Centre on the outskirts of the town, a kind of cultural centre with cinema, art ga...Read More

Portree is what you could call the "capital" of Skye. It is the main town on the island, and the largest in the area, even bigger I believe than Kyle of Lochalsh on the mainland. I would expect all visitors to Skye to visit Portree, and here is what I got up to on my visit there earlier this year.

My parents and I had driven to Skye from Balmacara on the mainland, and having visited Broadford and Kyleakin, we continued on the road north to Portree. On the way there we stopped on a few occasions to gawp at the views, but that’s a story for another day.

On the way into Portree, we stopped at the Aros Centre on the outskirts of the town, a kind of cultural centre with cinema, art gallery and exhibitions, along with a shop and café.

From Aros we went into Portree itself. Skye is a popular tourist destination, although it hasn’t been ruined by it, so Portree has plenty of tourist friendly shops. Pottery, jewellery, local foods, books, tourist tat and a brilliant little music shop which only sells Scottish music and instruments. My dad loves this shop, and always makes a point of buying a CD there. I had a good look through their Runrig CDs to see if there was anything on limited release they might have – none, unfortunately! There is a good choice of shops to browse through, which can keep you busy for around an hour if you’re just wandering, perhaps longer for the more serious shopper!

There are plenty of cafes and eateries should you want to stop for something to eat, but we didn’t sample any as we had eaten at the Aros Centre – which I can recommend, but have written about it separately. There is also a small supermarket in the centre of the town if you need to pick up some supplies, ideal if you have plans to do some walking.

The harbour of Portree is worth a visit. It is below the main part of the town, down a steep little lane, but worth a look as the buildings there are painted in a variety of bright colours. It isn’t quite as striking as the seafront of Tobermory (better known as Balamory from the CBBC show), but it is very pretty. There are a few hotels and shops here, but most of the shops are up in the main part of the town. As I say access is down a steep little, or there are stairs, (I’d guess close to 30), so not ideal for those with low mobility.

Portree is worth stopping at, both for practical and enjoyment reasons. It’s an ideal spot to have something to eat or a rest if you are planning outdoor activity, but it’s also just a nice place to while away a few hours. It’s pretty and has a nice selection of shops.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on November 24, 2009

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Off the Beaten Track on Skye

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Bla Bheinn Photo - Scotland, United Kingdom

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On my recent visit to Skye with my parents, we decided to go slightly off the beaten track and venture west from Broadford across to other side of the island, and the village of Elgol. This was something new for all of us, because although my parents had visited Skye several times before (it was my first visit), they had never gone to Elgol.From Broadford, we took the road signposted to go across the island to Elgol. The road was about 15 miles, but it took us 45 minutes each way – it is single track, with blind summits all over the place, although there were plenty of passing places. We took it quite slow and steady – my mum is a nervous passenger and my dad felt more comfortable taking i...Read More

On my recent visit to Skye with my parents, we decided to go slightly off the beaten track and venture west from Broadford across to other side of the island, and the village of Elgol. This was something new for all of us, because although my parents had visited Skye several times before (it was my first visit), they had never gone to Elgol.

From Broadford, we took the road signposted to go across the island to Elgol. The road was about 15 miles, but it took us 45 minutes each way – it is single track, with blind summits all over the place, although there were plenty of passing places. We took it quite slow and steady – my mum is a nervous passenger and my dad felt more comfortable taking it easy on a tricky road he didn’t know.

The scenery for the first part of the journey was good, as is all scenery on Skye, but not spectacular. We were in a flat floored glen, with a lot of trees and small lochs around us. We could see the Cuillens but it wasn’t the best view we’d had. However, we soon passed through a very small hamlet, where we were held up by some cattle, and then the views changed.

This was about halfway to Elgol, and we stopped for a photo opportunity. We were right below Bla Bheinn, which has an impressive spiky ridged summit (some obscured by cloud), on the shore of a sea loch. From this point photos of the mountain have a small white house in the foreground, recognisable to anyone who has ever looked at a book about the Munroes, as they almost all feature photos of Bla Bheinn with the wee white house in front! So we had to take our own photos with the wee white house…

We continued on the road to Elgol once we had taken our photos, and it got even hairier. It was just as narrow as it had been from Broadford, but now it was hilly, and had lots of blind summits. It was made worse by the fact that of course the locals know the road, so they appeared (to us) to be taking it very fast.

