Sheltered walks on Skye
Wind, not rain, is usually what spoils a day out on Skye: a gust that is merely brisk in the car park is a real problem on a cliff edge. These are the walks in glens, woodland and along the shore, where the ground does not drop away and a gale is only unpleasant. They are the answer on a day the Storr and the Quiraing are out.
Conditions as of 20 September 2026, 21:50 (Europe/London).
Kilt Rock & Mealt Falls viewpoint breezy
A waterfall off a basalt cliff straight into the sea, a hundred metres from the car park.
Blustery
Fairy Glen, Uig walk good
Miniature green cones and hollows above Uig — twenty minutes' wander, odd and lovely.
Light winds
Skye Museum of Island Life place any weather
Seven thatched blackhouses showing how Trotternish actually lived. A good wet-day hour.
Not weather-dependent
Scorrybreac circuit walk good
A one-hour shore loop straight from Portree harbour, under the crags and back into town.
Light winds
Portree harbour place any weather
Painted houses round a working pier: boat trips, chips, and the island's shops and cafes.
Not weather-dependent
Aros Centre, Portree place any weather
Cinema, exhibition space and a cafe on the edge of Portree — the standard wet-afternoon plan.
Not weather-dependent
Coral Beach, Claigan beach good
Crushed white shell sand and turquoise water north of Dunvegan. Flat, easy, good with children.
Light winds
Dunvegan Castle & gardens place any weather
The MacLeod seat for 800 years, with formal gardens, a seal boat and a lot of indoors.
Not weather-dependent
Dun Beag broch viewpoint breezy
A 2,000-year-old drystone tower ten minutes above the A863, looking over Loch Bracadale.
Blustery
Fairy Pools walk good
Clear blue plunge pools and small falls in the glen under the Cuillin. Short and very popular.
Light winds
Sligachan old bridge viewpoint good
The classic Cuillin photograph, from a three-arch bridge at the head of the glen. Pub alongside.
The tops will be in cloud
Talisker Bay beach breezy
Black and white sand under a waterfall and a sea stack, at the end of a track from Talisker.
Blustery
Talisker Distillery, Carbost place any weather
Skye's oldest working distillery, on the shore at Carbost. Book the tour; the bar takes walk-ins.
Not weather-dependent
Camasunary Bay walk wild
Over a pass to an empty bay and a bothy, facing the Cuillin across the water.
Wild in the open
Boreraig & Suisnish walk breezy
Two townships cleared in 1853, reached by an old marble railway and a coastal shelf. Sobering.
Blustery
Elgol harbour & the Coruisk boat place breezy
A small boat from Elgol pier into the heart of the Cuillin, with seals on the way in.
Blustery
Torrin & Loch Slapin viewpoint viewpoint good
The best roadside view of Bla Bheinn there is, across a tidal loch. Cafe in the village.
The tops will be in cloud
Kinloch Forest & Leitir Fura walk good
Old oak and hazel woodland with a cleared township at the far end — the best shelter on Skye.
Light winds
Armadale Castle & Museum of the Isles place any weather
A ruined castle, forty acres of gardens and a proper museum of the Lordship of the Isles.
Not weather-dependent
Point of Sleat walk breezy
A long, lovely walk to the lighthouse at Skye's southern tip, past a hidden sandy beach.
Blustery
Kylerhea otter hide viewpoint good
A roofed hide above the narrows where otters fish. Bring binoculars and be prepared to wait.
Light winds
Torabhaig Distillery place any weather
Skye's second distillery, in a restored farm steading at Teangue. Small tours, good cafe.
Not weather-dependent
Isle of Raasay Distillery place any weather
Ten minutes from the ferry: tours, a Cuillin view from the bar, and rooms if you miss the boat.
Not weather-dependent
Calum's Road & Brochel Castle viewpoint good
The two-mile road one man built by hand to Arnish, starting at a castle ruin on a rock.
The tops will be in cloud