Skye Trail: A Hike in the Wild West of Scotland

If hiking through an untamed landscape is your thing, read on! The Scottish west coast is considered one of the wildest regions in the United Kingdom. The landscape is a mix of bare rock, every shade of green you can imagine and lots of water in the shape of lochs (Scottish for lakes), waterfalls and ocean. The Isle of Skye embodies all those features. The best way to immerse into the landscape of Skye is to hike the Skye Trail.

The Skye Trail is a long-distance hiking route stretching 128 km across the island. It’s an exuberant experience with many highlights along the way. Each day the landscape is different, from quaint little hamlets, striking mountain ridges, dreamy seascapes and rolling green hills. The Skye Trail is not purposely developed as a walking route. The paths can be rough and don’t expect any waymarks. Some stages are quite long as there is no development in between. Add in the unpredictable weather and you’ve got yourself a true Scottish adventure. To counter the rough part of this walking adventure you stay in charming villages where a good pub is never far away. Come hike the Skye Trail with us!

The Isle of Skye is an island in the west of Scotland, which is part of the United Kingdom. It’s quite far north and more remote than people often think. The biggest flight hubs are Edinburgh and Glasgow and these are more than 300 km away. The island is connected to the mainland with a bridge in Kyle of Lochalsh, which also happens to be the terminus of the train line. Later in this blog more on how to get to the Isle of Skye.

On the western side of Skye is one of the most remote group of islands in the UK, the Outer Hebrides. Further west the next stop across the Atlantic Ocean is North America. The mainland opposite of Skye is sparsely populated, with small villages scattered throughout the barren land. The closest city is Inverness, right across Scotland on the east coast. If you look at the fascinating shape of Scotland’s west coast it’s easy to see why it takes long to get anywhere. The sea lochs cut deep into the land, forcing the infrastructure to make a considerable d-tour. Roads in this part of the UK are almost always single carriageways, or even single track, where vehicles use passing places to pass through. All this considered, it’s a long way to reach Skye.

What about the Skye Trail? The hiking route itself slices through the Isle of Skye from its most northern point at Rubha Hunish to the most southern point at Elgol and ends in Broadford, not far from the bridge to the mainland. Especially Rubha Hunish is a bit of a hassle to get to. But we will take care of this and believe us, it’s worth it.

The Skye Trail is not a hiking route for beginners. Although it’s never technical in the sense of scrambling and climbing, the trail itself can be hard-going. It can be boggy and soggy underfoot and at times it’s not easy to see the trail. As the Skye Trail is not an “official” trail, there are no waymarks. That means you need to be able to use navigation maps like Komoot and you will have to bring a map and a compass, should your phone run out of battery. The distances are above average and the longest day is 23 km across the Trotternish Ridge. It’s the crux of the hike and a massive day by any means without an escape route. Throw in the unpredictable weather (yes, it’s Scotland and it does rain here a lot) and you’ve got yourself a pretty challenging hike. However, you’re staying in nice cozy accommodations along the route, which make things a bit easier, also mentally. Each day you can dry out your stuff if needed, eat in a cafe or restaurant and sleep in a bed. So if you’re a fit, experienced hiker with an adventurous mindset this epic hike may well be for you.

The most famous hike in Scotland is hands down the West Highland Way. Thousands of people tackle the trek from Milngavie to Fort William each year, right across the dramatic Scottish Highlands. The Skye Trail on the contrary doesn’t see the same numbers, though it is getting more popular each year. Below you can find a comparison with the pros and the cons of each route.

West Highland Way

Pros

1. Easy to access: The start and finish are in bigger towns with excellent public transport. Even along the way you can get on the route as the railroad is never far away.

2. Lots of choice in accommodation: You can find lots of different types of accommodation along the WHW.

3. Waymarked route: It’s easy to find the way as the entire route is really well waymarked.

Cons

1. It gets crowded: It gets very busy on the West Highland Way. This means that accommodation does get booked up in the prime trekking season (May to September).

2. Midges: Midges are tiny flying critters that can make your life a living hell. When the wind drops and it’s overcast, they come out in large numbers. They do bite and most people bring a hat with a net to protect the head.

Skye Trail

Pros

1. No crowds: You won’t encounter a lot of people on the Skye Trail, as it’s remote and a little harder than the West Highland Way.

2. Less midges: You’re never far from the ocean and often there’s a breeze that keeps the midges at bay.

3. Sense of wilderness: Due to the route’s remoteness and the lack of groomed trails and the existence of waymarks it feels much wilder than the West Highland Way.

Cons

1. Remote: It takes a full day of travel to reach the trailhead of the Skye Trail.

2. Lack of accommodation on the route: The trail end of the first three stages have no accommodation. Unless you’re camping you need to pre-arrange a taxi to take you to the closest place to stay for the night.

