Isle of Skye

Trotternish: the north end and Uig

A day by car, from Portree and back.

The route

The top of Trotternish is the quiet end of Skye, where the sea cliffs give way to crofting townships and Flora MacDonald's story runs along the road.

This day leaves Portree early on the A855, past the Storr, Kilt Rock, Staffin and Flodigarry, where Flora lived after her marriage, to walk out to Rubha Hunish, the northern tip of the island. Then it comes home by the coast: the ruined castle at Duntulm, the thatched cottages and her grave at Kilmuir, an Iron Age passage at Kilvaxter, the ferry port of Uig and the Fairy Glen above it. It's about an hour and three quarters at the wheel, much of it on single-track road.

Before you go

Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
PortreeThe BosvilleA hotel PortreeMarmalade HotelA hotel PortreeCuillin Hills HotelA hotel Skeabost BridgeSkeabost House HotelA hotel
Book dinner at the Ferry Inn, Uig
The Ferry Inn serves dinner only, Tuesday to Saturday, in a small restaurant, and its tables go weeks ahead: book on its website.

The day

The north end

Out by Staffin to the northern tip of Skye for a morning's walk to Rubha Hunish. Then it's home round the coast, by Duntulm's ruined castle, Flora MacDonald's grave at Kilmuir, the ferry port of Uig and the grassy cones of the Fairy Glen. Leave Portree by a quarter to eight.

2 hr 9 min at the wheelAbout 53 miles

Rubha Hunish Walk
A walk
It's 50 minutes' drive north, the last part on single-track road, past Flodigarry, where Flora MacDonald's cottage still stands in the hotel's grounds. Park at the Shulista road end, by the red phone box, in the car park by the cattle grid, which holds about eight cars. The path runs above Erisco's ruins, then climbs steeply to the Lookout, a 1928 coastguard hut, now a bothy, an open shelter. On a dry, calm day, scramble down the rock staircase to the headland: 8.5 km with 340 m of climb, three to five hours, or about two if you turn back at the Lookout. Carry water and lunch. Afterwards, Bûrr at Kilmaluag, a couple of minutes back east, sells coffee and cake from 11am, Saturday to Tuesday.
More about Rubha Hunish Walk
2 min by car
Duntulm Castle
An attraction
Drive 2 minutes west to the viewpoint on the bend at Duntulm, where a path runs a few hundred yards along the coast to the castle. In 1617 the Privy Council told the MacDonalds of Sleat to live here, and around 1732 they left for Monkstadt, further down this road. The ruin is unstable, and one tower fell into the sea in 1990, so keep to the path and the fence line as signed. The view across the Little Minch to Harris is the reward.
More about Duntulm Castle
4 min by car
Skye Museum of Island Life
An attraction
The Skye Museum of Island Life, a huddle of thatched cottages beside the road at Kilmuir, is 4 minutes' drive south: park here. The croft house was a family home until 1957. In 1933 the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth asked to look inside, and the story goes that the couple who lived there quietly stayed in their bedroom. In 2026 adults pay £8, and children under 15 go free. It opens at 10am, Monday to Saturday, with last entry at 4.30pm. Its toilets are the last certain ones of the day.
More about Skye Museum of Island Life
4 min on foot
Kilmuir Cemetery
An attraction
It's a 4-minute walk up the lane to the old graveyard on the slope above the museum, where Flora MacDonald lies under a granite Celtic cross some 28 feet high. In June 1746 she brought Bonnie Prince Charlie, dressed as her Irish maid, Betty Burke, across from the Outer Hebrides and ashore near Monkstadt. A marble plaque added to the memorial in 1922 carries Samuel Johnson's words, that if courage and fidelity be virtues, her name will be mentioned with honour. It's a working burial ground: guide dogs only.
More about Kilmuir Cemetery
4 min by car
Kilvaxter Souterrain
An attraction
Back at the car, it's 4 minutes' drive south to the small car park at Kilvaxter. In 2000 a hole opened in a field here to show a souterrain, an Iron Age passage lined with drystone walls and roofed with great slabs. It's under a hundred metres across the field from the car park, and you walk in bent over. Bring a torch, and wellies if it has been wet. If the walk ran long, leave this one out.
More about Kilvaxter Souterrain
10 min by car
Uig
It's 10 minutes' drive south, past Monkstadt, near where Flora brought the Prince ashore in 1746, then down into Uig and along the north shore of its bay to the pier and the ferry for Harris and North Uist. Beside it, the Isle of Skye Brewing Company's shop opens every day until 5.30pm, and Uig Pottery until 4pm at weekends. Don't count on toilets here while the old ferry terminal is cleared. Heading out, turn off at the community hall sign for the Rha falls, a short path with steps up a wooded gorge.
30 min by car
Fairy Glen
An attraction
Drive 7 minutes round the bay and up the narrow road signed Sheader and Balnaknock, which leaves the A87 by Uig Tower, known as Captain Fraser's Folly after the landlord, William Fraser. He is remembered for the Clearances, and in 1884, when he tried to evict a family at Staffin during a rent strike, naval ships came into this bay; the strike held. The Fairy Glen is a hollow of grassy cones and lochans under a basalt crag called Castle Ewen, quietest late in the day. In 2026 parking is £3 for four hours; leave the stones alone. Portree is 30 minutes' drive home, past Kingsburgh.
More about Fairy Glen

If it rains

In strong wind or rain, leave out the scramble down to the Hunish headland, as the rock staircase and the cliff path want a dry, calm day. The clifftop round to the Lookout, about two hours, still works, and the hut is a dry place for the picnic. In a downpour, miss the walk and give the time to the museum instead, where every cottage has a roof, and to the souterrain, which is under ground (wellies for the field). The Rha falls in Uig are at their best after rain, and the brewery shop and the pottery by the pier are both indoors.

Rha Waterfall

Worth a detour

Loch Langaig
A short walk up from the road at Flodigarry to a lochan under the northern end of the Quiraing.
SkyeXplorer Boat Trips
The 90-minute puffin trip from Uig harbour, which sails from late April to early August; trips can fill a few weeks ahead, and sailings depend on the weather.