Destination: Uig
The Isle of Skye’s reward at the end of the joyous A87
Over the sea to Skye? You’ve got it — Uig is a small village on Bonnie Prince Charlie’s fave holiday/exile island. Though these days he wouldn’t have needed a boat to get there — he could have sped like a (cross-dressing) bird on the wing over the bridge instead.
He’d have needed a few groats in his sporran for the tolls then. No — it’s been toll-free since being bought back from the developers in 2004.
That’s good news! Well, it is and it isn’t. It’s good news if you’re a local and need to commute to the mainland but it also means it’s easier and cheaper for tourists to get there. Skye was already popular but in peak season it’s now heaving with tourists, cars and campers.
What’s the attraction? Well, the Isle as a whole is bloody gorgeous for a start. So it’s worth putting up with a few full car parks and dawdling day-trippers. And Uig itself is lovely — a tiny village (only about 200 inhabitants) with a sheltered harbour in a wide, sweeping bay that’s just made for bracing beach walks. It’s backed by craggy hills and heathland, with waterfalls and lochs and general beautifulness everywhere. The harbour faces west and the sunsets over the sea can be stunning.
Sounds idyllic. It is. And if you want to explore further, there’s a regular ferry service from Uig to the Western Isles of North Uist and Harris. While you’re waiting for the ferry, there’s a brewery to visit — right on the pier. They do an ale called Young Pretender, bringing us neatly back to wee Charlie.
Best get my riding out of the way in the mornings then. Any good roads nearby? The A87 is fast, flowing and an earlymorning traffic-free run is great fun. Aside from that it’s about enjoying the quiet back roads. Still enjoyable, but you’ll probably have more fun on something smaller and a bit more manoeuvrable than you will on a full-dress Gold Wing, for example.
By the way. Uig: how do you pronounce that, then? Is it tricky? Disappointingly, it’s simply pronounced ‘Ooo-ig’.