When we planned our visit to the Scottish Highlands, we went back and forth on how far to go. Ultimately, Kevin had his heart set on going out to Isle of Skye, and I am so glad he did because wow! I will go through how we spent our three days, but also make note of some things I would change.
We left Edinburgh and planned to take our time and ultimately stay in Fort William for the first night. This allowed us to drive through Glencoe and be able to stop as well as take small hikes as we had more time because Fort William was only three hours from Edinburgh. However, this is the piece of our itinerary I would change, I would not have stayed in Fort Williams for one night. I think if you plan to leave early enough, you will have plenty of time to see Glencoe and still make it out to accommodations on Isle of Skye.
Our first stop which I recommend on the way out or on the way back is Stirling Castle. While Edinburgh castle is more visited, we read that Stirling Castle was more impressive. Thus, we stopped here and joined a free walking tour organized by the castle to learn the history and explore.
From here we continued our drive, and we knew we had entered the Glencoe area, because the landscape had become more dramatic and simply beautiful. One of the most visited sites in this area is called the three sisters, which has an easily accessible pull off next to the main road. They are called the three sisters because they are three mountain peaks that can be taken in all at once. Another popular pull off is to see Glencoe Lochan which are what lakes are called in Scotland.
Fort William did the job for those looking to not make a super far drive the first day but is a small, quiet town with middle of the road accommodations and dining. Hence why we would have preferred to continue driving.
The following day we left early and continued our drive to Isle of Skye. Along the way we stopped at the Eilean Donan castle located on a small island and known for being the most photographed castle in the world. It can also be recognized from the big screen in films such as Entrapment, Made of Honor, Highlander and the James Bond film, The World is Not Enough. We personally chose not to visit inside but definitely stopped for photos.
Our journey continued across Skye bridge to…you guessed it, Isle of Skye. We only had half the day with the morning driving and stop at the castle, so we decided to head west on Isle of Skye to one of the most photographed spots with one detour.
Sligachan Bridge was a quick stop to see the oldest bridge. I heard a quick legend that if you put your face in the River water for 7 seconds and let it dry naturally, you’d be granted eternal beauty. The legends goes much deeper into a battle between warrior on this very bridge.
On to Neist Point Lighthouse! It is of course located on Neist Point and is a famous shot as the lighthouse is at the very end of a cliff. At this point you’ll learn that Isle of Skye has main roads but when it comes to reaching certain points of interest, the roads become single lanes that are shared with oncoming traffic so reaching each destination will take time. The lighthouse was no different and our first experience with the single lane (just take things slowly and there are plenty of pull over spots for both directions). The parking lot is at the top of the cliff and does include stairs and a path that allows you to walk all the way down to the lighthouse itself. It was absolutely spectacular and I’m so glad we visited. We did walk to the lighthouse and it was insanely windy and quite the experience.
From here we headed back to the hotel in Portree but if you plan in advance, it would be a great time to visit the Talisker Distillery before Portree. The website offered 3 types of tours but none were available for day of so plan accordingly.
After dinner and a good night’s rest we started early as we wanted to make the most of our only full day on Isle of Skye. From our research it appeared as though many people took one of two routes, one making a smaller loop and the other going to the top of Isle of Skye to see the remains of the Duntulm Castle. We did the smaller loop as we were looking to do a few hikes.
We started our day with a hike to the Old Man of Storr. There is street parking and parking lots and we read they can fill up quickly, so we got there earlier in the morning around 9:30am. The Old Man of Storr is a large pinnacle of rock and can be seen for miles. The rocks itself can be reached by foot in 45 minutes but of course longer depending upon how many stops are taken. We thought it was the perfect start to the day and both an easy and fun hike (definitely plenty of incline but you can take it at a slow pace).
Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls was the next stop. This is a two for one where you can see magnificent sights of the cliffs that look like a Scottish kilt and the impressive Mealt falls waterfall. This doesn’t require any hiking, simply pull into the parking lot and hop out for the views!
We grabbed a few snacks at a local convenient store and headed onward to the Quiraing. The Quiraing is interesting because it features some of the most dramatic landscapes, best seen by hiking, but also had a simple viewpoint only steps from the parking lot. We said we would walk for a little bit to take in some scenery and then found ourselves completing the entire hike which took about 3 hours. When you get towards the end you can see both the ocean and the mountains and valleys and it is just beautiful! Absolutely worth it if you’re up for a longer hike and it does come with some narrow paths and steep drops.
Our last stop of the day was to the Fairy Glen. I’ll start with saying we were a little disappointed because pictures led us to believe there was this rock circle that was the main focus that simply appeared one day. We got there and the rocks were no longer there. Besides that I found the area super charming, composed on little hills/mounds that you can walk over and take in views. I really did feel like it’s where fairy’s would live in a movie.
From here we returned to Portree for our second night. The third day we were to return back to Edinburgh. The more direct route will take you north, if you’re someone who’s set on seeing Loch Ness home to Nessie, then take this route and plan a stop. We took the same route back as we did coming out as we really enjoyed Glencoe and wanted to drive through that area again.
I wish we had one more full day out on Isle of Skye to explore more west and south so if your schedule allows definitely add another day!