Walking the Red Hills

Dominating the central belt of Skye are two sets of hills, and the first you’ll see if you drive in from the mainland are the rounded humps of the Red Hills. Approaching Broadford, the welcoming bulk of Beinn na Caillich is an unmistakeable peak, the pink granites that make it up shining in the sun, or wrapped in mists.

The Red Hills make excellent objectives for hillwalkers as they are all reasonably high (with summits from 570m to 775m), but lack the plunging drops and navigational difficulties of their larger cousins, the Cuillin. They form a rough line from Broadford to Sligachan and the stately peak of Glamaig and are largely accessible from the main road.

Sea views of Scalpay and Raasay to the north-east compete with glimpses of the Cuillin for your attention, and the valleys in-between will hold you spellbound with their remoteness – you’ll find few people taking these trails.

Climbing in the Cuillin

These are the mountains of your dreams, or possibly your nightmares. Iconic and relentlessly jumbled spires and ridges of dark rock that run in a long arc around Loch Coruisk in the central region of Skye.

Although most of these peaks involve at least graded scrambling, if not full-on climbing, there are several that are definitely within the reach of walkers. And even where summits are inaccessible to those of us who want to keep our hands on our sandwiches and cameras and well away from gripping onto rock,  the routes into the various corries of the towering Cuillin are well worth the journey.

For your first Cuillin summit, both Bruach na Frithe and Sgurr na Banachdaich are Munros with walkable tops, they’re reachable from Sligachan and Glen Brittle respectively. Alongside these, there’s the highest point on Skye, Sgurr Alasdair, though you’ll have to ascend the infamous scree slope of the Great Stone Shoot to reach its peak. Possibly the most striking mountain on Skye, the castle-like Blabheinn, which sits apart from the main ridge, also has a walking route starting from near Torrin.

Simply to marvel at these peaks is enough for many walkers, especially if the weather is looking a bit suspect. One of the most famous walks on Skye, a circuit of Loch Coruisk, becomes a proper adventure when you get there via the boat from Elgol.

A visit to the Fairy Pools off Glen Bittle can be turned into a fantastic circular walk exploring the innards of Coire na Creiche, while other corries make brilliant half-day walks, and often have good paths leading into them.

Trotternish and the Outliers

Alongside the famous central mountains and the miles of coastline, there are plenty of other hills scattered around the island. In the north, the Trotternish ridge is the site of a vast landslip that occurred millions of years ago, resulting in the bizarre rock formations of the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing. The hills of Trotternish form a long ridge, accessible in several places and offering sweeping views over Skye’s northern peninsulas.

Highlights Elsewhere on the Island

Interesting individual hills dot the rest of the island. Away to the west you’ll find the alluring flat-topped peaks of Macleod’s Tables, and if staying in Portree, two nearby and easy peaks are Ben Tianavaig and Sithean a’ Bhealaich Chumhaing, on opposite sides of the picturesque bay. To the east, just south of the bridge and near where the ferry docks at Kylerhea stand several hills dominated by Sgùrr na Caillich. These are excellent peaks for the view back over to the mountains of the mainland, and you can easily combine a walk with a visit to the Kylerhea otter hide.