Isle of Skye Activities & Tips To Avoid The Crowds

As the Isle of Skye increases in popularity, it is important to keep in mind that the crowds are going to be accompanying that popularity. The Isle of Skye is a small island, with many roads being one lane roads. This makes it difficult for large buses to transport visitors, but does create more traffic. So here are my tips on Isle of Skye Activities and tips for avoiding the crowds to create a truly authentic Scottish experience full of magic and enchanting scenery.

Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls

Coordinates 57.6095° N, 6.1738° W - Parking available - Easy hiking rating

This sparkling feathery, but steady, waterfall drops 180 feet (55m) gracefully onto the smooth ocean-battered rocks below. Fed by a freshwater lake called Loch Mealt, it ensures that no matter the time of year, it is heartily fed, just like the Scottish locals on the Isle of Skye. This particular waterfall is often confused with Lealt Falls, but they are very different. It is also one of the few waterfalls that retained its Gaelic name (the Scottish Highlander Language), Cread an Fheilidh. The sheer cliffs are made of tall Basalt columns. These columns have a very hexagonal like shape, that in sequence make it appear like the pleats in a Scottish Kilt.

Dunvegan Castle

Coordinates 57.4484° N, 6.5901° W, There is Parking available but the quite a hike to the castle.

Just above the tree line, you see the castle ramparts competing for the view of the tourists that flock to see this stony fortress on the Isle of Skye. The stones are cold and unapologetic to the winds and loch waves that tend to batter it during storms, but warm and welcoming to the outlander's that come as tourists to see it's beauty. this ancient house has survived for the last 800 years with Chief of the McLeod's and boasts to be the oldest and most continuously inhabited castle in Scotland.

Stay in the Garden Cottage, take a trip to see the seals, wander the walled gardens and this ancient clan seat residing within the walls of Dunvegan Castle. See how life is lived in the Scottish Highlands.

Just above the tree line, you see the castle ramparts competing for the view of the tourists that flock to see this stony fortress on the Isle of Skye. The stones are cold and unapologetic to the winds and loch waves that tend to batter it during storms, but warm and welcoming to the outlander's that come as tourists to see it's beauty. this ancient house has survived for the last 800 years with Chief of the McLeod's and boasts to be the oldest and most continuously inhabited castle in Scotland.

Stay in the Garden Cottage, take a trip to see the seals, wander the walled gardens and this ancient clan seat residing within the walls of Dunvegan Castle. See how life is lived in the Scottish Highlands.

Glen Brittle

Coordinates 57.2500° N, 6.2833° W, there are pull-offs on the side of the road to take photos - just mind the traffic. Not many toilet facilities along the roadways unless you stop at a hotel.

The craggy Cuillin Hills are the most challenging hiking areas in Scotland. The forlorn grey ruggedness of the tops seems out of place in the lush greenery that surrounds these mountains.

To really know Glen Brittle, I suggest reading these books by a well-known explorer W.H. Murray. By the end you will feel you have traveled there yourself, and/or also help you prepare for your own trip to the true outdoors paradise that is the Scottish Highlands.

No matter where you stop to take your photos, your camera will feast on visual delicacies that are sure to enthrall your friends at home and fill your heart with warmth. Waterfalls will dance among the rocks in this place, teasing the fairies believed to frolick in these parts.

The Sligachan Hotel is strategically placed for those daring to summit these mountains. The Sligachan Bridge is full of Folklore, and one of the most photographic places of the Cuillins. For those who like a more laid-back feel, try MacKenzie's Peak Home - a cozy place to truly soak in the Scottish pride and hospitality whilst overlooking the loch with your cuppa tea in hand.

There are campsites available in Glen Brittle, should you choose to brave the Scottish weather. It is about 10-15 Scottish Pounds per night, and a cafe is also available in the campground.

I would advise those who would like to attempt climbing the Cuillin Mountains to do so with an experienced guide. These hills are not for the inexperienced as moss can frequently hide the pitfalls, holes, broken earth etc...

Coral Beach

Coordinates 57.5010° N, 6.6372° W; Parking- a 25-minute walk from the carpark, Rating easy walk

This low lying pearly beach is a 10-minute drive from Dunvegan Castle. It requires you to walk and hike for about 25 minutes from the car park along a farm path. These farm paths to the uniquely secluded photography treasure troves are quite common throughout Scotland. If you have your dog with you, remember to keep it on a leash as you will encounter sheep, cattle, and an occasional bull depending on the season.