Due to the lower elevation and the relatively milder temperatures on the Isle of Skye compared to Scotland’s interior, you could hike the Skye Trail year-round. But there are a few things you need to know before you choose the time of year for this hiking trip. Below is an overview of what characterizes each season. Note that we consider November-March the winter season, as there can be snowfall and freezing temperatures.

Spring (April-June)

In springtime it’s still a wee bit chilly, with average temperatures that barely exceed the 10 degrees Celsius mark. But it is the sunniest and driest time, especially in May and June. Another benefit is that the midges may not be out yet. The big busloads of tourists visiting Skye have not arrived yet and it’s relatively quiet in the towns and villages. We consider this the best time to do the Skye Trail.

Summer (July-August)

The weather is generally pretty ok in the summer months, but bear in mind it’s still Scotland and it can rain at any given moment. If there’s no wind the midges are absolutely terrible. It’s pretty hard to find a place to stay so if you’re keen to go in these months you need to book way ahead of time. On the paths it won’t be busy so if you’re ok with the busy towns, the summer months are pretty good to hike the Skye Trail.

Autumn (September-October)

Autumn can be a magical time with soft light and quiet villages. September would be the best choice as October is considered the wettest month of the year. Midges however won’t be an issue anymore.

Winter (November-March)

Wintertime is the most challenging period. There’s hardly any daylight (only 6 hours), the sun seems to be in hibernation and it’s hard to find accommodation that’s open. The owners have probably migrated temporarily to southern Europe. It wouldn’t be our choice to go in this season.

As mentioned before, the Isle of Skye is quite remote. Getting to the trailhead is even further away as the Skye Trail starts at the most northern tip of the island. Having said this, you can reach the start of our Skye Trail journey in Uig quite easily. Uig is the ferry port for the Isle of Harris and North Uist and is well-served by public transport. Below we share how you can reach Uig.

Flights to Scotland

The biggest airports in Scotland are Edinburgh and Glasgow (there are actually two airports in Glasgow). Both cities have excellent bus and railroad connections with the rest of the country, including the Isle of Skye. It just takes a lot of time. If you were to designate your visit only to Skye, you may consider flying to Inverness, the capital of the Scottish Highlands. Instead of a full day of traveling from southern Scotland you can cut your travel time in half. Flights are less frequent and more expensive but if time is an issue it’s worth considering. There are no domestic flights to the isle of Skye.

By car

If you come from mainland Europe or the southern part of the UK it’s a couple of days driving to get to Skye. There are no international ferry hubs in Scotland but you can get as north as Newcastle and resume your journey from there. From both Edinburgh and Glasgow it’s a 5hr30min drive to Uig. It is a very scenic drive and if you have the time we highly recommend doing it with a few stopovers.

By bus

From Glasgow: There’s a direct bus from Buchanan Bus Station. Take either line 915 or 916 in the early morning. It takes 7 to 8 hours to reach Uig.

From Edinburgh: Make your way to Buchanan Bus Station in Glasgow where you take a direct bus.

From Inverness: Take bus 917 to Portree and change there for the bus to Uig.

By train

We highly recommend traveling to Skye by train. It’s scenic, comfortable and if you book ahead of time, it's affordable (though the bus will always be cheaper). The trains from Glasgow and Edinburgh run via Inverness. From there you take the train to Kyle of Lochalsh from where you need to proceed by bus to reach Uig.

The hills in Scotland are small compared to the mountains in the Alps and the Himalayas. It’s easy to underestimate them and each year hikers throughout Scotland get themselves in serious trouble because they venture into the hills underprepared. In many ways the terrain in the Scottish hills are more challenging than the Alps for two main reasons. First, the weather conditions. The west coast gets battered by storms on a regular basis, with wind speeds that exceed 100 km/h. Throw in low temperatures and rain and sleet and the chance of hypothermia is real. Second, navigation. Many routes in Scotland are not waymarked and you need to navigate your way on the trails with a navigation app, such as Komoot. But phone batteries may die or it rains heavily, making it impossible to see your screen. Therefore you also need to bring a topographic map and compass and make sure you know how to use it. Navigating with bright blue skies is fairly easy, but when the visibility has reduced to 10 meters or less you need to know how to find your way in the hills.

How do you prepare yourself for the Skye Trail? The most important thing is to bring the right equipment. Essential items include a breathable waterproof jacket and trousers, map and compass and good quality walking boots. Many hillwalkers in the UK carry a bothy bag, which is basically a huge plastic bag for hikers to shelter themselves from wind and rain. More on what to pack in the Packing List chapter. Before you hit the trail it’s a good idea to study your route and visualize what to expect along the way. This enables you to anticipate mentally and you can act swiftly on changing circumstances. Make sure you buy the right map(s) and learn / practice using a map and compass. Our hiking guide will provide you with the Komoot routes and a list of emergency numbers.