Skye with Young Children – Fairy Hills, Two Beaches and Seals
Two days by car, from Portree and back.
The route
Skye is a wonderful island to share with small children, as long as each day is short, every walk ends in something good and you know where the next loo is.
These two days both start and end in Portree. The first runs round Trotternish to the ferry pier at Uig, the Fairy Glen, the old thatched houses at Kilmuir and the sand at Staffin. The second goes west to the Coral Beach, the seal boat below Dunvegan Castle and the village's new play park. Both are home by mid-afternoon, with the drive back for a nap. Few paths here take a pushchair, so bring a back carrier. The Storr, the Quiraing, Neist Point and the Fairy Pools after rain have steep paths, big drops or a burn (stream) that rises fast: save them for when the children are older.
Before you go
Book beds near Portree, from the night before day one
Both days start and end in Portree, so book three nights near Portree, from the night before day one. Beds on Skye go early, so book as soon as your dates are set.
12 miles awayHalf of OneSleeps 8
13 miles awayThe Cowshed Boutique BunkhouseSleeps 1
14 miles awayThe DunveganA place to stay
15 miles awayGlenbrittle CampsiteA place to stay
ColbostThe Three ChimneysA place to stay
17 miles awayLochviewSleeps 4
South ClunesTigh an TobairSleeps 8
21 miles awayRhuroinSleeps 3
MilovaigMilovaig HouseSleeps 4
22 miles awayKinloch LodgeA place to stay
Day one
Trotternish
A loop round Trotternish, the long peninsula north of Portree, full of small adventures. It starts at Uig pier, where a ferry may be loading, then runs up to the grassy little hills of the Fairy Glen, the thatched cottages at Kilmuir and the sand at An Corran. After lunch in Staffin, Kilt Rock's waterfall pours off the cliff to the shore, and you're back in Portree by mid-afternoon.
1 hr 55 min at the wheelAbout 55 miles
Uig
Leave Portree at about twenty to nine: it's 30 minutes' drive on the A87 by Kensaleyre and round the bay to Uig pier. If a ferry is in, the children can watch the cars and lorries roll on and the boat pull out across the bay. Sailing times change with the seasons, so check CalMac's timetable for your day. Hold hands, as the pier is busy while a boat loads. The terminal's toilets have baby changing, and the pier is level for a pushchair.
9 min by car
Fairy Glen
An attraction
It's 9 minutes' drive round the bay and up the lane by the Uig Hotel signed Sheader and Balnaknock, to about 25 pay-and-display spaces along it. Its grassy hills are made for running up, with a lochan and sheep about. The path crosses the glen's narrow road, so hold hands there. Castle Ewen, the rock at the top, has sheer drops: stay in the grassy hollow below it. Please leave the stones as they are. An hour is plenty. No loos, and no paths for a pushchair.
20 min by car
Skye Museum of Island Life
An attraction
It's 20 minutes' drive north to Kilmuir, where the Skye Museum of Island Life is a cluster of thatched cottages to wander in and out of, with a smithy and the furniture and tools of a crofting family inside. Under-15s go free with an adult. The paved path between them is uneven, with one steep slope, so a pushchair manages with care, and the doorways are low. The toilets at the foot of the car park keep the museum's hours; ask when you pay whether there's a baby change.
20 min by car
An Corran Beach
An attraction
Drive 20 minutes on single track by Duntulm and Flodigarry, across the island's northern tip, then down the lane signed for the beach and Staffin Slipway. On 3 June low water is about quarter to twelve, so the sand is out for digging, with rock pools too. Help small ones down the rocky ramp, which won't take a pushchair. Dinosaur footprints lie on the flat shelf nearby, often under sand or weed, on very slippery rock. Toilets and Corran Coffee are in the harbour building at the lane's end.
About 3 min by car
Staffin
Staffin is 3 minutes on, its crofts spread below the Trotternish ridge: park beside the community hall. Lunch is in the hall at the Hungry Gull, Tuesday to Saturday (check it is open), or nearby at Columba 1400, which serves lunch from 12 to 3 on weekdays: ask either for a high chair. The hall's toilets are open every day, and Staffin Stores, in the same building, is the place to fill the snack bag. On a Sunday all three are shut, so bring a picnic.
5 min by car
Kilt Rock
An attraction
It's 5 minutes' drive south. Just before Kilt Rock, at Ellishadder, the little Staffin Dinosaur Museum has footprints and fossils from this coast, if it's open: its 2027 days aren't known yet. A small gate by the car park opens onto a level gravel loop along the railings, easy with a pushchair. Mealt's waterfall pours off the cliff to the shore below; beyond the rail is a sheer drop, so hold little hands. No loos here: the ones at the Storr car park, on the 28-minute drive home, have baby changing (parking £6).