The best time to visit is when the tide is halfway in as this gives the area a very tropical like setting, even if the weather doesn't match the view. Scottish summers in May and September will give you the best weather, according to locals this is the when all the chores, vacations, and whatnot get done.

The beach itself isn't a typical sandy beach, it is full of bleached Red Coralline seaweed that looks like Coral. There is so much of it on the shores that it truly looks like a pearly paradise. If you are feeling adventurous, visit when there is a low tide, and visit the island just off the coast and see the Lampay beach as well.

Lealt Falls

Coordinates 57.5650° N, 6.1552° W, Parking is available for about 20 cars or so, Rating easy to difficult depending on upper view vs lower view.

The Upper view of Lealt Falls is quite easy to get to. You walk up a small hill, then towards Lealt Gorge. Once you get to the gorge, you have to turn around and look back toward the car park and you will see the Upper Lealt Falls.

If you follow the edge of the gorge, you will notice a very steep area that follows a path down to the bottom of the gorge. If you take this path, please keep in mind that this is a remote area. Be sure you have traveler's insurance, or that your own insurance covers you.

Taking this path towards the south side of the gorge will spit you out at the Lealt River, which is easy to cross at low tides. If you go during high tides, you will have to get wet and swim around the corner back towards the gorge to see the lower falls.

Duntulum Castle

Coordinates 57.6824° N, 6.3396° W, Parking is available at the start of the trail- but is limited, Rating: Easy

Guarded by the sheer cliffs surrounding this point, is the iron age, Duntulum Castle. I will warn you that the castle itself has fallen into ruin, and is fragmented at best. But to be able to peer into the cellar of the original McLeod Castle.

The Castle fell into the hands of the McDonalds, who after a nursemaid dropped the son of the clan chief from the great keep onto the stony rocks below - the castle was abandoned. It is said that the nurse still wanders the ruins, along with Hugh MacDonald attempted to kill the clan chief and was starved to death in the dungeon of Duntulm.

There are parts of the castle that have dropped into the sea below, so do not go near the edges lest you end up like the clan chief's son. Be sure to pay tribute to the MacArthur's at their cairn (the rounded pillar of stones); who are the hereditary clan of this area from the MacDonalds.

The views of the ocean and the surrounding countryside make this well worth the visit.

Neist Point and Lighthouse

Coordinates 57.4235° N, 6.7883° W, Parking is available but fills up quickly at all times of the day, Rating: easy hike to the lighthouse, but can get steep

This is one of the most photographed lighthouses in Scotland and is still in good working order. While it is grand to say that you hiked to the lighthouse, the real money shots are on the cliffs just to the right of the lighthouse peninsula. If you go during the day, you can do both the hike, and be able to capture the sheer cliff faces that surround the lighthouse while birds play among the crags.

We had a rental car and decided to make the trip from Portree, it was a harrowing ride for my roommate as I raced the setting sun on the rough roads to the Lighthouse. I was in sandals and neither one of us had a coat. The ground was soggy, muddy, and almost ate my sandal trying to get to the cliffs. We mad it just in time to see the sunset make the lighthouse and cliffs glow in the array of beautifully untainted colors unique to the Isle of Skye.

Traveler Tip & Photographer Tip: Wear a coat, good shoes, and bring a blanket for good measure. You will also need your long telephoto lens and a tripod to capture a good shot that isn't too grainy. Keep your ISO low, and hopefully, you will get the perfect shot of this beautiful landscape.

Skye Museum of Island Life

Coordinates 57.6603° N, 6.3689° W, Parking is available and plentiful

This was the most fascinating and authentic parts of the trip to the Isle of Skye for me. I visited both the Skye Museum of Island Life, as well as the Highlander Folk Museum in Newtonmore. If you have the time, I would spend a 1/2 day at the Highlander Folk Museum, it is not on the Isle of Skye so I won't talk much about it here - but I do prefer the Highlander Folk Museum over the Skye Museum of Island Life. The Highlander Museum walks you from the Modern age, through the woods (literally) and into the 1700s. It was also the museum where the popular show Outlander was shot.

If you only plan on visiting the Isle of Skye or have limited time, then I would certainly stop by the Skye Museum of Island Life. They have huts here that you can explore what it was like to live in the 1700s as a villager. How they kept their animals warm against the harsh and unforgiving Scottish winds, as well as how they kept their roofs to stay down during the torrent of gales that would sweep the land.

