Lealt and Kilt Rock – Waterfalls and Lunch in Staffin
A few hours.
The route
On the Staffin coast the waters of Lealt and Mealt fall towards the sea a few miles apart, each seen from a viewpoint a short way from the car.
At Lealt the river tumbles through a wooded gorge; at Kilt Rock, Mealt Falls pours off the cliff beside the columns that gave the rock its name. Lunch is at the café of Columba 1400 in Staffin.
The day
Staffin
A gentle morning by the sea cliffs of Staffin: a gorge, a cliff-top waterfall and a warm lunch with the Trotternish ridge in the windows.
Lealt Falls
An attraction
In 2018 the Staffin Community Trust gave Lealt a free car park and a viewing platform over the gorge. Disabled bays are on the left as you turn in from the A855, and from them a slope climbs to the platform, which has a good grip underfoot and rails to hold. Cars pull in all the time, so cross the car park with care. Below, the River Lealt drops through its wooded gorge in a run of falls, the water often stained by the peat, with the Trotternish ridge inland and Raasay across the sound. At the river mouth are the ruins of a salmon bothy and of the works where diatomite, a chalky powder dug up the glen at Loch Cuithir, was processed. Stay at the platform: the way down to the shore is very dangerous.
More about Lealt Falls7 min by car
Kilt Rock
An attraction
It's 7 minutes' drive north through Valtos to Kilt Rock, where the Highland Council's car park at Ellishadder charges £3 for up to two hours, payable on the Ringo app (zone 23493). From the car park a short, flat walk leads to an accessible viewing platform; stay behind its safety barriers. In front of you Mealt Falls, fed by Loch Mealt across the road, drops 60 metres to the shore. Look north along the cliffs to Kilt Rock itself, where upright columns of dark rock rise from the sandstone below and look like the pleats of a kilt. Out to sea are Rona, at the tip of Raasay, and the mountains of the mainland beyond. The viewpoint is a site on the Hebridean Whale Trail, so bring binoculars.
More about Kilt Rock5 min by car
Columba 1400
Lunch
It's 5 minutes' drive into Staffin, where the café at Columba 1400 serves lunch from noon to 3pm on weekdays. The centre is a charity for young people, and what you spend goes to its work. Disabled bays are by the door, a ramp leads in, the ground floor is level and there is an accessible toilet. There's soup with home-made bread, toasties, loaded baked potatoes and salads, a children's menu and home baking, under tall windows facing the Trotternish ridge. Groups of six or more can book on 01478 611400.
More about Columba 1400
If it rains
On a wet day the viewpoints are out in the weather, though Lealt's falls are at their most impressive after rain; lunch is under a roof.
Where to stay
Make it a weekend
More days out near Portree.
Photograph by Gézáné Lengyel (Juli) via Google