Scotland: Summer Days in Skye
 

We will be spending 5 nights (4 full days) in Skye in early July with our three kids (ages 6,11,13).We are staying in Portree.
We are an outdoorsy family who love hiking, biking, and being on the water…at least as much as a six year-old allows!
What are your top picks for Skye?
Outdoor activities, castles, restaurants, scotch tasting (beacuse we deserve a little ADULT treat)…and anything else you think we shouldn't miss.
We will have a car to get around. We don'rt want to go at a frenzied pace but rather want to soak up the incredible landscapes and warm people Skye is famous for.
Thanks for your ides!

Here are some suggestions for your time on Skye.

Most of the castles on Skye are ruins with the exception of Dunvegan but it is well worth a visit. Just outside there are seal- spotting trips. One castle ruin that I'd put on my viewing list is Dunttulm where the ruins are perched on top of a steep cliff. You can still see the keel markings left by Viking ships.

Neist Point ( lighthouse) is a scenic walk along sheer cliffs and wonderful views to the Western Isles ( on a clear day ;) )from the car park.

The Museum of Island Life at Kilmuir. I love this place but then I tend to read every news clipping and letter. Still an interesting stop if just to get an idea of island life and how The people on this island lived.

Clan Donald Centre on the Sleat peninsula. Yet another museum but important in understanding the island's history. It may be too much for the kids but keep it in mind.

Talisker Distillery offers excellent tours. Not sure if there is an age requirement or not.

Fairy Pools

Fairy Glen

Quiraing, Old Man of Storr, Kilt Rock and Lealt Falls

Elgol where you can take boat trips to view the Black Cuillins

Kylerhea where there is a nature walk ( about 1/2 hour ) to the Otter Hide

You can rent bikes at Portree and, I believe, there is also a riding stable.

The owners of the Duisdale Hotel offer an around the island all day sailing trips but weather dependent and expensive.

Walking/ hiking on Skye is not the best there is especially the Black Cuillins where it can be treacherous. For the best walks www.walkhighlands.co.uk

There is so much more. Suggest you invest in a good guide book

all that historytraveler lists and more. When you visit the Fairy Pools, be sure to drive out through Glen Brittle and out to the beach

https://www.google.com/search?q=glen...HZLdDpQQsAQIGw

Dun Beag Broch is a fun site near the road with a walk up hill through the heather and the sheep droppings to the ruins of a two thousand year old stone fort.


http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u.../dunbeagbroch/

Thanks for the awesome info. I think we will definitely try to do two or three hikes/walks and we would love to get out on the water for a half day. Is a trip to the Black Cuillins a top choice? I think realistically something 2-3 hours long would be the max with our kids. Seeing some wildlife would be really exciting too. We live in Vancouver so we love anything to do with the ocean!
If we were to visit a beach, would it be warm enough for real beach time - swimming, playing in the sand, etc? Any have spots for an afternoon?
My hiking guideboook for Skye arrived today so I will be giving that a good read over the next little while! There is an endless list of things to do.

>>If we were to visit a beach, would it be warm enough for real beach time - swimming, playing in the sand, etc?<<

Playing in the sand . . . <i>maybe>, if you are lucky. Swimming -- not likely. Don't plan on nice weather and count your lucky stars if it is pleasant.

It was my third visit to the island before I saw a thing . . . but that third trip was drop dead gorgeous.

Its not called the 'Misty Isle' for nuthin' . . .

janisj YES, I have heard about the crazy weather! We will be packing everything from rain gear to bathing suits.

If you have to toss something…toss the swimsuits. Not sure if I've ever seen anyone in swimsuit on beaches on Skye. Shorts will suffice for beach activities.

>> bathing suits<<

Uh -- nope . . . UNLESS your hotels have heated indoor pools. Trust us -- you won't need swimsuits - and even shorts are a stretch. Now you <i>might</i> be very VERY lucky and have wading weather . . . if so, rolling up your jeans is plenty brief enough ;)

Watch for sheep and Germans pulling caravans (trailers) in the roads.

The Cuillin are really mountain climbing territory rather than hill walking or trail hiking. If you want to give it a try, you should hire a local guide. One saved my wife's life when she broke her ankle in Glencoe.

Yes, the Black Cuillins are not your best bet for casual hikes and are best left to very experienced climbers. There are other places to do your walks. Check out the website I mentioned in my first post.

We only had a few days on Skye but did go to Talisker Distillery. However, to us, one of the most beautiful sights was driving to Talisker, the town, not in the same area as Talisker Distillery. We never got to Talisker on the water, due to our reservation time at the distillery, but stopped mid-way to take photos of the incredible beauty of pure nature.

We are going to be the eternal optimists and pack swimsuits…but won't expect to get much past our ankles I guess.
As for hiking, we will be really careful not to go too far off the beaten path with the kids. I ordered a hiking guidebook online by Cicerone called "Walking The Isle Of Skye" which seems to have some shorter and easier hikes/walks.
gailscout Thanks for the tip re Talisker. I will check it out.

Take them if you wish -- they don't take up any room, but that also involves needing towels which DO take up a lot of space.

I have been to the UK countless times and have <i>not once</i> needed a swim suit except when I've rented or traded for condos that had heated pools/hot tubs on site.

(not counting when I lived there for 5 years when I did occasionally go swimming -- but could wait all summer for a warm day if need be)

To give you and idea - this is a quote from a travel piece in Guardian I love (about swimming in the Fairy Pool - which are warmer than the sea)

>><blue>The spell of the Fairy Pools is that they look as if they must be warm – with the kind of vivid blue water associated with the Maldives – but, having come straight down from the Black Cuillins they're anything but. A local swimmer warns us they're on the usual Scottish temperature range: cold, bastard cold or freezing.</blue><<

And this is more from the same article:

<blue>Perhaps it is fairy mischief that makes us abandon our wetsuits and jump into water that is face-smackingly, lung-contractingly cold (6 degrees Celsius). We clamber back out to catch our breath.</blue>

Just in case you are Celsius challenged like I tend to be . . . that is <B>43°F

janisj YES it is a bit of a trick - those Fairy Pools look really inviting! Although I have to say my kids do jump into glacial lakes in Whistler, Canada in April…so I may have some insane people with me!

Oh, it's not just the water temperature that's cold, the air temperatures can be chilly too. Last year, in June, I was at the top of the Quiriang, and it was about 12 degrees Celsius. It was raining and the wind was blowing about 40 mph creating a horizontal rain. Not nice, but you might have a day when you don't need to wear jacket over your swimsuit. Personally,when going to Skye, I'm likely to pack an extra sweater or turtleneck.

janisj, I think we've lost this one.;)

>>janisj, I think we've lost this one<<

Watch -- they'll hit Skye in the middle of a heat wave . . . . NAH :D

>>I'm likely to pack an extra sweater or turtleneck.<<

I take a down jacket, cashmere socks and head band . . .

27C on Skye yesterday

phew what a scorcher....

yep - this week some of the UK has been hotter than on the Med.

Which just means it will be 12°C where the OP is there ;)