Qualla: Skye Trail

Skye Trail: Introduction

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mathieu Bouchard from Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada, CC BY 2.0. There is no signpost at the start. Rubha Hunish, the northernmost knuckle of Skye, drops off into the Minch in basalt steps and stacks, and the Skye Trail begins by simply not telling you where to go. Over the next 128 kilometres, the route will climb the Trotternish escarpment, traverse the spine of the Cuillin foothills, drop to abandoned crofting villages cleared in 1853, and end on the village green at Broadford with no fanfare and no certificate. It is not officially a trail at all. It is a route that experienced walkers stitched together from existing paths, trods, and open moorland, and it asks more of you than almost any other long-distance hike in Britain.

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Image: Mathieu Bouchard from Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada | CC BY 2.0

Skye Trail: An Unofficial Spine

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit HelgeRieder, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Skye Trail typically takes five to seven days, depending on pace and weather, and it strings together the island's most dramatic landscapes by linking footpaths and crossing open ground where no path exists at all. It has no waymarks. It requires a map, a compass or GPS, and ...

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Image: HelgeRieder | CC BY-SA 3.0

Skye Trail: Trotternish

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Paul Lucas from Leicestershire, UK, CC BY 2.0. The hardest day comes early. From Flodigarry, the trail climbs onto the Trotternish Ridge, a 30-kilometre escarpment running the length of the peninsula, formed by the largest landslip complex in Britain. The path crosses the Quiraing, a maze of pinnacles, slipped blocks, and gra...

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Image: Paul Lucas from Leicestershire, UK | CC BY 2.0

Skye Trail: Sligachan and the Cuillin

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Florian Pépellin, CC BY-SA 3.0. South of Portree the trail eases for a day, following minor road through The Braes, the quiet crofting area where in April 1882 the Battle of the Braes took place, an uprising of crofters resisting eviction. The clash with police sent from Glasgow led directly to the Crofters' Ho...

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Image: Florian Pépellin | CC BY-SA 3.0

Skye Trail: Boreraig and Suisnish

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Whuehn, CC BY-SA 3.0. The final stage from Torrin to Broadford passes through some of the saddest ground on Skye. Near Boreraig and Suisnish, the path crosses the remains of two settlements abandoned in 1853 when Lord MacDonald ordered the evictions that emptied the Strath. Stone foundations and the g...

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Image: Whuehn | CC BY-SA 3.0

Skye Trail: When to Go and What to Bring

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rude Health, CC BY-SA 2.0. The walk is best attempted from late spring to early autumn, when daylight is long and snow has cleared from the Trotternish ridge. The midges are at their worst in July and August, and any walker who plans to wild camp should expect them; insect repellent is essential. Mobile si...

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Image: Rude Health | CC BY-SA 2.0