MacLeod's Tables – A Hill Walk from Orbost
MacLeod's Tables, Healabhal Mhòr and Healabhal Bheag, are the flat-topped hills of Duirinish in north-west Skye.
The story goes that a MacLeod chief, after a banquet given by James V, held a feast on top of Healabhal Mhòr to prove his table was finer than the king's. A day's walk from Orbost climbs both, to summits as level as their name.
The walk
Park at Orbost, at the end of the public road, near the farm buildings and clear of the gates. The round of both Tables is about 10 to 11 km (6 to 7 miles), with 682 metres of climbing, and takes four to seven hours. There's no path across the moor below them, and the way onto each Table is up steep grass, so wear boots and carry a map.
Healabhal Bheag, the South Table, is the higher at 488 metres, though its name means the little one, and a trig pillar marks its top. From the flat tops the views run from Loch Dunvegan and its islands round to Loch Bracadale and the Cuillin. Golden eagles and red deer are seen on these hills.
Bring a picnic and a flask.
If it rains
The views are the reward, so save the hill for a clear, dry day.
Make it a weekend
More days out on the Isle of Skye.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Tom via Google