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Isle of Skye Day Tour
What We
Offer
What to bring? I would recommend bringing everything for all weather types. Rain Jackets, walking boots, snacks and water. Scotland’s weather can be very changeable all year round so be sure to bring plenty of layers to keep warm but also sun cream in case the weather is warm.
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Swimming Costumes and Towels are optional if you'd like to take a dip in the famous Fairy Pools although beware, the water will be quite cold!
The Mystical Isle of Skye is not just amazing for its astonishing natural beauty but also for the enchanting stories and folklore telling of mythical creatures, witches and water-horses, giants and ghosts, saints and sinners, fairies and kelpies. These ancient tales, mainly from the Gaelic–Norse period, have been handed down by word of mouth to entertain many generations of Island people with deeds of heroism and bravery against implacable forces.
O come with me where the sea-birds fly
Remote and far by the Isle of Skye
Away with the winds a-sailing!
Where dreams are the gifts availing
Will ye come with me?
(From ‘Come with me’ by Pittendrigh Macgillivray)Extracts taken from Skye: The Island and Its Legends by Otta Swire
Tour 1 includes Fairy Pools, Fairy Glen & Dunvegan but misses The Quiraing, Kilt Rock, Lealt Falls and Duntulm Castle.
Fort Augustus / Inverness to Isle of Skye – We will follow the road out west on the A87 to Eilean Donan Castle. Driving time 1hr 10 mins from Fort Augustus or 1hr 40 minutes from Inverness.
Eilean Donan Castle – Quick comfort break for photo of the castle & use of facilities (15 mins). From Eilean Donan we will take the road through Kyle of Lochalsh and over the Skye bridge before heading up to the Fairy Pools. Driving time 1hr.
Fairy Pools – Arrive around 9:30am. We will spend between 1hr & 1 hr 30 minutes here to allow enough time to hike up to the top of the fairy pools. (Time depends on level of fitness). Swimming Costumes and Towels are optional. It is very popular to wild / cold water swim in the fairy pools all year round although at this time of year the water will be between 4 – 11 degrees Celsius. Aim to leave fairy pools by 11 / 11:30am at the latest. The drive up to Dunvegan Castle from the Fairy Pools takes around 45 minutes.
Options for Lunch: we can stop at Carbost on the way from the Fairy pools at The Old Inn (Traditional Scottish Inn) or we can make out way to Dunvegan arriving around 12:15 for some lunch in Macleod’s table Café (In the Car park for Dunvegan Castle). I would recommend Macleod’s Table Café to make the best use of your time available. The Old Inn opens at 12 noon on a Sunday for lunch and booking is recommended as they can get very busy with their traditional Sunday roast. If you’d prefer this option let me know and I will book ahead.
The Old Inn Website: Our Food at the Old Inn Carbost Isle of Skye (theoldinnskye.co.uk)
Macleod Tables Cafe Website: Macleod Tables Cafe | Dunvegan (dunvegancastle.com)
Dunvegan Castle - Entry tickets for Adult guests are £16.50 each for the castle and gardens. Seniors 65+ get a slight reduction in cost. I would recommend a minimum of 1 hour 30 minutes here for lunch and time to see the castle & gardens. Leave Dunvegan no later than 1:45pm / 2pm.
Coral Beach (Time Dependant). Coral Beach is only 4.4 miles from Dunvegan Castle but usually takes around 30 minutes to drive there and back depending on traffic (particularly tricky road) so this will add 1 hour to overall journey time as well as walking time to get down to the beach. There is an equally beautiful beach area beside Dunvegan Castle so my recommendation would be to spend a little more time at Dunvegan and miss Coral Beach but this is completely up to you.
From Dunvegan we will then drive up to the Fairy Glen. The drive will take around 45 mins. Arriving around 2:45pm.
