Suggested Tours By Rail from Inverness
Tour 7 - Over the Sea to Skye - Portree, Dunvegan Castle, Talisker Distillery
See below for Alternative Tour. Please note: owing to constraints of time, it may not be possible to incorporate all the following points of interest into one day. Therefore, you should please decide which attractions you would particularly like to see and advise John at the time of booking.
Starting from the railway station at Strathcarron, we set off in a westerly direction. The road closely follows the shore of Loch Carron with views of its namesake, Lochcarron vilage, on the opposite shore.
Copyright © James Mould
The road then climbs quite high before dropping down to Auchtertyre. We then turn right in the direction of Kyle of Lochalsh and the spectacular Skye Bridge. The bridge was opened in 1995 and replaced the ferry service which had operated since about 1600.
Copyright © James Mould
Once on Skye, we head up the A87 towards Portree, the capital of the Island. On the way we pass through the Cuillins, a dramatic range of mountains, particularly in certain weather conditions.
Copyright © James Mould
Portree is the main town on Skye. The name is an Anglicised version of the Gaelic "Port-an-Righ" meaning "King's Port" and relates to a visit by King James V in 1540.
Photo credit: Bert Kaufmann / Foter / CC BY
After a stop in Portree, we continue up the eastern side of Skye, into the area known as Trotternish. The scenery here is quite spectacular, the main feature being The Old Man of Storr, a rock pinnacle some 165 feet in height.
A little further up the coast, another major feature is Kilt Rock, a cliff face with rock strata shaped rather like a tartan. Here there is a waterfall which tumbles 200 feet to the sea below.
Photo credit: robives / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
We continue up the coast to Staffin, then take the little mountain road via the Quiraing to Uig, a ferry terminal on the west coast. From here we take the main A87 south for several miles before turning right on the A850 heading towards Dunvegan Castle which stands about a mile north of the village of Dunvegan and is the seat of the Chiefs of Clan MacLeod. The clan has lived at this site almost continuously for the past 8 centuries.
After leaving Dunvegan, if time permits, we will travel on to the Talisker Distillery on the shores of Loch Harport - see below.
Otherwise, we will return to the mainland via the Skye Bridge in order for you to catch the return train from Strathcarron Station.
Photo credit: Mac ind Óg / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
Photo credit: Historias de Cronopios / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND
After leaving the Talisker Distillery, we head back to the mainland via the Skye Bridge in order for you to catch your return train from Strathcarron Station to Inverness.
Alternative Tour
For those who prefer to take the full railway journey from Inverness right through to Kyle of Lochalsh, John will meet you at Kyle of Lochalsh railway station.
The tour then follows the same route as above, visiting Portree, Dunvegan Castle and the Talisker Distillery, returning you to Kyle of Lochalsh Station for your return train journey to Inverness. (back)
