☰Skye

Skye's guides and boats are spread round the island: Cuillin guides at Broadford, Loch Coruisk boats from Elgol, sea eagles from Portree.

Skye can be reached by air but other than that there are three means of access. Most used is the expensive road bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh. There are trains to Kyle from Inverness on one of Scotlands most scenic railways and there are some through buses to Skye, whereas others start at Kyle.

There is a car ferry from Mallaig, west of Fort William on the mainland to Armadale on Skye, run by Calmac. [www.calmac.co.uk] Perhaps the most atmospheric route, however, is the summer only car ferry from Glenelg to Kylerhea. If you are in good time at Glenelg, it is worth your going to see the brochs, probably the best on the mainland. These are 1st century AD round buildings which suggest defense but whose real purpose is unknown.

davidx, 30 June, 2004

Skye's main draws are its landscapes: the Black Cuillin mountains in the southwest, the bizarre rock formations of the Trotternish peninsula in the north, and the deeply indented sea lochs that cut into every coast. Dunvegan Castle is the principal historic site. The Talisker Distillery at Carbost is the only distillery on the island. Boat trips from Elgol give access to Loch Coruisk, one of the most remote and dramatic glacial lochs in Scotland.