Fairy Glen – there are no facilities here so please use restrooms at Dunvegan. The Hike will take around 45 mins – 1 hr here depending on walking speed. Leave here no later then 3:45pm. We can then make a quick stop in Uig less than 2 miles away to use the restrooms before heading over The Quiraing towards the North East side of the Island. Leave Uig no later than 4PM.
From the Fairy Glen we can then drive Directly to Portree which is the largest town on Skye to see views of their beautiful Harbour before then heading back towards the Highland Club. We can stop for 30 minutes in Portree. Facilities are available. Leave no later than 5pm
We can also make a stop at Kyleakin which is a 50 minute drive from Portree on the way back and located next to the Skye Bridge to use restrooms and get a picture of the iconic Skye Bridge. Leave around 6pm latest.
Driving time from Kyleakin back to The Highland club will take around 1hr 20 minutes so arriving back to Fort Augustus around 7:30pm / 8pm to Inverness. This can be shortened by missing one stop.
Tour 2 Includes The Trotternish Peninsula, The Old Man of Storr, Portree, Lealt Falls, Kilt Rock and then options of either Dunvegan or Duntulm Castle & Fairy Glen / UIG Hotel for Lunch. This route misses out the Fairy Pools.
Fort Augustus / Inverness to Isle of Skye – We will follow the road out west on the A87 to Eilean Donan Castle. Driving time 1hr 10 mins for Fort Augustus & 1hr 40 minutes from Inverness.
Eilean Donan Castle – Quick comfort break for photo of the castle & use of facilities (15 mins). From Eilean Donan we will take the road through Kyle of Lochalsh and over the Skye bridge before heading up towards Portree. Driving time 1 hr.
Portree - Arrive around 9:30am. Spend 30 minutes for a quick comfort break and photo stop.
Trotternish Peninsula – From Portree we will drive up towards the Trotternish peninsula passing some of the most amazing landscape on the Isle of Skye from The Old Man of Storr to Lealt Falls and also Kilt Rock. This drive takes approx. 30 minutes and all options listed are close together.
Options for Hikes: Old Man of Storr – Takes around 1hr 15 minutes to get to the top and back. Views are amazing on a clear day.
Lealt Falls – Takes around 45 minutes to walk down to the bottom of the falls and back up for the best views. There is also a viewing platform at the top and we could stop here just for a photo opportunity for around 15 minutes.
Kilt Rock – No walking required so we can use this as a quick photo opportunity. Aim to leave kilt Rock by 12 noon
Lunch options on a Sunday – Uig Hotel after going around to Duntulm Castle.
Head up to Duntulm Castle which will take around 30 minutes from Kilt Rock (Arriving 1pm) Spend approximately 30 minutes here before heading on to UIG.
Uig Hotel – Lunch here would need to be booked. I would recommend booking for around 1:30PM. If this is a choice you would like to go for let me know and I will make a booking. Website: www.uig-hotel-skye.com
After Lunch we can head up to the Fairy Glen which is only 5 minutes away from UIG.
Fairy Glen – there are no facilities here so please use restrooms at UIG. The Hike will take around 45 mins – 1 hr here depending on walking speed. Leave here no later then 3:45pm.
We can also make a stop at Kyleakin which is a 1hr 15 minute drive from The Fairy Glen on the way back and located next to the Skye Bridge to use restrooms and get a picture of the iconic Skye Bridge. Leave around 5:30pm latest.
Driving time from Kyleakin back to Fort Augustus will take around 1hr 20 minutes so arriving back around 7pm. or 1hr 50 minutes to Inverness arriving back 7:30pm.
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As another alternative option to the above we can miss out Duntulm Castle, Uig / Uig Hotel and Fairy Glen and head over to Dunvegan Castle instead which has the Macleod’s Table restaurant and views of the beautiful Dunvegan beach.
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We can shorten this route slightly by removing a stop.
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Want to see it all?! Get in touch to find out about a special tailored two day tour for the Isle of Skye which includes many extra little hidden gems!
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