Kyleakin – Along the Shore to the Ruin above the Narrows
About a mile on foot.
You can pick out Castle Moil from the Skye Bridge: two broken teeth of wall on a knoll above the narrows at Kyleakin.
A short walk leads from the village along a quiet shore road to a pier facing it across a small tidal bay. That view, with the wreck of a wooden fishing boat on the seaweed below the ruin, is where this walk ends.
- Time
- About half an hour: 15 minutes each way from the village car park, about a mile there and back.
- The path
- A level village road as far as the pier; rough shore, seaweed and mud beyond it.
- Where to start
- Kyleakin's main village car park, half a mile west of the castle.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. The bay below the castle is covered at high tide: this walk ends at the shore before it. From November to January set off by 2.30pm.
- Dogs
- On a lead on the road.
- Children
- A short, level walk. Keep children off the seaweed and out of the tidal bay.
- Toilets
- Public toilets in Kyleakin village.
The walk
Park in Kyleakin's main village car park. There are public toilets in the village. A walking guide, Scotland Off the Beaten Track, puts the castle half a mile east of Kyleakin and 15 minutes' easy walk each way from the car park. The way is by South Obbe Road, over a bridge across a tidal inlet and round the shore to a pier where the road ends. From the shore by the pier you look across a small bay to the castle. The last jagged walls of Castle Moil, Caisteal Maol in Gaelic, stand on a knoll above the narrows, and the bones of a wooden fishing boat lie on the seaweed below.
The castle was the seat of Clan MacKinnon, who charged a toll on ships using the strait, since the other way round Skye was far longer and more dangerous. The stonework dates from the 15th or 16th century. Legend ties the spot to Saucy Mary, a Norwegian princess, as far back as about 900. This walk ends at the shore before the bay. The same guide says the path on to the castle crosses a small bay that is briefly under water at high tide, with a short, steep climb to the ruin on the far side. Stay on this side of the bay.
From the shore you look back to the white houses of Kyleakin round their harbour and to the Skye Bridge beyond. Wear boots for the seaweed and mud at the water's edge. The village's cafés and hotels are a short walk from the car park. From November to January, set off by 2.30pm.
If it rains
A short walk on a road, so a shower doesn't matter much, but the shore is slippery when wet and there's no shelter at the pier.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
For further reading, before you go.