being a mere southerner from London and thinking its time to really explore my own island I’m thinking next summer road trip Isle of skye somewhere remote not interested in cities.

2 children (3.5yrs old & 5.5yrs old by then)/one wife.

Long drive going to take 2 days traveling.

Where to stay cheap but nice/ should we camp ? campsites ?

What to do when we are there 2 weeks (10days holidaying 4 days driving 14 total)

Many thanks in advance

Check out the weather trends, IIRC May and September are the best months rain wise. Glenbrittle has a campsite and great views of the Cuillin.

EDIT: Best reference book for the Cuillin: http://www.gordonstainforth.co.uk/eyehill/cuillin.php

I recommend the restaurant on the Stornaway to Ullapool ferry…

You will be able to see quite a few islands if you’re up for 10 days…which is a very good thing (provided you don’t mind pitching/striking the tent every few days).

You can book a multi-island ferry ticket which is pretty reasonable.

As for skye – camping at glenbrittle is awesome. Midges can be bad (same for anywhere up there though).

Accommodation on Skye can be surprisingly expensive, so camping for a family will make your money go quite a bit further.

On the way up, split your drive by stopping in Glen Coe area. Will give you a break, lots of places to stay, will put you in the mood for what lies ahead and is only a few more hours to reach skye

Don’t go in the summer, the midges will destroy you.

Go in late April/May.

Don’t go in the summer, the midges will destroy you.

I camped on skye in April, June (twice) and August this year. Midges were not that bad. Pray for a bit of wind and sunshine and you’ll be ok, otherwise it’s headnets in the evenings.

If midges really bother you, don’t come to scotland 🙂

Worked for me…

I was up there in July this year & found Smidge was quite effective. Didn’t stop the little buggers being irritating though.

go near the end of april, less crowds and less midges. after april, tourists start to arrive, and the roads get, well not exactly busy, but they do start to fill.
it’s a gamble, if you don’t get the weather, you’ll struggle to find things to do with kids.
if you really want to go to skye, from fort wiliam follow the signs for am rathad nan eilan (road to the isles) to mallaig. as you approach mallaig, you’ll see signs pointing to the left to arisaig. follow the arisaig road, awesome beaches, also very nice campsite (silver sands) with just the most amazing views to skye and the small isles.
take a day to go to the small isles. rum is excellent and i can highly recommend the castle tour. the ferry visits 2 islanss a day, but 1 day it visits all of them, a day trip is stunning, take binoculars, you might see dolphins and/or whales (i’ve seen dolphins, porpoises and a minke whale). sea eagles also live here. ther view of the black cuillin is breath taking.
also, you can walk along the side of loch morar, cut across a path and drop down to tarbet from where you can take the ferry back to mallaig (10 mile or so walk, pass is a couple of hundred feet high, not really bikeable though)
how about a visit to knoydart – camping available, and not connected to the uk road network. ferry from mallaig.
watch for the glenfinnan viaduct, you might see the harry potter steam train (google for jacobite train to get the timetable)
wildlife spotting is probably good here sea.fari operate from skye, fast rib chase the wildlife, no idea of cost though, never done it myself
fort william – mallaig, a couple of days
catch a game of shinty – mental
you need to take a ferry from mallaig-skye. you can take the bridge back to the mainland. a few miles down the road is eilan donan castle.
tirn rihjt and follow the sihns to lochcarron to go to loch carron. loch carron’s nice. sraight on, follow that road till you can turn left for applecross. follow that road. for a preview, search google for bealach na ba. incredible road. applecross inn, get some prawns.

eian donan castle – look familiar?

lochcarron

bealach na ba

Split your holiday. I reckon you might struggle to fully occupy yourself for 10 days in Skye unless you are into longer walks in stunning scenery.

Mull is worth a visit and there’s a fantastic road between the two islands via Ardnamurchan and Mallaig. I did it in reverse this year

many thanks so far good advice

Just had a few days in Sheildag on the banks of Loch Torridon.
Amazing drive from Applecross up towards TV mast – last section has to be done on foot but possibly the most spectacular view I’ve ever seen in the UK.

Applecross Inn also highly recommended!

Turn Left at Tarbet and you won’t miss the bottom left bit. You can still do the Highlands on the way north.

Honestly? Skye’s brilliant, but on a motoring holiday with small children, I’d spend a couple of days there, before heading up the west coast.

The scenery is just so much better than anything you’ll find on the isles. Check out Oldshoremore beach, Ullapool and beyond, into Assynt.

You will not regret it. Magical.

Don’t underestimate the driving times to get what looks like a reasonably short distance on the map. Last November we drove from Balmacquien on the Troternish peninsula over to cycle up the Bealach Na Ba, we left at 7am with no traffic and it was still a full day out.

Island hopping is relatively cheap if you can go without the car. Although carrying kit and transpotration for you all may be an issue.

Island hopping is relatively cheap if you can go without the car. Although carrying kit and transpotration for you all may be an issue.

It’s not hugely expensive even with the car.

These are winter prices for the route below, but it’s not much cheaper than summer.