There is a small shop there, that may seem overpriced- but many of those items are locally made instead of being shipped from China. So support the locals as tourism is a major source of their income that lasts them through the winter.

Old Man of Stoor

Coordinates 57.5071° N, 6.1831° W, Parking is off the side of the road just before the trailhead - get there as soon as the sun comes up or you will not find a spot to park Rating: Moderate with a 2280 feet (691 meters) ascent.

This 5-mile (8.1km) trail starts off very mild, then you crest the first ridge that makes you break a sweat and you will see the stairway to heaven. Yep, you read that right, it is the longest set of stairs on a hike I had ever seen. My reaction to it was to first think of the Led Zepplin song Stairway to Heaven, then immediately followed with a few expletives and denial that I had to ascend them & subsequently renamed the song stairway from Hell.

Be sure you know how to navigate the trail, I did not know how, and once I got close to the Old Man of Storr I ended up scrambling up shale - yep, hiking poles and all splayed out and knocking the ground around me as I was determined to touch the old man. I realize that sounds very dirty, but it was just that comical of a scene that it is the only way I can think of to describe it.

It was worth the effort and determination, up the stairway of Hell, nearly falling down the shale strewn hills to reach the top and spend a few quiet moments with the Old man. On my pant ripping way down from my perch, I was greeted by an outdoor savvy European female who was suppressing a grin and a giggle as she showed me the proper course back down the hill. Despite feeling the fool, I accomplished my goal and held my head high as I stuffed my holy gloves in my pack and the wind caught the hole in my pants to help me back down this breathtakingly beautiful mountain.

I still feel a sense of awe at the views I was able to quietly drink in on that mountain, it suffused my soul and helped repair some of the damage circumstances back home had caused.

Kensaleyre Standing Stones

Location: A87, Uig, Isle of Skye, Highlands and Islands, Scotland

Rising 5 feet 8 inches high (1.5 meters) from the edge of a cliff, are the Kensaleyre Standing Stones. While the reasons for standing stones is still a mystery and highly debated, these particular stones are associated with the legend of Fingal. Have you heard of Fingal's Cave? If not be sure to check out my journey to Fingal's Cave, and the legend of the giant Fingal at war with a rival giant in Ireland.

It is said that Fingal used these stones as a prop to hang his stew pot from to cook a deer whole. There is another theory that these stones were used as a way to mark the direction to something. The theory is that there were three stones that made a row, running NNW to SSE, making up the Eyre Alignment.

There are also a few remains of Burial Cairns near these stones you can visit as well. These burial Cairns were such an important part of the religious and cultural practices of the ancient highlands before Christianity came to the area. Be sure to read my post on the Burial Cairns of Scotland.

Quiraing Loop vs Quiraing Pass

Coordinates: 57°39'02.0"N 6°16'40.4"W (far)  57°38'18.8"N 6°16'19.4"W

Difficulty Level: Moderate, Parking is available, but it is a popular trail

The trail is not too bad the whole way up to the pass. If you do the Loop, it will take you all the way out to a beautiful view of a lake with the ocean in the background. The Quaraing Pass takes about 1-2 hours depending on your physical prowess. The Quaraing Loop takes about 4 hours to complete in it's entirety.

The trail is getting more and more popular to tourists, but I felt it wasn't 'chaos' as some other websites put it - it only required a few hugs along the narrow path. If you fell off the path, you would just roll for a long long time down the mossy covered hills.

The most popular parts of this trail are the Needle, a rock formation that appears from land slipping. The Keep, which looks like a rock formation resembling a medieval keep. Table rock which looks like a table coming up out of the valley.

Interestingly enough, this area was previously used by the Clans to conceal cattle from the Viking Raiders. The name Quairang also comes from the old Norse word 'Kví Rand', which means "Round Fold".

There are not a whole lot of restroom facilities available on Skye, but just find a rock to hide behind and take a whirl. If you make a poop pie, please be a gem and cover it with some moss or pack it out.

Fairy Pools

Coordinates:  57°15'01.6"N 6°15'30.0"W - Parking is available, Rating Easy
Said to be the place where Fairies bath, due to pure and pristine waters that allow you to see all the way down to each moss-covered rock in the turquoise waters. These pools have become so popular in the last few years that it is nearly impossible to get a photo without another person in it, unless you visit early in the morning, or late in the evening in the offseason (March-early May, or Late Fall).

