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Skye's Waterfalls – Eight Falls

Two days by car, from Portree and back.

The route

Skye's waterfalls run on rain, and they are at their fullest in a wet spell or the morning after.

Two days from Portree take in the best of them, in the order of the road and of the weather. The first follows the Trotternish coast to the Bride's Veil, Lealt and Mealt at Kilt Rock, near Staffin, then on round the island's northern tip to the Rha in Uig. Each is seen from a lay-by, a railed platform or a short path. The second heads for Glen Brittle, under the Cuillin, for the Fairy Pools and Eas Mòr, then the burn, or stream, above Carbost and the fall at Talisker Bay. After a wet night, take Trotternish first, and keep Glen Brittle for when the rain has stopped. Coming over the Skye Bridge, watch for Eas a' Bhradain beside the A87 at the head of Loch Ainort.

Before you go

  1. Book two nights near Portree

    Both days start and end in Portree, and the second leaves at a quarter past eight for the Fairy Pools, so stay in Portree or within about 25 minutes of it for both nights. Beds on Skye go early even in October: book once your dates are set.

    The BosvillePortreeThe BosvilleA hotelMarmalade HotelPortreeMarmalade HotelA hotelCuillin Hills HotelPortreeCuillin Hills HotelA hotelSkeabost House HotelSkeabost BridgeSkeabost House HotelA hotelRaasay House Hotel6 miles awayRaasay House HotelA hotelSligachan CampsiteSligachanSligachan CampsiteA place to staySkyewalker HostelPortnalongSkyewalker HostelSleeps 27The Cowshed Boutique BunkhouseUigThe Cowshed Boutique BunkhouseSleeps 1The DunveganDunveganThe DunveganA place to stayGlenbrittle CampsiteGlenbrittleGlenbrittle CampsiteA place to stayMonkstadt 1745LinicroMonkstadt 1745A place to stayThe Three ChimneysColbostThe Three ChimneysA place to stayLochview17 miles awayLochviewSleeps 4Tigh an TobairColbostTigh an TobairSleeps 8Coruisk HouseElgolCoruisk HouseSleeps 4Black Box CabinGlendaleBlack Box CabinSleeps 4Bothan BeileagHeastaBothan BeileagSleeps 2Bothan BuidheagHeastaBothan BuidheagSleeps 2RhuroinShieldaigRhuroinSleeps 3Kinloch LodgeSleatKinloch LodgeA place to stayEilean Sionnach Lighthouse CottageIsleornsayEilean Sionnach Lighthouse CottageSleeps 8

Day one

Trotternish

Up the east coast of Trotternish and round its north end, from the Bride's Veil to the Rha above Uig, with a short walk at each fall and about an hour and a half at the wheel. You're back in Portree by one, with the afternoon for the Scorrybreac path on the edge of town, 3 km round past Chracaig's small falls.

1 hr 30 min at the wheelAbout 49 miles

  1. Bride's Veil Falls

    Bride's Veil Falls

    Set off from Portree at half past nine: it's 12 minutes' drive up the A855, past Loch Fada, to the Bride's Veil, on the hillside above Loch Leathan. Park in the small free lay-by beside it, never on the verge. After rain the water spreads over the rock in fine white threads, the veil it's said to be named for; in a dry spell it shrinks to a trickle. A short, very muddy path climbs to its foot, so wear boots, or enjoy it from the lay-by.

  2. 9 min by car

    Lealt Falls

    Lealt Falls

    An attraction

    It's 9 minutes' drive on, past the Old Man of Storr's car park, which has the last loos before Staffin, to Lealt. A short path leads from the free car park to a railed platform high over the gorge, where the river tumbles between the trees towards the sea, loudest after a night of rain. Climb the road to the upper car park for a second platform. Go no further: the Staffin Community Trust asks visitors not to take the path down, which has seen accidents.

    More about Lealt Falls

  3. About 6 min by car

    Kilt Rock

    Kilt Rock

    An attraction

    Kilt Rock is 6 minutes north. Parking there was £3 in 2026, and two hours is the most you can stay. Mealt Falls is the outflow of Loch Mealt, beside the car park, and it drops sheer off the cliff to the shore far below, with Rona and the mainland hills across the water. A level path leads to the railings: stay behind them. Staffin is 5 minutes on, with loos in the hall and coffee at Columba 1400 on weekdays.

    More about Kilt Rock

  4. 35 min by car

    Rha Waterfall

    Rha Waterfall

    An attraction

    It's 35 minutes' drive round the north, by Staffin, Flodigarry, Duntulm and Kilmuir, much of it single track, rather than over the Quiraing's hairpins in the wet. In Uig, park in the free pull-in where the A855 meets the A87, and walk 150 metres back up the A855, on the road edge with no pavement, to a Woodland Trust sign. Steps and a handrailed path above a steep drop lead into the Rha Glen, to a fall in two leaps. Then it's half an hour home to Portree for lunch.

