Waternish Farm – Conservation, Cake and Corncrakes on Skye’s Quiet Side

One of Lucy Montgomery’s favourite jobs at Waternish Farm on the northwestern Waternish Peninsula is leading small group walks across the abundant wildflower meadows that she and her husband Robert have been protecting since 2011. Tall grasses grow among orchids, clover, vetch and buttercup – a vital habitat for visiting corncrakes. The fields slope gently down to the coastal waters of Loch Bay, with views looking out across the Minch to North Uist and, says Lucy, “the air is fresh and salty, filled in summer with the scent of grass, gorse, and heather, and the hum of bees gathering pollen to take back to the hives near the farm”.

Following the walks, the groups meet in the farm’s tea room for coffee and cake, and an illustrated talk on conservation and the challenges of farming in such a remote environment. A herd of black lowline Angus graze the farm in summer, and autumn silage production coexists with preserving over 100 species of wildflowers.

“Skye has taught us to appreciate a slower pace of life,” says Lucy, who takes “enormous pleasure in showing visitors round the farm. “When you’re here,” she says, “spend time outdoors, even on rainy days.” Her favourite walk is Waternish Forest to Sgorr Bay, a route less trodden with views of steep cliffs, the Ascrib Islands and the port of Uig. When friends visit, she encourages them to visit the local attractions: YURTea&coffee, Divers Eye Boat Trips, Cuckoo Tree Art Studio, Skíō Pottery, Donnie’s Tablet Shed and Dandelion Designs, rounded off with a meal at the Stein Inn or Loch Bay Restaurant.

You can also book a stay in Waternish Farm’s Gate Lodge, a cosy retreat for hunkering down with a copy of Lucy’s latest book Ask Not Why, the second part of her Skye-based trilogy Ask Not How. The lodge sits just above the wildflower meadows, with views out to sea and the quiet of the peninsula all around. It’s a place to slow down — to read, walk, or watch the light shift over Loch Bay — and to get a closer sense of how life and work move gently forward in this part of Skye, shaped by patience, purpose and the land itself.

One of Lucy Montgomery’s favourite jobs at Waternish Farm on the northwestern Waternish Peninsula is leading small group walks across the abundant wildflower meadows that she and her husband Robert have been protecting since 2011. Tall grasses grow among orchids, clover, vetch and buttercup – a vital habitat for visiting corncrakes. The fields slope gently down to the coastal waters of Loch Bay, with views looking out across the Minch to North Uist and, says Lucy, “the air is fresh and salty, filled in summer with the scent of grass, gorse, and heather, and the hum of bees gathering pollen to take back to the hives near the farm”.

Following the walks, the groups meet in the farm’s tea room for coffee and cake, and an illustrated talk on conservation and the challenges of farming in such a remote environment. A herd of black lowline Angus graze the farm in summer, and autumn silage production coexists with preserving over 100 species of wildflowers.

“Skye has taught us to appreciate a slower pace of life,” says Lucy, who takes “enormous pleasure in showing visitors round the farm. “When you’re here,” she says, “spend time outdoors, even on rainy days.” Her favourite walk is Waternish Forest to Sgorr Bay, a route less trodden with views of steep cliffs, the Ascrib Islands and the port of Uig. When friends visit, she encourages them to visit the local attractions: YURTea&coffee, Divers Eye Boat Trips, Cuckoo Tree Art Studio, Skíō Pottery, Donnie’s Tablet Shed and Dandelion Designs, rounded off with a meal at the Stein Inn or Loch Bay Restaurant.

You can also book a stay in Waternish Farm’s Gate Lodge, a cosy retreat for hunkering down with a copy of Lucy’s latest book Ask Not Why, the second part of her Skye-based trilogy Ask Not How. The lodge sits just above the wildflower meadows, with views out to sea and the quiet of the peninsula all around. It’s a place to slow down — to read, walk, or watch the light shift over Loch Bay — and to get a closer sense of how life and work move gently forward in this part of Skye, shaped by patience, purpose and the land itself.