The Five Best Drives on the Isle of Skye
Scotland possesses some of the finest drives in the UK, and Skye dares to ratchet that up further.
The island features Britain’s most dramatic mountain range (the Black Cuillin), its longest landslip (the Trotternish Ridge), abundant sea lochs and spectacular sea cliffs. Whilst that’s enough to get any fingers itching to grasp a steering wheel, a word of caution is necessary. Drives on Skye require a shift to island time: be prepared for standoffs with lazily-grazing ruminants, the etiquette of negotiating passing places on single-track roads, trailing behind chugging oversized campers, and the patience to wait for view-obliterating weather to clear – it’s not called the Misty Isle for nothing.
Words & Photography Indi Bains
Dunvegan to Neist Point via Milovaig
Beginning in Dunvegan, I opt to traverse Skye’s lesser-explored Duirnish peninsula. The single-track B884 winds through boggy moorland with plentiful views of MacLeod’s Tables and the Western Isles strung along the horizon. A detour via Milovaig allows a profile glimpse of Skye’s tallest seacliff – Dunvegan Head – rising some 1,200 ft out of the Little Minch, complete with cascading waterfall. Back on the B884, the roadside drops precipitously down to Loch Mor, before ending at the car park for Neist Point Lighthouse. This is Skye’s photogenic westernmost point, fantastic for wildlife spotting. I missed a minke by mere hours!
Across the Quiraing
Leaving rainy Uig, the A855’s single-track ascent contains a tight switchback, where I defer to no less than 15 oncoming campers. At the top, the right-hand ‘Staffin via Quiraing’ signpost is followed by a warning: the road may be impassable during winter. Rolling moorland instils a false sense of security; just as the distant, mainland highlands appear, the Trotternish ridge announces itself with a steep descent, a couple of tight switchbacks and far too few passing places for my liking. The drama over, I wind towards the coast and rejoin the A855, sweeping south around Staffin Bay to An Corran, where I play spot the dinosaur footprint.
Dunvegan to the Fairy Pools and Glenbrittle
The Cuillin are the main event here, and leaving Dunvegan their jagged peaks appear immediately. Gliding past Lochs Bracadale and Harport on the A863, a startling scarecrow sculpture announces the single-track B8009. Just when I think it can’t get any narrower, another tight turn and much camper-dodging eventually leads to a couple of broad switchbacks. The Fairy Pools are folded into the amphitheatre of the Cuillin that tower before me, Lord of the Rings-style. The road skirts the mountains, terminating at Glenbrittle beach, where I’m spoiled by a Cuillin backdrop and a foreground view to the Small Isles.
Broadford to the Aird of Sleat
A route synonymous with a dash for the Armadale-Mallaig ferry, this time I’m doing it justice. After crossing moorland with mountain views and sea glimpses, I leave the A851 heading for Ord. The sky is big and grey as I pass low pine-forested hills and a reeded loch before a steep descent to Loch Eishort. Passing the sleepy coastal hamlets of Tokavaig and Tarskavaig, the Cuillin are on one side, the Small Isles on the other. Rejoining the A851, boats colourfully fill Ardvasar harbour. The scenery becomes bucolically reminiscent of Cornwall, with wildflowers and rolling farmland, the road hugging rocky coves before terminating at the Aird of Sleat.
Broadford to the mainland’s best preserved brochs
Just south of Broadford, an abrupt turn and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it ‘Glenelg-Skye Ferry’ sign announces I’m on the right road for this prehistoric quest. The road is either undulating or winding but never neither, taking in craggy hills and stone bridges. After slowly gaining elevation it descends rapidly, clinging to the hillsides with fantastic mountain views and sparkling Kyle Rhea beneath. At the jetty, sheepdogs are herding vehicles onboard the MV Glenachulish, the last manually-operated turntable ferry. After a brief crossing, I’m passing Glenelg beach en route to Iron Age Duns Troddan and Telve. The sun is out and it’s time for some exploring.
Time travelling in a futuristic MG Cyberster, John Mahoney returns to a road full of memories.