    More about Rha Waterfall

If it's dry

In a dry spell these falls shrink, and the Bride's Veil and Mealt can fade to threads. Then swap the days: take Glen Brittle first, while its paths are firmer and the burns low, and keep Trotternish for the rain. If it stays dry, walk up to the Old Man of Storr from its car park, 4 minutes past the Bride's Veil: allow at least two hours there and back, and parking there was £6 in 2026.

Fairy Pools

Worth a detour

  1. Bearreraig Bay

    Two minutes past the Bride's Veil, just after the Storr Lochs, the hydro road turns off on the right to a parking area before the dam on Loch Leathan: about 10 minutes more at the wheel. The loch's outflow, the Bearreraig river, drops to the bay below as a waterfall. A very steep path with steps, slippery in the wet, leads down to the shore and the power station, an hour and a half there and back.

  2. Staffin Dinosaur Museum

    Two minutes north of Kilt Rock, in an old schoolhouse beside the A855 at Ellishadder, a small museum holds dinosaur fossils found on Skye, with a roof for the heaviest shower of the day. Entry was £5 for adults in 2026. Its 2027 hours aren't published yet, and in 2026 they were given two ways, so check before you go.

  3. Fairy Glen

    From Uig, a narrow road by the Uig Hotel climbs 10 minutes to the Fairy Glen, a hollow of cone-shaped grassy hillocks and small lochans, with a pay car park (it was £3 for up to four hours in 2026). It adds about a quarter of an hour at the wheel on the way home. Leave the stones where they lie.

Day two

Glen Brittle

A day of walks beside the burns that come off the Cuillin, from the Fairy Pools and Eas Mòr in Glen Brittle to the falls above Carbost and at Talisker Bay. It's about two hours at the wheel and 8 to 10 km on foot, at its best once the rain has stopped and the water is high but falling.

1 hr 59 min at the wheelAbout 56 miles

  1. 40 min by car

    Fairy Pools

    Fairy Pools

    An attraction

    Set off from Portree at a quarter past eight, with a full tank and boots on: it's 40 minutes' drive by Sligachan and Drynoch, then into Glen Brittle on the single-track road, to park by nine, before the crowds. It's £8 a car, with toilets. Across the road, a gravel path drops to the Allt Coir' a' Mhadaidh, crosses two footbridges and follows the burn up past falls and clear pools, the Cuillin ahead. The first big fall is 1.2 km away. If the water runs brown and loud, look from the path and turn back.

    More about Fairy Pools

  2. 8 min by car

    Eas Mòr, Glen Brittle

    Eas Mòr, Glen Brittle

    Drive 8 minutes down the glen to the Memorial Hut, with room for about a dozen cars opposite. Eas Mòr, the big waterfall, is a short, steep climb on the path from just south of the hut, which crosses the burn on a footbridge: about 15 minutes up for the fit. It falls in one long drop into a deep ravine, the Cuillin behind. The edge is unfenced, so keep well back, and with a family, or for a shorter day, leave it out. The campsite café, 2 minutes on, serves hot food from noon.

  3. 25 min by car

    Carbost Burn Waterfall

    Carbost Burn Waterfall

    An attraction

    From the hut it's 25 minutes' drive up out of the glen and into Carbost, past the Talisker Distillery. Where the B8009 bends right for Portnalong, keep straight on up the single-track road towards Talisker. Over a cattle grid, just past the Old Schoolhouse on the right, the burn pours into its gorge on your left: this is the fall seen from below. Pull in only where the verge is firm, never in a passing place, and look from the road, as the edge is unfenced.

    More about Carbost Burn Waterfall

  4. About 11 min by car

    Talisker Bay

    Talisker Bay

    An attraction

    Another 11 minutes brings you to a pull-in for five or six cars, 300 metres before the road ends: never park at the turning area or the gates. Walk down the drive past Talisker House, a private home, then through the farm, closing the gates: about half an hour to the shore. You come out at the south end of the bay; the fall pours off the cliffs at the north end. If the burn across the sand runs deep, watch from this side. Home to Portree is 35 minutes.

    More about Talisker Bay

If it's dry

A dry day suits the glen: the Fairy Pools' paths are firmer and the path to Eas Mòr less slippery, but Carbost's burn and the Talisker fall may run thin. Keep Talisker Bay anyway for its sand, from half tide down, and stay for the sunset over the sea if the evening is clear. If this morning dawns wet after a dry first day, swap the days and see Trotternish now.

Worth a detour

  1. Glen Brittle Beach

    Two minutes past Eas Mòr the road ends at Glen Brittle's beach, a sweep of sand at the head of Loch Brittle with the Cuillin behind. The campsite café beside it serves coffee from 8am and hot food from noon until 15 October, with a free toilet block next door.

  2. Sligachan Old Bridge

    On the way home, the old bridge at Sligachan stands beside the A87 with no extra driving. After rain the river pours out of the glen beneath it, with the Cuillin behind if the cloud lifts. Seumas' Bar at the hotel serves food until 8.30pm, a warm stop before the last 17 minutes to Portree.

Where to eat

Photographs by Matthew Rowland and Leszek K via Google; Ian McFegan