If it rains
In steady rain, go to the Skye Museum of Island Life first, 38 minutes from Portree, and give it longer: its cottages are roofed, so a wet morning goes well there. Have lunch indoors in Staffin, at the Hungry Gull or Columba 1400, then see Kilt Rock's waterfall from the railings, as it runs its fullest after rain. Save the Fairy Glen and An Corran for a dry spell. Back in Portree, the Fingal Centre on Viewfield Road has a pool with family sessions on a raised floor; its 2027 times aren't published yet, so check the High Life Highland timetable and book ahead where it lets you.
Worth a detour
- Lealt Falls
On the road home, 6 minutes past Kilt Rock, with no extra driving: a short walk from the car park to railed platforms looking down into a gorge where a burn drops towards the sea. The platforms are the end of it: the rough path beyond them is dangerous, and the Staffin community asks everyone to go no further. No loos. Ten minutes.
- Scorrybreac Circuit
Back in Portree, 4 minutes' drive to the foot of Scorrybreck Road: a path along the wooded shore past the sailing club, tarmac at first, towards the Nicolson monument, with picnic tables on the way. Go out along the shore and back with small ones: the far side of the loop climbs steep, stony zigzags. The Matheson Place play park in the town is the other way to end the day.
Where to eat
Day two
Dunvegan
A day out west, to the white sand of the Coral Beach at Claigan, walked while small legs are fresh. Then it's back to Dunvegan Castle for a little boat out to the seals, a playground in the gardens and lunch, and the village's new play park to finish, before an easy drive home to Portree for a nap.
1 hr 39 min at the wheelAbout 52 miles
50 min by car
Coral Beach
An attraction
Set off at quarter past eight: it's 50 minutes' drive through Edinbane and Dunvegan, where the village toilets are the last before the sand. Go on past the castle on single track to Claigan's small car park, full by mid-morning on a fine day. It's 2 km to the sand, with a short climb and stepping stones over a stream: allow 40 minutes each way, a baby in the carrier, as no pushchair gets through. The shallows are lovely for paddling. Leave the causeway to the island alone.
10 min by car
Dunvegan Castle
An attraction
The castle is 10 minutes' drive back. The seal boats sail Monday to Friday, and not in wind. They need a castle or gardens ticket: buy one at the gate and go straight to the boat, first come, first served, £14 for adults, £10.50 for children and free for under-fives (2026 prices), 25 minutes out to the seals and back. Ask about small life jackets. Then find the Wild Wood Trail's playground in the gardens, and lunch at the MacLeod Tables Café, with high chairs and baby changing.
2 min by car
Dunvegan
It's 2 minutes' drive to the castle end of the village and its new play park on Castle Crescent, opened in March 2025: the place to run off lunch. The village car park and its toilets (no baby changing) are a minute or two on. Beside them, if the door is open, the little Giant MacAskill Museum has a life-size figure of the 7 ft 9 in Angus MacAskill, with his chair and bed. Then it's 35 minutes home to Portree, the right length for a nap.
If it rains
After heavy rain the path to the Coral Beach is boggy and the stepping stones can go under: skip it and drive straight to Dunvegan Castle, 40 minutes from Portree, for opening at ten. The castle's rooms and their key hunt are the day's roof for the over-fives, and the MacLeod Tables Café has lunch and baby changing. In wind the seal boats don't sail, and the castle and gardens can shut at short notice, so look at its website that morning. In the village afterwards, the Dunvegan Bakery and Coffee Shop at the junction, open Tuesday to Saturday from late morning, is a warm place for cake.
Worth a detour
- Fairy Bridge
On the A850 where the Waternish road turns off, with no extra driving: an old stone bridge, out of use, beside the road, and a fairy story for the back seat. Five minutes to stretch legs, keeping hold of small hands, as the traffic passes close.
- Sligachan
The long way home: from Dunvegan, 34 minutes south by Struan to Sligachan, then 17 to Portree, 14 minutes more than the straight road. In front of the Sligachan Hotel is a playground, and Seumas' Bar serves food until 8.30pm for an early supper. Hold hands by the old bridge, as the river below runs fast. On a still June evening the midges at Sligachan can be fierce, so bring the repellent.
Where to eat
DunveganDunvegan Bakery & Coffee ShopA café
SteinThe Stein Inn BarOne of the oldest inns on Skye, on Loch Bay
WaternishYURTea&CoffeeA café
GlendaleCafe LephinA café
PortreeAntlers Bar & GrillPub grub, Portree Hotel
PortreeDulse and BroseSkye and Highland larder
PortreeThe View RestaurantBay views, Cuillin Hills Hotel
PortreeBirchSkye's own coffee roastersPhotographs by James Nichol and Dion Mifsud via Google