Walking holidays in Scotland
Isle of Skye Discovery
A week long walking holiday to the most famous of Scotland's Islands - Skye. Wild coastal scenery, jagged mountain ranges and a wealth of history make this an easy choice of destination to visit for a week's walking and the chance to explore the many different aspects of this diverse island.
What an amazing week. Peter did a superb job of guiding us and filled the trip with interesting information and humor throughout our hikes. The B&Bs were all lovely and very cosy as well. We really enjoyed meeting our companions and spending time with them as well. Thank you for a perfect week!
Susan, 2007
To the ancient Celts, Skye was known as An t’Eilan Sgitheanach - the Winged Isle. To the Vikings the Island was Skuyo – the Cloud Island and to the Gaelic poets she was Eilean a’ Cheo – the Island of the Mist. Maybe you'll have your own ideas.
Trip Summary
The Isle of Skye needs little introduction. The most famous of Scotland's Islands and second largest of the Hebridean Isles, Skye possesses an immense range of scenery and diverse walking to suit all abilities for a spectacular hiking holiday.
The Cuillin mountains form what is undisputedly the most impressive ridge on the British Isles. The adjacent Red Hills are less dramatic but no less beautiful. To the north runs the Trotternish ridge escarpment, with the Stoerr and the Quirang en-route and their awe-inspiring rock pinnacle formations.
Wild coastlines, deep fjords and secluded windswept bays all make for a wild hiking experience through a very unique landscape. We will take in as much of this scenery as possible, with a superb range of easy to moderate walks and hikes throughout the length of the island to give you a full Skye experience!
Take in the island's wildlife and incredible geology, its turbulent history, strong tradition and thriving Gaelic culture which all combine to make this a fascinating place to visit.
Tour Itinerary
The holiday includes 6 nights full board accommodation and 5 full days of guided walking on the Island. Departure will be from Edinburgh at 9.00 am on the first Sunday of the hiking holiday, returning around 3pm on the following Saturday. The first day of travel to the island will be taken at a leisurely pace to allow for general sightseeing and stops en-route.
We could easily spend 2 weeks on Skye - but we only have a week! The itinerary below gives you a flavour for some of the walks we are likely to do during your week, with some easier walks and more challenging mountain hikes, but this should be regarded as flexible.
Day 1 (Sunday): Travel to Skye.
We will depart Edinburgh at 9:00 am and head off to Skye with some sightseeing stops en-route. Highlights along the way include a visit to the Falls of Dochart at Killin, the dramatic Glen Coe and Eilan-Donan Castle. We will arrive in Skye late afternoon/early evening in time for dinner.
Day 2 (Monday): Boreraig and Suisnish.
 This is a very fine coastal walk in the southwest of Skye to the deserted villages of Boreraig and Suisnish - former crofting communities destroyed during the "Highland Clearances" of the mid 1900's.
Now just scattered ruins, these places give testimony to a bleak period of Scottish history and are wild, lonely places to visit. The views throughout the walk are wonderful and varied - Loch Eishort to the south, the Isle of Rhum not far away and adjacent mountains Bla Bheinn and Clach Glas to the west.
170m/540ft, 10m/17km, good path, 6 hrs.
Day 3 (Tuesday): Elgol Coast walk to Camasunary Bay
 This is a superb coastal walk into the southern end of the Cuillin hills. The cliff path leading to Camasunary is spectacular and gives fantastic views of the Cuillin mountains, culminating in the peaceful setting of Camasunary bay - a remote sanctuary under the slopes of Bla Bheinn in the midst of dramatic mountain scenery.
The bay is a great place just to rest, soak up the scenery and take endless photographs before continuing out over the hill to Kilmarie.
6m/11km, 150m/492ft, rough path, 5-6 hours.
Day 4 (Wednesday): Coire Lagan
 Today’s walk gives you the chance to enter into the rugged heart of the Cuillin mountains. Corrie Laggan is one of the many bowl shaped hollows (corries) leading up into the higher peaks and is deserved in its reputation as the most spectacular of them all.
Along the way, we stop to admire the Eas Mor waterfall, which is considered to be the most spectacular waterfall on Skye. The way to the Corrie is initially on good paths, but with some rougher walking in its upper stages
570m/1850ft, 6m/10km, rough rocky ground, 6 hrs.
Day 5 (Thursday): The Quirang and Meall na Suiramach.
 The Quirang is an incredible maze of rock pinnacles and cliffs towards the northern end of the Trotternish peninsula in the north of the Island. We'll take as much time as we need to explore this amazing area before returning via the spectacular viewpoint and clifftop walk of Meall na Suiramach
280m/920ft, 5m/8km, good paths, 5-6 hrs.
Time allowing, we may then take a short walk to the most northerly point of the island or stop at some of the many fantastic viewpoints in this part of the island.
Day 6 (Friday): Macleod’s Maidens
Go deep into Macleod country for a stunning clifftop view and the legend of Macleod’s Maidens – these striking sea stacks guard the entrance to Loch Baracdale in the far west of the Island – the view from the clifftop will literally take your breath away.
11m/16km, nominal ascent, track and path, 6 hrs.
Day 7 (Saturday): Return to Edinburgh
We leave Skye early morning, arriving back to Edinburgh at approximately 2-3pm.
Accommodation and Meals:
Your accommodation for the week is in personally selected small bed and breakfasts and larger guest houses on the island of Skye. We only use places we have personally visited and approved and you will be warmly received by your host. Please note that single rooms are increasingly hard to obtain in this more remote area and that en-suite facilities for singles may not always be available. Check with us when you book.
Evening meals for the whole group on this trip are normally taken at a local inn or restaurant. On all our tours we make a special effort to ensure that your evening meals are a highlight of the trip and seafood is a particular speciality on this trip. Specific dietary requirements can normally be catered for if we know in advance. Packed lunches are included throughout the week.
Grading of Walks:
The walking throughout this tour we class as “easy to moderate” – suitable for people of reasonable fitness who enjoy walking or the outdoors but who needn’t necessarily have any previous hiking experience. Walks each day are between 5-7 hours, with some lower level walks with little ascent and more challenging days involving some mountain ascent (see above). You will be on pathed terrain throughout the week, but this will vary to being quite rugged or sometimes boggy. If you have any doubts about your suitability for the trip please just ask! Please read our grading guide here.
You can book your trip online now! If you need more information, please do contact us.
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