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Timber-clad building with black roof and metal railings along a gravel path
Trotternish

The Cowshed Boutique Bunkhouse

For one, with a sauna and room for the dog. From £23 a night. Arrive from 4pm, leave by 10am.

Book on their website
Welcome

The Cowshed Boutique Bunkhouse is a hostel with a focus on design and comfort, on the hill above Uig Bay on the north-west coast of Skye.

Visited and photographed by Hidden Scotland

The original building on the site was the island’s maternity hospital, so a lot of local people were born here. You can book a bunk in a shared dorm with shared bathrooms, a private room with four or six beds (the four-bed room has its own en-suite), or a pod on the hill behind the bunkhouse with its own en-suite shower room, which takes two adults and up to two children under 15, or three adults.

Large picture windows surround the shared living and dining space, with the sun setting over the bay and, for a lucky few, views of the Northern Lights. The kitchen is shared, with stoves, ovens, a microwave and a toaster, and there is a sauna and a barbecue hut with a fire pit for guests only. Dogs are allowed in the pods.

What is here

There is a big shared kitchen with stoves, ovens, kettles, a microwave and a toaster, tea, coffee, sugar, salt, pepper and oil provided, a dining room and a lounge with a wood-burning stove and views over the bay, a laundry room, lockers in the rooms and free wifi in the common areas.

Sauna
Firepit
Barbecue
Dog friendly
Kitchen
Travel cot
Wheelchair accessible
Wifi
Wood-burning stove
Good to know

Prices are per night: a bunk in a shared dorm from £23, a private room with four or six beds from £124 and a pod from £80.

Check-in is between 4pm and 10pm, later by arrangement, and check-out is at 10am, with keys returned to reception. Early check-in and late check-out aren’t possible, but you can wait in the common room or leave bags in the laundry room, and the facilities can be used from your arrival. Please be quiet in the hall and rooms after 10pm. The gas for the cookers is on from 8 to 10am and 5 to 10pm, and there is no breakfast or restaurant, though a small store at reception sells snacks, drinks and simple groceries. Children are welcome if supervised, with under-fives in private rooms only, and a portable cot can be asked for. Dogs are allowed in all pods for a small surcharge, and a pod in a fenced area can be requested. Stag and hen parties aren’t taken and stays can be up to two weeks. The bunkhouse is wheelchair accessible, including the bunk rooms, kitchen, dining room, living space and one bathroom, but the pods are up gravel stairs on the hillside. The driveway is steep and tightly winding, so long vehicles and trailers may not get up it. Cancel seven or more days ahead for 90% back; after that the full amount is charged.

Child Friendly
Disabled access
Dog friendly
Wi-Fi
Where it is

The Cowshed is in Uig, on the north-west coast of Skye, above Uig Bay and a five-minute drive from the ferry terminal, with buses from the bottom of the driveway.

Uig has a petrol station, cafés, restaurants, a pub and Rankins general store, and the Isle of Skye Brewing Company has its shop in the village. From the village there's a stroll through Uig woods to the shore, a walk to the Rha Falls, and the grassy little hills of the Fairy Glen. Longer hikes climb the Trotternish Ridge, and the Quiraing, the Old Man of Storr and Kilt Rock are a short drive away. The ferry from Uig crosses to the Outer Hebrides every day of the year.