To get to the trailhead it is about a 30-minute drive from Portree. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the sign reading  ‘Glumagan Na Sithichean’ this is the Gaelic sign, but it also has smaller writing saying Fairy Pools. The trail itself is on an open plain and can take anywhere from 45 min to 1.5 hrs, while the trail back out can take (on some reports) up to 2 hours; but it is only a 1.49mile (2.4km) trail. The increased length of hiking for such a short trail is due to the slippery ground, and complete exposure to the elements when hiking.

Once you reach the fairy pools, those brave enough can jump into the frigid waters. Many dares have been attempted here among the locals, but just remember that you are exposed to the elements on the way back to your car.

Fairy Glen:

Coordinates: 57°34'56.6"N 6°19'30.1"W- Parking enough for 10-15 cars - Rating Easy

On the West side of Trotternish at Balnacnoc (which means - the village or township in the hills) above Uig, is the Fairy Glen. Growing in popularity over the last few years due to social media sharing of this otherworldly glen, it is now a major tourist attraction when visiting the Isle of Skye. First made popular by the writings of famed author Hugh Miller who wrote about the Glen as a:

'natural connection…between wild scenes and wild legends; and some of the traditions connected with this romantic and solitary dell illustrate this remark. Till a comparatively late period, it was known at many a winter fireside as a favourite haunt of the fairies…I have conversed with an old woman…who, when a very little girl, had seen myriads of them dancing as the sun was setting on the further edge of the dell…' (Miller, 1835)

As you drive to this secluded location, you get a sense of trespassing on someone's property and miss the turn to get to the parking lot a few times if you aren't careful. Once you get to the carpark, if there aren't many people there, you could easily find yourself lost among the hills with the sheep giving you disdainful looks of contempt for trekking on their feeding grounds. Not that I would know how that feels personally as I know exactly where I'm going, and have no handicaps in knowing which way is indeed North....ahem.

Once you have hiked about 15 minutes, you will see a large rock jutting out of the ground with a flat top. It looks very out of place against the surrounding rolling hills. This is a basalt column, that looks like the ruins of a castle, so has thus been named Castle Ewan. So don't get your panties in a twist about tourists ruining the ruins by climbing on them like I did. They aren't actually castle ruins, its a big flat-topped rock covered in green moss.

If you were to hike behind Castle Ewan, there is a small cave where rumors spread that if you press coins into the cracks as an offering to the fairies it will bring you good luck. There is another tour guide that will tell you, to bring a blade of grass instead of the coin around the stone circle (newly laid out for tourists) and lay it at the center as an offering to the faeries. Then proceed to walk backward out of that stone circle, your wish will be granted. It seems ridiculous, so I asked him why would he tell them to do that. In good ole Scottish humor, he said, 'Why not? They think they are getting involved in the cultural folklore. It gives me a good chuckle, and they enjoy it - so why not'.

He was right...why not? So I proceeded to pick myself a blade of grass, thought of my wish, put the blade of grass down on the growing nest, and clumsily walked backward out of the circle. When I neared the end though, I got a good clapping and vocal drum roll from three handsome looking French men. The guide was right, good chuckles all around and now I can pretend that someday my wish will be granted ;)

The locals on Skye have repeatedly removed the stone spirals in an attempt to keep the Glen in its natural state, but with the growing number of visitors, the effort has been stopped. The coins that the visitors leave behind are often eaten by the sheep in the area, which then gets stuck in their throats and ends up killing them. So if you should visit the Fairy Glen, buy some flowers, get some hay woven into a star or something that won't kill the local wildlife.

We hope that all visitors would respect the country code. To visit & enjoy, but not make adjustments and certainly not leave anything behind, even if you think it may give you good luck.

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 My Takeaway on Tips On Visiting The Isle of Skye

The Isle of Skye has plenty to see and offer for at least a week's worth of exploring if not two. You will have to rent a car, should you want to visit all these locations as most tour companies won't take you to each of these sites specifically. I have been to Scotland and the Isle of Skye twice now and still have yet to see everything I wanted to see while there. The land is vast, beautiful, unforgiving, wild, and a natural visual feast for the eyes. So should wish to be inspired by beauty, mystified by Folklore, and warmed by Scottish Hospitality...then the Isle of Skye should be your next trip.