Isle of Skye

Waternish, by Skeabost and Edinbane

A day by car, from Portree and back.

The route

Waternish is the middle of Skye's three northern peninsulas, and the quietest: a single-track road runs in from the Fairy Bridge and the same road brings you out.

This day drives there from Portree by the A87 and then the A850, stopping at Skeabost, where the Bishops of the Isles had their church on a river island, and at the wood-fired pottery in Edinbane. Beyond the Fairy Bridge come the makers: a pottery on the road above Loch Bay, and the last commercial sheepskin tannery in Scotland. Lunch is at the inn in Stein, the fishing village Thomas Telford planned in 1790 and never finished. Trumpan's roofless church looks across the Minch to the Western Isles, and the day turns for home with tablet, a crumbly Scottish fudge, from an honesty shed at Geary.

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 lunch at the Stein Inn
The inn takes walk-ins as well as bookings, but in season its tables fill.

The day

Waternish

A day out to Waternish, the quietest of Skye's northern peninsulas, and back by the same road: about an hour and 45 minutes at the wheel. On the way are the river island where the Bishops of the Isles had their church, and a wood-fired pottery at Edinbane. Beyond the Fairy Bridge come the makers, lunch by the water at Stein and the roofless church at Trumpan, facing the Western Isles.

1 hr 48 min at the wheelAbout 58 miles

St Columba's Isle
An attraction
It's 11 minutes' drive out of Portree to Skeabost. Turn right for Peinmore and Tote, left just over the cattle grid, and park at the memorial hall. A signed path leads to a footbridge, with steps, onto the island in the River Snizort. A stone calls it the site of the cathedral church of the Bishops of the Isles from 1079 to 1498; tradition says 28 Nicolson chiefs lie in Nicolson's Aisle. Clach Ard, a Pictish symbol stone, stands in a wooden enclosure just up the road to Tote.
More about St Columba's Isle
12 min by car
Edinbane Pottery
A shop
Edinbane, 12 minutes' drive on through Bernisdale, was laid out in 1861 by Kenneth MacLeod of Greshornish, who had made his fortune growing indigo in India. The pottery stands in wooded grounds at the head of Loch Greshornish, and the potters can be watched at work. Its stoneware is wood-fired and salt-glazed. From Easter to October it opens every day, 9am to 6pm. If the Stein Inn has no lunch on your day, the Edinbane Inn, a minute's walk away, serves lunch every day from noon.
More about Edinbane Pottery
7 min by car
Fairy Bridge
A walk
It's 7 minutes' drive west to the turning for Waternish, the B886, and a lay-by with an information board just along it. The old stone bridge over the Bay River stands beside the new road. The story goes that a MacLeod chief married a fairy, who after a year and a day had to go back to her own people. They said goodbye here, and she left him a flag that would bring help when it was waved in danger. Five minutes is plenty.
More about Fairy Bridge
5 min by car
Skio Pottery
An attraction
Drive 5 minutes up the single track beside the Bay River to Loch Bay and Skio Pottery, a home studio about a mile and a half short of Stein. On most weekdays it's open 10am to 4pm, with the day's hours posted each morning in its Instagram stories, and the potters will show you the work in progress. At any time the croft box is stocked with mugs, bowls and vases, paid by cash or card. Park on the gravel, never the road.
More about Skio Pottery
4 min by car
Stein
Stein is 4 minutes' drive on through Lusta, with a free car park by the shore. Thomas Telford planned a fishing village here in 1790; only part was built, the whitewashed row along Loch Bay. The Stein Inn, said to be the oldest on Skye, serves lunch from noon to 2pm on days that change with the season: check them and book before you go. The pier here is later than Telford's own, which stood further north. Look across to Isay, and find sea-glass jewellery at Skye Seaglass.
2 min by car
Skyeskyns
A shop
It's 2 minutes' drive back up to the junction and straight on to Skyeskyns, the only commercial sheepskin tannery left in Scotland. Tours of the tannery run through the day, free for families and anyone on their own: just ask on arrival, or follow the audio tour in one of five languages. The showroom is up a flight of stairs. It's open every day, 9.30am to 5.30pm from April to October, and in season a yurt beside it serves coffee and home baking.
More about Skyeskyns
10 min by car
Trumpan Church
An attraction
Trumpan is 10 minutes' drive north, past Hallin's war memorial and through Halistra; park opposite the roofless church. Historic Environment Scotland records that MacDonalds from North Uist set it alight with the MacLeods at worship inside, and were caught going back to their galleys in Ardmore Bay below: in 1578, the story goes. In the graveyard stands the Priest's Stone, or Trial Stone: by tradition, whoever found its hole blindfold, with one finger, was telling the truth. Lady Grange, kidnapped and held on St Kilda, is said to lie here too. Go back the way you came.
More about Trumpan Church
12 min by car
Geary
It's 12 minutes' drive back to Halistra, where the Geary road leaves, and across to the road's end at Geary. Will Scott paints in oils at his studio at 28 Geary, most days 10am to 4pm; ring 07760 223002 first. Donnie's Tablet Shed, a purple honesty box at the turning circle, sells homemade tablet, and other croft boxes have cakes, preserves and chilli jam. On the croft beside the shed are hens, geese, llamas and Highland cows. Portree is 46 minutes' drive home.

If it rains

Most of this day is under a roof. Skyeskyns' tannery tour, the workshop and gallery at Edinbane Pottery and the studio at Skio are all indoors, and lunch at the Stein Inn can be a long one. On St Columba's Isle the grass is long and the steps of the footbridge get slippery, so in a downpour look across from the path by the old Skeabost Bridge, or leave it for a drier day. The Fairy Bridge and Trumpan take a few minutes from their car parks, and Geary's honesty boxes need no more.

Skio Pottery