what3words///rave.forecast.relaxed

Close by
  1. Blue-clad building with wooden ramp signed "The Galley Seafood Café & TakeawayThe Galley CaféA blue seafood café and takeaway at Earlish on the road to Uig, looking over Loch Snizort.Half a mile 2 min by road
  2. A plate from the Ferry Inn's restaurant.The Ferry Inn RestaurantA family-run 19th-century inn in Uig with small plates of local produce, a lively bar and three rooms.Half a mile 2 min by road
  3. Waterfall cascading over dark rocks into a pool, framed by dense woodlandRha WaterfallA two-stage waterfall at the head of a wooded gorge in Uig, part of the Woodland Trust's Uig Wood.Half a mile 3 min by road
  4. A puffin in close view, its bill striped orange and grey.SkyeXplorer Boat TripsPuffins from Uig, and a fast boat to the top of Skye from Staffin.2 miles 4 min by road
  5. Lichen-streaked basalt cliffs above the sea at Rubha Hunish, a stack standing off the point.Rubha Hunish WalkEight and a half kilometres to the top of Skye, past an open bothy on a cliff.10 miles 16 min by road
  6. Isle of Skye Distillers shopfront with Misty Isle gin sign and "We Are Open" boardThe Isle of Skye DistillersThe Wilson brothers' family distillery in Portree, making Misty Isle gin from foraged Skye botanicals since 2017.15 miles 23 min by road
  7. White stone building with slate roof, Forest Foto sign, pumpkins by entranceEdinbane PotteryA workshop and gallery at the head of Loch Greshornish, making wood-fired and salt-glazed pottery since 1971.18 miles 25 min by road
  8. Loch below the Old Man of Storr, Skye, under cloud-covered peaksLoch FadaThe southern of the two Storr Lochs, a shallow trout loch beside the Staffin road under the Old Man of Storr.19 miles 29 min by road
Walks from here
  1. Uig WoodUig Wood2 miles, about an hour and a quarter1 mile away
  2. The Fairy GlenThe Fairy GlenA mile, about an hour1 mile away
  3. The QuiraingThe Quiraing4 miles, 3 to 4 hours6 miles away
  4. Rubha HunishRubha Hunish3 miles, 2 to 3 hours10 miles away
  5. Loch LangaigLoch Langaig1½ miles11 miles away
  6. Brothers' PointBrothers' Point2¼ miles, an hour to the shore and back14 miles away
Directions
Grassy mounds and rocky pinnacle surround a stone spiral at Fairy Glen, SkyeAttractionsFairy Glen2.0 miles
Winding road through the Quiraing on Skye, small lochs belowAttractionsThe Quiraing4.0 miles as the crow flies
LinicroMonkstadt 1745Place to stay · 4.8 miles
The Kilvaxter souterrain at Kilmuir: the stone-lined entrance open in the turf beside a fenced path, with the interpretation board behind it.AttractionsKilvaxter Souterrain5.5 miles
An e-bike beside a rocky burn.AttractionsSkye EBikes6.6 miles
Thatched stone cottages flank old farm carts and a millstone on grassAttractionsSkye Museum of Island Life7.1 miles
The granite Celtic cross over Flora MacDonald's grave in Kilmuir burial ground, with the Minch behind it.AttractionsKilmuir Cemetery7.3 miles
Celtic cross gravestones in a coastal cemetery under a grey skyAttractionsThe Grave of Flora MacDonald7.3 miles
Ruined castle atop a rocky headland overlooking the seaAttractionsDuntulm Castle8.9 miles

Recommend to a friend

Days out from The Cowshed Boutique BunkhouseAll days out from here
  1. A walk in Uig Wood to the Rha Glen waterfallA walk in Uig Wood to the Rha Glen waterfallHalf a mile away A few hours
  2. The Rha waterfall in Uig and lunch at the GalleyThe Rha waterfall in Uig and lunch at the GalleyHalf a mile away A few hours
  3. A walk round the Fairy Glen at UigA walk round the Fairy Glen at UigHalf a mile away A few hours
  4. The Quiraing circuitThe Quiraing circuit4 miles away A few hours
  5. A walk to Loch Langaig and Loch Hasco under the QuiraingA walk to Loch Langaig and Loch Hasco under the Quiraing6 miles away A few hours
  6. A walk to the Lookout at Rubha HunishA walk to the Lookout at Rubha Hunish7 miles away A few hours
  7. A walk to Brothers' Point on Skye's Trotternish coastA walk to Brothers' Point on Skye's Trotternish coast7 miles away A few hours
  8. Skye's dinosaur coast: a day of footprints on one low tideSkye's dinosaur coast: a day of footprints on one low tide7 miles away A day out
  9. Brothers' Point and lunch at Columba 1400 in StaffinBrothers' Point and lunch at Columba 1400 in Staffin7 miles away A few hours
  10. Lealt Falls, Kilt Rock and lunch at Columba 1400Lealt Falls, Kilt Rock and lunch at Columba 14008 miles away A few hours
  11. A walk to Loch Cuithir on the old diatomite railwayA walk to Loch Cuithir on the old diatomite railway8 miles away A few hours
  12. Edinbane Pottery and dinner at Edinbane LodgeEdinbane Pottery and dinner at Edinbane Lodge8 miles away A few hours
  13. A rainy day on SkyeA rainy day on Skye8 miles away A day out
  14. Trotternish: the north end and UigTrotternish: the north end and Uig8 miles away A day out
  15. Waternish, by Skeabost and EdinbaneWaternish, by Skeabost and Edinbane9 miles away A day out
  16. St Columba's Isle and afternoon tea at Skeabost HouseSt Columba's Isle and afternoon tea at Skeabost House9 miles away A few hours
  17. Coffee and cake at Waternish Farm and the Skyeskyns tanneryCoffee and cake at Waternish Farm and the Skyeskyns tannery9 miles away A few hours
  18. Trotternish: the Storr to the QuiraingTrotternish: the Storr to the Quiraing9 miles away A day out
  19. The path up to the Old Man of StorrThe path up to the Old Man of Storr9 miles away A few hours
  20. A walk down to Bearreraig BayA walk down to Bearreraig Bay10 miles away A few hours
  21. An evening by Loch Bay and supper at the Stein InnAn evening by Loch Bay and supper at the Stein Inn10 miles away A few hours
  22. A walk to Waternish Point from TrumpanA walk to Waternish Point from Trumpan11 miles away A few hours
  23. A walk to the Coral Beach at ClaiganA walk to the Coral Beach at Claigan12 miles away A few hours
  24. Dunvegan Castle's gardens and the seal boatDunvegan Castle's gardens and the seal boat13 miles away A few hours
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