VISIT A MOUNTAINOUS ISLAND
Isle of Skye
Great Britain has over 6000 offshore islands, many of which are tiny and uninhabited, a handful of which are wild and mountainous. Rum, Arran, Eigg, Jura, Harris and Lewis are all names that fire the heart of hillwalkers; but there’s one island that stands head and shoulders above all others in terms of mountain superstar status...
People flock from all over the world to visit Skye, and for the mountain-lover Britain’s second largest island has just about everything. From the fearsome
Black Cuillin peaks in the south, to the green landscapes of the Quiraing, Storr and Trotternish Ridge further north, there’s nothing you can’t do here.
Skye will always be inexorably linked with climbing and mountaineering, but the hillwalking trails are also some of the finest Scotland has to offer. There are daring ascents for scramblers onto the Cuillin Ridge, rolling peaks alive with the sound of golden and white-tailed eagles in the neighbouring Red Cuillin hills, and possibly the best mountain view anywhere in Britain from the summit of scraggy outlier Sgurr na Stri over Loch Coruisk.
All that good stuff comes at a cost though, because Skye can be ridiculously busy – in high season beauty spots such as Sligachan Bridge and the Fairy Pools attract busloads of tourists. So visit in the quieter months and get off the beaten track. Walk among the peaks, bays and bothies that aren’t marked by brown signs, and experience a mountainous island like no other.