The Skye Lighthouse Trail – Four Lights and Three Headlands
Two days by car, from Broadford to Dunvegan.
The route
Skye is ringed with lighthouses, and the way to enjoy them is to walk out to the headlands they guard.
These two days start in Broadford, with the light under the Skye Bridge at Kyleakin, on Gavin Maxwell's old island of Eilean Bàn. Then comes the Ornsay light off Isleornsay, and a long walk to the Point of Sleat, the island's southern tip. The second day heads north through Staffin to Rubha Hunish, Skye's northern end, where coastguards once kept watch, then west by Uig to Neist Point, beyond Glendale, to see its light come on at sunset before a night in Dunvegan. Only Eilean Bàn can be visited, on a volunteer-led tour that may not run; the other lights are working or private, so admire them from outside. Every headland here has unfenced cliffs: keep well back, and avoid them in a strong wind. It isn't a trip for young children, with long cliff-top walks and a second day that ends after sunset.
Before you go
Book two nights near Broadford
Day one leaves Broadford at ten and comes back to it at about half past six, and day two leaves again at a quarter to eight, so stay near Broadford the night before and the night of day one. Beds on Skye go early for September: book once your dates are set.
HeastBothan BuidheagSleeps 2
HeastBothan BeileagSleeps 2
6 miles awayKinloch LodgeA place to stay
8 miles awayEilean Sionnach Lighthouse CottageSleeps 8
ElgolCoruisk HouseSleeps 4
10 miles awayRaasay House HotelA hotel
10 miles awaySligachan BlackhouseSleeps 6
11 miles awaySligachan CampsiteA place to stay
15 miles awayGlenbrittle CampsiteA place to stay
PortreeThe BosvilleA hotel
PortreeCuillin Hills HotelA hotel
PortreeMarmalade HotelA hotel
20 miles awaySkyewalker HostelSleeps 1
Skeabost BridgeSkeabost House HotelA hotel
22 miles awayRhuroinSleeps 3
ArdheslaigThe Net StoreSleeps 4Book a night near Dunvegan
Day two ends at Neist Point after sunset, just after eight in early September, so book the last night near Dunvegan, 24 minutes away, rather than drive back to Portree or Broadford on single-track roads in the dark.
A mile awayThe DunveganA place to stay
2 miles awayLochviewSleeps 4
South ClunesTigh an TobairSleeps 8
ColbostThe Three ChimneysA place to stay
GlendaleBlack Box CabinSleeps 4
MilovaigMilovaig HouseSleeps 4Skeabost BridgeSkeabost House HotelA hotel10 miles awaySkyewalker HostelSleeps 1
13 miles awayThe Cowshed Boutique BunkhouseSleeps 1PortreeMarmalade HotelA hotelPortreeThe BosvilleA hotel
LinicroMonkstadt 1745A place to stayPortreeCuillin Hills HotelA hotel18 miles awaySligachan CampsiteA place to stay18 miles awaySligachan BlackhouseSleeps 6
19 miles awayHalf of OneSleeps 820 miles awayRaasay House HotelA hotel20 miles awayGlenbrittle CampsiteA place to stayThe tours are arranged by email with the Trust's volunteer wardens, at enquiries@eileanban.org or on 07376 744193: ask for a morning tour, and where to meet, as tours start on the island itself, reached from the Skye Bridge, not in Kyleakin.
Day one
Kyleakin and Sleat
Three lights down Skye's eastern side to its southern tip: the one under the Skye Bridge, the one off Isleornsay, and the one at the Point of Sleat. It's about two hours at the wheel, with a long afternoon walk out to the island's end.
1 hr 54 min at the wheelAbout 54 miles
Eilean Bàn
Leave Broadford at ten: it's 18 minutes' drive to Kyleakin's free car park. Eilean Bàn, the island under the Skye Bridge, has a white tower the Stevenson brothers built in 1857, and was Gavin Maxwell's last home. The Trust's volunteers show it on weekday tours, £8 in cash, arranged by email. Tours start on the island itself, reached from the bridge, 25 minutes' walk from the car park: ask for a morning and where to meet, and wait for their reply, as no 2027 season is published.
28 min by car
Isleornsay
It's 28 minutes' drive back towards Broadford, turning south onto the A851 2 km short of the village. At Isleornsay, park by the hotel, leaving the old pier clear, and walk in for lunch in Am Pràban, the hotel bar, from noon, with no need to book. Beyond Ornsay, the island across the harbour, the Ornsay light stands on Eilean Sionnach, a private tidal islet off its south-east corner, its tower partly hidden by trees. It was lit on 10 November 1857, the same night as Kyleakin's and Rona's.
