Talisker Bay – A Sea Stack, a Cliff Waterfall and Heavy Surf
About 2.2 miles on foot.
Talisker Bay faces west on Skye's Minginish coast, a shore of stones and dark and pale sand with a waterfall dropping straight off the cliffs on one side and a sea stack standing off the other.
An easy farm track leads down to it from the end of the Talisker road, about 3.5 km there and back. This is Talisker the settlement, not the distillery, which is at Carbost.
- Time
- About an hour: 3.5 km there and back on a farm track, with 54 m of climbing. An easy walk.
- The path
- A farm track with gates, then stones and shingle on the shore.
- Where to start
- Near the end of the tarmac road to Talisker, off the B8009 at the war memorial near Merkadale. There's no car park: keep the turning area, passing places and gates clear.
- Set off
- From November to January, set off by 2pm to be back in daylight.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. From November to January set off by 2pm.
- Dogs
- On a lead: the track runs through a working sheep farm.
- Children
- An easy track; keep children back from the water when a swell is running.
- Toilets
- None at the bay.
- Before you set out
- The track runs through a working sheep farm: close every gate. The surf can be heavy.
The walk
Park near the end of the tarmac road to Talisker, which leaves the B8009 at the war memorial near Merkadale. There's no car park. Pull in with care, and keep the turning area, the passing places and every gate clear. If there's no room, come back later. Walkhighlands gives the walk as 3.5 km there and back with 54 metres of climbing, about an hour.
A farm track passes Talisker House, which dates from the 1720s and was for generations the home of the heir to the chief of MacLeod. James Boswell stayed there in 1773 and wrote of the great waves in the bay. The track then runs through the estate's working sheep farm to the southern end of the bay. Close every gate behind you and keep dogs on a lead. The shore is stones and shingle with sand showing as the tide drops, the waterfall streaking the dark cliff on one side and the sea stack standing off the other.
The surf here can be heavy. It's a bay for watching the sea, and children should be kept back from the water's edge when a swell is running. The bay faces the sunset, but the track is unlit and the stones are awkward in the dark: from November to January, set off by 2pm. There are no toilets and nothing to buy at the bay. Carbost, on Loch Harport, is the nearest village for something to eat, and in winter it's worth ringing ahead.
If it rains
The track is firm in any weather and the waterfall is at its fullest after rain, though there's no shelter at the bay. In a westerly gale the surf is the sight: watch it from well back.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Skyewalker Hostel, 3 miles away. Sleeps 1.
For further reading, before you go.