Isle of Skye

Oronsay Island, Ullinish

A tidal island in Loch Bracadale, reached over a stony causeway from Ullinish when the tide is out.

Welcome

Twice a day the sea covers the stony causeway to Oronsay, and twice a day it lets you across.

The island lies off Ullinish Point in Loch Bracadale, and the walk out to it is one of the finest short walks on Skye: over the fields from Ullinish, along the shore with the Cuillin across the water, and down to the narrows.

Once over, the going turns to dry, springy turf. The north side is high cliff, looking out over the other islands of Loch Bracadale, and the south coast is lower and rockier. The whole round takes two hours or so. Plan the day around the tide, and keep an eye on the clock while you are out there.

The walk

Over the fields from Ullinish to the causeway, across to the island, out to its cliffs and back round the lower south coast.

Tides: The causeway is under the sea for two to three hours either side of high tide. Check the tide times before you set out, and cross while the tide is still going out.
Distance: 5 kilometres, 2 to 2.5 hours, 155 metres of climb.
Start: The end of the minor branch road signed 'Oronsay Path', off the road to Ullinish Country Lodge from the A863.
The path: Easy to follow but boggy in parts; dry turf on the island itself.
By bus: The 56A calls, not often, at the Ullinish House Hotel.

Did you know

A shingle spit curves out to a grassy headland between two bays on the Isle of Skye.

Did you know

An island named for the tide.

Oronsay is a Norse name for a tidal island. There are at least 20 Oronsays or Ornsays in the Hebrides, and two of them are on Skye.

A grassy headland with dark cliffs juts into the sea, photographed from above on the Isle of Skye.

Did you know

Forty huts on the grass.

At the north-east end of the island are the ruins of at least forty shielings, small round and oval huts, among the ridges of old lazy-bed fields.

A tombolo headland with a small pool at its centre reaches into the sea, a village visible beyond on the Isle of Skye.

Did you know

Traps in the shallows.

Seen from the air, the shore by Oronsay shows the remains of old fish traps, recorded by Historic Environment Scotland.

Dark cliffs edge a grassy headland reaching into a still sea, photographed from above on the Isle of Skye.

Did you know

An arch that is almost a tunnel.

The high north side ends above sea stacks, and on the lower south coast a deep inlet hides a natural arch so deep it is almost a tunnel.

A calm bay curves past a grassy headland toward distant hills on the Isle of Skye.

Did you know

Johnson and Boswell at Ullinish.

Samuel Johnson and James Boswell stayed at Ullinish in September 1773. On the morning of the 22nd Boswell watched the Margaret of Clyde sail past full of emigrants: a melancholy sight, he wrote.