Loch Langaig – A Walk to Loch Hasco under the Quiraing
1½ miles · ¾ hour · there and back
dogs welcome
Two small hill lochs below the Quiraing, north of Staffin, on a short, clear path through wild ground, then lunch at Columba 1400 in Staffin.
Where it starts
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Before you go
On the path
For children, about 2.4 km there and back, with open water beside it.
Good to know
All year. Sheep graze the hill here: keep a dog under close control, as the Scottish Outdoor Access Code asks.
The walk
This is a short out-and-back walk on Trotternish, from a small gravel car park on the A855 north of Staffin, along a clear path round the north shore of Loch Langaig to Loch Hasco and back. By our measure on OpenStreetMap it's about 1.2 km each way, so 2.4 km, a mile and a half, there and back, and about three quarters of an hour at an easy pace, longer with time by the water. The ground is a clear dirt path, with the cliffs of the Quiraing rising ahead.
The path began as a cart track that crofters used to bring home their peats, and it is still used to gather sheep from the hill. The island in view offshore has at least three names: Eilean Altabhaig, Eilean a' Chinn Mhòir and Eilean Fhlòdaigearraidh. Loch Hasco is the place to turn, the second small loch on the path. Beyond it the path goes on to join the walk around the Quiraing over the summit of Meall na Suiramach, a much longer hill walk, 11 km, with a map, a compass and boots. Leac nan Fionn, Fingal's Tomb, lies to the north, said to be the grave of Fionn mac Cumhaill, the great warrior of Celtic myth.
If it rains
The weather can change quickly up here, so on a wet day give lunch at Columba 1400 longer.
Afterwards
About 5 min by car
Columba 1400
Lunch
A short drive south in Staffin, the café at Columba 1400 belongs to a charity that runs leadership academies for young people, and what is spent there goes back into its work. Columba 1400 was founded on St Columba's Day in 1997, some 1,400 years after the saint's death on Iona, which is where its name comes from. Lunch is served from Monday to Friday, noon to 3pm: home-made soup, toasties and more substantial plates, with tea, coffee and home baking either side, in an airy room with a terrace. Groups of six or more can book for lunch on 01478 611400.
After the walk
Coffee and cake, something to do with the rest of the day, and dinner, nearest the end of the walk first.
Straight after
5 min by roadA caféThe Hungry GullA family-run brunch café in Staffin's community hall, with local art on the walls and the Quiraing up the road.
5 min by roadA caféColumba 1400A youth leadership charity's centre at Staffin, whose café pays for its work, with the Trotternish ridge behind and the sea in front.
16 min by roadA caféThe Galley CaféA blue seafood café and takeaway at Earlish on the road to Uig, looking over Loch Snizort.With the rest of the day
1 min by roadThings to doLoch ShiantaA small loch near Staffin fed by Tobar Loch Shianta, once the most celebrated healing well on Skye.
4 min by roadThings to doThe NeedleThe tallest pinnacle of the Quiraing in the north of Skye, a jagged tower of rock close to forty metres high.
5 min by roadThings to doDinosaur Prints at Staffin & DuntulmDinosaur footprints in the tidal rocks at An Corran and Duntulm, and the museum in Staffin that keeps the finds.
5 min by roadThings to doDinosaur Footprints at An CorranA small sandy beach at Staffin on Skye, where the shore rock holds the footprints of meat-eating dinosaurs from about 166 million years ago.
5 min by roadThings to doAn Corran BeachA small sandy beach below basalt cliffs at Staffin, with dinosaur prints in its rocks and a rock shelter lived in more than 8,000 years ago.
6 min by roadThings to doThe QuiraingBritain's largest landslide, a jumble of rock towers and cliffs at the northern end of the Trotternish ridge on Skye.For dinner
The Ferry Inn Restaurant in Uig, 13 minutes by road. A family-run 19th-century inn in Uig with small plates of local produce, a lively bar and three rooms.
Dulse and Brose in Portree, 27 minutes by road. The Bosville's restaurant in the middle of Portree, cooking from the Skye and Highland larder, with the Merchant Bar next door.
Antlers Bar & Grill in Portree, 28 minutes by road. The restaurant of the Portree Hotel on Somerled Square, serving Highland cooking and Skye seafood at lunch and dinner every day of the year.
Places to stay near the walk
Our places to stay nearest the start, by road.
An advert · Culnacnoc
Half of One
A whitewashed crofter's cottage for eight at Culnacnoc on Skye's Trotternish coast, at the end of a single track above Brothers Point.
Sleeps 8 · 13 minutes by road
See Half of One
More places to stay near the walk
More walks near here
Within a short drive of the start.
5 min by roadA walkRubha HunishAbout two hours to the Lookout and back; three to five for the full round
6 min by roadA walkThe Quiraing4 miles, about four hours
10 min by roadA strollBrothers' Point1¼ miles, about an hour, and longer at low tide
11 min by roadA long dayLoch Cuithir6 miles, about three and a half hours
14 min by roadA walkUig Wood2 miles, about an hour and a quarter
18 min by roadA hillThe Old Man of Storr2½ miles, about two hoursDid this walk?
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