Top things to see and do on the Isle of Skye

Isle of Skye, located off the Northwest Coast of Scotland, is the largest island in the inner Hebrides archipelago. Unlike many of The other Hebrides islands which require taking a ferry, it is easily accessible to visitors of Scotland by a bridge. I’d heard a lot about the Isle of Skye before my trip- it is a favorite for tourists and is known for its beautiful, rugged landscape. It has mountain ranges, miles of coastline, and lots of interesting history. Read on to find out about the top things to see and do on the Isle of Skye.

Eas a ’Bhradain

Our day actually started off pretty bad because while Erin and I were visiting the nearby castle, Eilean Donan, she slipped on some rocks and broke her wrist. So we spent a large part of the day at a hospital on the Isle of Skye. After she got fixed up we ventured further into the island, but unfortunately the weather was the worst that we experienced yet in Scotland. The first thing we came to on our drive through the island was the waterfall Eas a ‘Bhradain.

It’s located right off the road and there’s a small parking area just after the falls. The stream from the falls continue on through the other side of the road. We got completely soaked seeing it but it was beautiful.

Sligachan Old Bridge / Collie & McKenzie Statue

Just a bit down the road we saw a beautiful bridge, the Sligachan Old Bridge, with an interesting statue in the background. The statue is of two men, Normal Collie and John MacKenzie. These men climbed, discovered and mapped routes of the Cuillin Mountains- some of the most challenging mountains in Britain located on the Isle of Skye. The statue is relatively new, just being revealed during Covid via an online viewing ceremony. This is a great area to start on a hike, or for a quick stop to view the bridge and statue with a beautiful backdrop {though that is admittedly hard to see in my pictures below, because of the bad weather that day}.

Portree

Continuing on the A87, the main road into and on the Isle of Skye, we came to the largest town and the capital of the Isle of Skye, Portree. This is also the area where we were spending the evening. Portree, with a population of under 1,000 people, has a small city center, harbour and pier. Portree is also the site of the last meeting place of Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie. You’ll hear more about them later.

Though the city of Portree is small, every year it gets inundated with visitors. The day we visited was not even a weekend yet we had a hard time finding a restaurant that could take us- they were that busy. Still, we enjoyed walking around the small town and taking in the sites. We loved the colorful lower city by the water, and the line of people outside the local fish and chip shop proves it is a popular spot.

Where to stay on the Isle of Skye

There is no shortage of places to stay on the Isle of Skye- including hundreds of B&Bs. I use booking.com when I travel in the UK to decide where to stay. We stayed at a lovely B&B just outside of Portree, Heatherfield House. Here we enjoyed a full Scottish breakfast, and it was located right on the water. The owners of this B&B were so kind. I loved that they always referred to us as “the girls” and our room was adorable. I definitely recommend staying here.

Dunvegan castle 

Our second day on the Isle of Skye looked more clear, so we decided to drive to Dunvegan Castle. Belonging to the clan MacLeod and located on the west side of the isle, it is definitely one of the top things to see and do on the Isle of Skye.

Visitors can tour the castle and gardens from April 1 through October 1 from 10-5:30. Parking is free and plentiful, and dogs are allowed in the gardens. Tickets are £14 for visiting the castle and grounds or just £12 for the grounds. The castle also offers seal tours (an additional £10) by boat, but they were closed the day we visited due to the wind.

Touring the castle

Inside the castle you first see the grand staircase, and then you go into the Fairy Tower- which is the oldest part of the castle built in the 13th century. In the bedroom the legend says a nurse had left an infant alone and when she returned, he had been swaddled and there was fairy music playing. Next, into the dining room, which displayed all the portraits of the clan chiefs over the years.

The library is where the current McLeod family celebrates Christmas and included some first edition books. The next room was the drawing room. In it you can see the fairy flag. This is probably the most treasured possession, and there’s only a small remnant of the flag- which was probably woven from silk in the 4th century- which can be viewed in a frame. The ferry flag was supposedly good luck for the clan and they never lost a battle while they were carrying it.