We finally reached Elgol. Elgol itself is very small, but it has a couple of cafes, shops and some cute thatched holiday cottages. We went right to the end of the village, which is a viewpoint. From there we could see across the see to the islands of Rum and Canna, which was an amazing view. Annoyingly Canna appeared to be bathed in sunlight, which was irritating as Skye was a bit dreich at this point. We could also see the end of the Cuillen range, and the small island of Soay, one of the writer Gavin Maxwell’s haunts.

My visit to Skye was the first time I had been on one of the islands, despite being Scottish and living there for the first 23 years of my life, so that view of Rum and Canna was quite special to me, as it allowed me to feel I’d seen more than just the one island. It really was the perfect weather for the view, because although it was damp on Skye, the clouds were clear enough out to sea to give us a slightly hazy but bright view of the other islands.

From Elgol we headed back across the island to Broadford, with a brief stop for sheep rush hour, and then it was time to leave Skye. I’m so glad we decided to turn off the main tourist route and visit Elgol, because there are some beautiful views, and I really felt like I’d seen Skye as it is to the locals.
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Kyleakin & Broadford

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Attraction | "The First Stops on Skye"

View from Broadford pier Photo - Scotland, United Kingdom

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Skye is located off the north west coast of Scotland, in the Atlantic Ocean . The nearest town on the mainland is Kyle of Lochalsh, to which trains run from Inverness, or it can be reached by road on the A87. My parents and I started our day trip driving over the Skye Bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh to Kyleakin. The bridge is toll free these days, but is somehow lacking in the misty notions of the boat trip Over The Sea To Skye. From the bridge when the weather is clear you have a beautiful view up the coast of Skye and into the Cuillen mountain range.From Kyle you can see the village of Kyleakin , which is where the ferry from the mainland used to dock. Kyleakin is a small villag...Read More

Skye is located off the north west coast of Scotland, in the Atlantic Ocean . The nearest town on the mainland is Kyle of Lochalsh, to which trains run from Inverness, or it can be reached by road on the A87.

My parents and I started our day trip driving over the Skye Bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh to Kyleakin. The bridge is toll free these days, but is somehow lacking in the misty notions of the boat trip Over The Sea To Skye. From the bridge when the weather is clear you have a beautiful view up the coast of Skye and into the Cuillen mountain range.

From Kyle you can see the village of Kyleakin , which is where the ferry from the mainland used to dock. Kyleakin is a small village, and without the ferry it is now effectively bypassed, as you don't need to enter the village from the bridge if you are heading to the larger towns of Broadford and Portree, or to the mountains. Kyleakin has several shops and cafes, and it still has its small harbour (in which I saw a boat called Eilidh...not sure if that's a good thing or not that a boat has my name!). Beside the harbour is the Bright Water Visitor Centre, which is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the famous otter population of the area, notably on the small island of Eilean Ban , which the author and otter lover Gavin Maxwell lived on for a time. We had a quick look around, but it's really more for young children, and it is quite educational.

We continued on to Broadford, further north. From the road we could see the famous Cuillen range of mountains, some of the more challenging Munroes, and we could see the Isle of Scalpay, which lies off Skye's east coast.

Broadford is a small town or large village, with a few shops and, bizarrely, the Skye Serpentarium. I say bizarrely because a snake house just isn't the kind of tourist attraction I would expect to find on Skye. Anyway, we stopped in Broadford and had a look at a few shops.

Skye Jewellery is well worth a look, although it is pricey. They have a lot of locally inspired ranges, all named after parts of the famous island and its mountains - Blaven, Marsco and Cuillen being examples. But be warned, it isn't cheap - I was drawn to plain silver pendants of the outline of Skye, and even they were £160. To my mum's annoyance, my dad had waited outside - so she picked up a brochure to leave lying around for him...

The other shops we went to were a bit odd. They were down by the old pier, and there were a lot of signposts to them. They were in old sheds - the only ones which were open were a knitwear shop and a second hand specialist rare book shop. I went into the knitwear shop with my mum, and promptly walked back out to follow my dad into the bookshop - it smelled of sheep poo from the wool they used. I'm sure the jumpers didn't smell, but the shop did. The bookshop however smelled of damp books, so we left there and went for a stroll down the pier to take some photos of the views.