About 26 min by car
Point of Sleat Walk
A walk
Aird of Sleat is 26 minutes on, through Armadale and Ardvasar, the last stretch single track: park just past the old church gallery at the road end. A rough track and boggy path lead to Skye's southern tip and its small solar light, facing Eigg, Rum and Ardnamurchan: 8.5 km there and back, 400 metres of climbing, three to four hours. There's no café or shop at the far end, so wear boots and carry water and a snack. Keep back from the edges. Going home, the Inn at Àird a' Bhàsair in Ardvasar serves supper from five, and Broadford is 40 minutes from the road end.
If it rains
Eilean Bàn's tour may go ahead in rain: ask when you book. The Point of Sleat path is boggy after rain and the view is the reward, so in heavy rain or low cloud leave it for another day: Armadale Castle Gardens, 12 minutes back from the Aird road end, open daily 9.30 to 5 (last entry 4.30) in 2026, so check the season before you go. The Aird Old Church Gallery at the road end opens Monday to Friday, 10 to 5.
Worth a detour
- Caisteal Maol
In Kyleakin itself, a shore path leads from the harbour to Caisteal Maol, the broken keep on the headland over Kyle Akin: about an hour there and back. Go near low water, as parts of the path go under at high tide, and keep off the ruined walls.
- Knock Castle
Just off the A851 at Torabhaig, a few minutes past Isleornsay, the ruin of Knock Castle stands on a low headland over the Sound of Sleat, about 430 metres off the road, down towards the shore. From Torabhaig Distillery's free car park, a signed path leads to a viewing platform over the castle; the faint path down to the ruin is slippery after rain. Never climb the walls.
Day two
Trotternish and Glendale
Skye's northern tip in the morning and its western light at sunset: the coastguards' old Lookout above Rubha Hunish, then the long road round to Neist Point to watch its light come on. It's about three and a quarter hours at the wheel, ending with a night in Dunvegan.
3 hr 17 min at the wheelAbout 108 miles
1 hr 30 min by car
Rubha Hunish Walk
A walk
Leave Broadford at a quarter to eight with a full tank, or fill up in Portree, and carry lunch and water for the walk: it's 90 minutes' drive by Portree and Staffin to the Shulista turning near Kilmaluag. Park just up the road from the phone box. The path leads to the Lookout, where coastguards watched the Little Minch, with Eilean Trodday's light to the north-east. Look out for whales and dolphins off the point. North of the hut the cliff drops a hundred metres, unfenced. The full walk is 8.5 km with 340 metres of climbing, three to five hours; take its rock stair to the tip only on a dry, calm day.
About 1 hr 23 min by car
Neist Point
An attraction
Allow 85 minutes round by Uig and Dunvegan to the end of the Neist road, with a late lunch at Café Lephin in Glendale if it's open. Steps with a handrail drop to the private lighthouse, lit in 1909: 3 km there and back, one to two hours, and 142 metres to climb back up. The cliffs are unfenced: stay on the path. At sunset, just after eight, wait on the cliff top north-west of the car park for its first flash, with a picnic supper and a torch. Dunvegan is 24 minutes away.
If it rains
Rubha Hunish and Neist are no place in rain, mist or a strong wind: both have high, unfenced cliffs. If the morning is wild, go instead to the Skye Museum of Island Life at Kilmuir, near the graveyard where Flora MacDonald is buried, 5 minutes past the Hunish car park, open Monday to Saturday, 10 to 5, until late September. Dunvegan Castle, five minutes off the Neist road, is the afternoon's roof, open every day to 15 October, 10 to 5.30 in 2026. If the evening clears, Neist's cliff top is still worth the 28 minutes' drive out for the sunset.
Worth a detour
- Kilt Rock
On the A855 before Staffin, the council car park at Kilt Rock (£3 for up to two hours in 2026) sits right beside the road. From the railings, look east across the sea: on a clear day you can see Rona, the island north of Raasay, whose lighthouse was lit the same night as Kyleakin's in 1857.
- Duntulm Castle
A couple of minutes past the Hunish car park, the MacDonalds' ruined castle stands on its own headland above the sea, and you'll have seen it from the walk. Keep to the path and behind the fence line: the walls are still falling.
- Dunvegan Castle
Five minutes off the Neist road, Dunvegan Castle is open every day until mid-October, 10 to 5.30 with last entry at 5 in 2026. Go in on the way out, as it has shut by the time you're back from the light.
Dunvegan Bakery & Coffee Shop, a café in Dunvegan.
Cafe Lephin, a café in Glendale.
Photograph by hiddenscotland