There was a room at the end of the hall with a lot of Jacobite memorabilia. Here visitors can see a vest belonging to the Bonnie Prince and a lock of his hair. There was also information about Flora MacDonald and how she helped the Bonnie Prince to escape after his loss at Culloden by dressing like a woman. Downstairs are several servants rooms so visitors can see how their living situation was. In one of these rooms there is a video narrated by Hugh MacLeod, the current clan chief all about Dunvegan Castle. Slide through the pictures to see images from these rooms.

Gardens of Dunvegan

After touring the castle, make sure to go outside and walk through the gardens. There are three formal gardens spread across 5 acres. The first is the water garden which has bridges and islands with many colorful plants and featuring streams and waterfalls.

Next, wander the forest path, which connects all the gardens. You will then have a view of the Round Garden with the castle in the background.

Finally, the walled garden was full of flowers and included a greenhouse.

We also walked along the water and got some amazing views of the castle.

This is also where the seal tour departs, and you have great views of the scenery around the castle.

Driving around Skye

The weather cleared up, so we decided to drive along the perimeter of Skye and check off all of the places on our must-see list. Our first stop was the Skye Brewery. It only had to-go beers (of which they offer 9 varieties) and gin, so we took some beers to go. We liked all the beers we later tried, especially the ale.

Fairy Glen

Next up on our drive along the Northern Loop across the island was the Fairy Glen. This ranks very high on my list of the top things to see and do on the Isle of Skye.

We loved walking around and exploring these grassy mounds of earth, some that have ponds in between them. Visitors are free to walk up, down and around the mounds based on their own level of interest. I loved exploring it! In the distance you could see a waterfall. 

Even though Dunvegan Castle does have the legends about fairies, those are not related to this glen. It is called the Fairy Glen just because of how magical and different it looks. It kind of reminded me of visiting Goblin Valley State Park in Utah, with the interesting shaped earth. I love seeing the flowers because I imagine that this could be where the fairies live or what they turn into during the day.

There is also a large hill that looked like a castle, called Castle Ewan.

Quiraing

The next stop on the drive was the Quiraing, a landslip. It is actually still moving, and the road below it needs repairing every year. The pointy needle is 120 feet high.

It was beautiful but it was incredibly windy. There is also a hiking loop that starts at the car park covering a distance of 6.8 km. I imagine the hike must be very difficult but the scenery surrounding is beautiful.

Kilt Rock

Next we stopped at Kilt Rock. Kilt Rock is a magnificent 90m section of rock that looks similar they say to a pleated kilt. Some people even say the colors of the basalt rock columns appear to be tartan colored. From the same view-point you can see the Mealt waterfall. Hold onto your phones here because it is windy. Sometimes, it is said, when a strong wind is blowing, one can hear a haunting, eerie sound that comes from the area.

However when we were there there was someone playing bagpipes, Which was a lovely way to take in the sights. 

Lealt Falls

Next on the list of the top things to see and do on the Isle of Skye, and the next stop on the Northern Loop, is Lealt Falls, which is a two-tiered waterfall from a 295ft cliff.

There is a wooden viewing platform and if you continue further down the path towards the coast you have great views.

Old Man of Storr 

Next we drove by the Old Man of Storr which we could see from a distance. We had tried so hard the day before to see it but couldn’t because of the weather. Visitors can opt to take a longer hike to reach the rock formation, or is a large car park for viewing also.

Highland cows

On our way out of Isle of Skye we saw something I was so pumped to see- Highland cows. We pulled off to a parking spot on the side of the road and walked across the street to see the cows. It was sooooo exciting seeing them, one of the highlights of my trip to be honest.

The Isle of Skye is so beautiful ! And driving the Northern Loop was especially rewarding. Here are a few more pictures just because I can’t get enough of how amazing it was.

I really hope you make it to Scotland, and when and if you do make sure that you visit the Isle of Skye. I hope this list of the top things to do and see in the Isle of Skye helpful. Let me know what you think and also let me know if there’s anything that I missed. Thanks for reading, check out my other posts about Scotland, and happy adventuring!

-Catching Katie