If you’ve already been to Skye then you’ve probably seen the most popular three places. So here are my three favourite lesser known spots to beat the crowds of tourists. If you want to see what else there is to do then see how we spent a week in Skye.
Talisker Beach
Talisker distillery is featured on a few of the tours around Skye but not many seem to mention the beach that’s also at Talisker. I love this beach. The cliffs have waterfalls running down them, the black sand twinkles with white rock dispersed through it. There are sheep grazing on the grass and rocks to sit on. It’s a little way further down the road than the distillery and then about a 15 minute walk from where you can park to the beach. The walk is easy though along a road and a track and fairly flat ground. The only times we’ve been here have been in winter and there weren’t many people around, so I’m not sure how busy it gets in peak season. This is probably the most well known of the three places though.
Elgol/Torrin
The drive from Broadford to Elgol goes through Torrin and the whole road has interesting views. Cottages are dotted around with mountains in the background.
We stayed in Torrin a couple of years ago in a lovely little cottage. Although it was a bit out of the way for exploring the island, it’s a beautiful area. You can start a climb up Bla Bheinn from here which is just the other side of the lake. We were planning to do this hike on our last visit but the snowy weather made it a bit too precarious for us!
Once you get to Elgol you can catch a boat trip or just enjoy the pebbled beach and view of the Cuillens.
Rubha Hunish Lookout Bothy
This was a brand new discovery for me just before we last went, but Lee knew about the bothy a little while ago. It’s right on the north coast of Skye, not too far from Staffin and the Quiraing. The walk out to it took us around an hour along the top of the cliffs. It was a bit boggy in places but nothing that we couldn’t avoid, and that was on a day in February with quite a lot of rain.
The bothy itself is an old coastguard watch station and is the perfect spot for bird watching and spotting dolphins and whales (unfortunately we didn’t see any, I believe they’re usually around in the summer). I think this would be a beautiful spot for sunrise or sunset with the light glistening through the bothy windows.
Another ‘secret’ place to see on the Isle of Skye is the secret waterfall. Of course, I can’t tell you where it is as it’s a secret, but if you do some googling you’ll be able to find out (that’s how we did!). It can be a little tricky to get to if the ground is wet (which is why we didn’t end up going to it) but if you can find it then it looks worth the scramble!
What do you think are the best lesser known places to see on the Isle of Skye? If you’re looking for more inspiration on what to do in Scotland then check out my other Scotland posts!