Kyleakin and Broadford are by no means the main attractions of Skye, but they are worth a stop. Unfortunately when we stopped in Kyleakin the weather was miserable, but on a nice day it would be a pleasant place for a stroll along the seafront and down to the small harbour. Broadford has a few shops worth a look, and of course the Skye Serpentarium…
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 20, 2009

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Aros Centre

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Attraction | "An Hour in Aros"

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The Aros Centre is located on the road into Portree from Broadford, on the south side of the town on the Isle of Skye. Aros is a kind of mixed cultural/visitor centre, the kind you can come across all over the Highlands of Scotland.The centre is free to visit, although it sometimes has exhibitions you have to pay to get into. It has a cinema, exhibition area, gallery, shop and café.I visited earlier this year with my parents. The first section we went into was the gallery, which showcases local sculpture and painting, usually for sale. It was small, with not a lot on display, although what was there was good and quite interesting – I liked some paintings of the game of shinty. ...Read More

The Aros Centre is located on the road into Portree from Broadford, on the south side of the town on the Isle of Skye. Aros is a kind of mixed cultural/visitor centre, the kind you can come across all over the Highlands of Scotland.

The centre is free to visit, although it sometimes has exhibitions you have to pay to get into. It has a cinema, exhibition area, gallery, shop and café.

I visited earlier this year with my parents. The first section we went into was the gallery, which showcases local sculpture and painting, usually for sale. It was small, with not a lot on display, although what was there was good and quite interesting – I liked some paintings of the game of shinty. Having visited before, my mum commented that it was a considerably smaller display than she had seen there previously.

At the time we visited, the cinema was advertising two current release films. Although quite possibly the only cinema for miles around (I don’t know where the nearest is on the mainland), the Aros cinema does not serve a large population so doesn’t have many showings, just a few a week – best check in advance before you plan to go.

We decided not to visit the exhibition which was on at the time, about Sea Eagles. A year or two ago the Aros Centre held an exhibition of Runrig memorabilia, which I had heard was made permanent, but sadly that was not the case. From Runrig to Sea Eagles though, that shows the range of exhibitions which the Aros hosts.

The shop at the Aros Centre is large, but a bit odd. It has some nice, good quality Scottish products and souvenirs, such as the Ness range of accessories, and some Scottish handmade soaps and the like, but it also has a large amount of tat. Cheesy greetings cards, cheap looking toys and ornaments, and a large kitchenware section. It also has a small book section, which contains books about Scotland, about Gaelic, by Scots, taking the mickey out of Scots. Although small, it is actually quite good. There is also an outdoorwear section, but not for the serious walker – an example of a product from it is welly boots with a liquorice allsort design. Fun but perhaps not practical. In the end we didn’t buy anything from the shop, although I was tempted by some Gaelic Christmas cards – but as it was September, I just couldn’t do it. I believe that the Christmas season is December.

The café is also quite large, and is nicely positioned at the front of the building so there is a nice view over the glen and towards Portree. There is a large menu of snacks, sandwiches and main meals. My mum had lentil soup and my dad had a brie and bacon toastie, with no complaints from either – as they ordered it as one soup and toastie special, it was £5.50. I was intrigued by one of the fillings on offer with a baked tattie – macaroni cheese. I’d never though of that in a baked tattie, and it sounded tasty. I need to point out however how it was listed on the menu – it was presented as a filling, so the menu read something like "baked tattie with: cheese, beans, tuna, macaroni cheese, or chilli". When it came, I had a large dish of macaroni cheese accompanied by a plain baked tattie and side salad. I think someone in the kitchen misunderstood something. I can’t complain, it was very good, and given the quantity, excellent value at £6 – just not presented as I expected!

I think we spent around an hour in the Aros Centre, including our lunch. You could quite easily spend longer there if you were to take in an exhibition. It’s definitely worth a stop on the way into Portree, and I would recommend it for lunch.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on November 17, 2009

Aros Centre
Viewfield Road
Portree
+44 1478 613649

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