From The Best of Skye, a Hidden Scotland guide

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

Wildflower meadows, corncrakes and a farm café on the Waternish coast.

Words by Hidden Scotland

Printed in The Best of Skye, a Hidden Scotland guidebook.

Waternish Farm lies along a gentle stretch of Skye’s north-west coast, where clifftop meadows meet views across the Minch to North Uist. Since 2011, Lucy and Robert Montgomery have been restoring these fields with over 100 species of native wildflowers, supporting everything from pollinators to the elusive corncrake. A visit here is a chance to walk with Lucy, hear her stories of island life, and sit down afterwards for coffee, cake and an honest conversation about conservation. Visitors can also stay overnight in the Gate Lodge, browse Lucy’s books, or follow a quiet trail from Waternish Forest to Sgorr Bay. It’s an unhurried way to experience Skye, and an insight into farming that works in tune with its surroundings.

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.

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