Skye

Isle of skye

Set foot on the mystical Isle of Skye and you will appreciate just how appropriate this island’s name is. Taken from the old norse Sky-a, which means ‘cloud island’, it is a place where the heavens feel close enough to touch – never more so than near jagged Cuillin ridge, a spectacle that so often rises from the land shrouded in mist.

As well as busy centres such as Portree and Broadford, the island boasts museums and visitor attractions alongside historic village inns, sea view bed and breakfasts and celebrated restaurants which specialise in locally-sourced game and seafood. Skye’s castles are among its most imposing attractions. Dunvegan Castle – the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland – has been the ancestral home of the Chiefs of Clan MacLeod for 800 years. Armadale Castle is the centrepiece of the Clan Donald estate, which also includes gardens and a museum, and if you are seeking atmosphere, head for the ruin of Knock Castle, on the east coast of Sleat. Human history, however, is just a recent phase in Skye’s story. Here, as well as following in the footsteps of ancestors, you can actually walk in the footprints of dinosaurs (sauropods) at Brother’s Point in the north west, or look for ammonite and belemnite fossils at Elgol or Bearreraig Bay. Discover more about remarkable finds on this Dinosaur Isle at Staffin Dinosaur Museum in Trotternish.

Skye’s main town is the fishing port of Portree, with a wide selection of shops, galleries and eateries, and distinctive craft and gift shops. The ferry port villages of Uig and Armadale share a scenic appeal and are both also home to a handful of artisan businesses.

From jewellery to beer, and soap to ceramics, the landscape is the foundation of many of Skye’s most distinctive products. It is home to a diverse community of artists, artisans and entrepreneurs, who take inspiration from local culture and their unique environment. Skye’s first village, Kyleakin, is home to the Bright Water Centre, where naturalist and writer Gavin Maxwell is remembered. You can learn about Maxwell’s otters and book a tour to the wildlife haven of Eilean Ban, below the Skye bridge. At Kilmuir, you can visit the Skye Museum of Island Life, a township of preserved thatched cottages illuminating 19th-century life in the Hebrides. Colbost Croft Museum, at Dunvegan, also offers insight into a traditional way of life. Skye may be thriving, but it still has wilderness, and if you don’t feel in holiday mode unless you’re out of breath, soaked through or covered in mud, you will find adventures aplenty to choose from. From hiking in the mountains to kayaking the coast, or climbing, coasteering and mountain-biking, this is a setting where memories are made, with local experts on hand to guide, train and provide resources and back-up. However you explore, Skye’s most profound rewards come from close encounters with the seascapes and landscapes, from the beach at little Talisker Bay – which shares its name with the island-produced Talisker whisky, to the Fairy Pools at the foot of the Black Cuillins near Glenbrittle. The Red and Black Cuillin Ranges, and Trotternish Ridge (guarded by the imposing rock tower of the Old Man of Stoor) are formidable mountains however you choose to encounter them, but even their stature is not enough to put off the wildlife, from red deer to sea eagles, that you may spot on their formidable slopes.

Dunvegan Castle, Isle of Skye.

DIARY DATe:

skye live Music festival, May 12 to 14. a unique festival with an incredible backdrop, featuring donnie Munro, Manran, Blazin’ Fiddles and more.