Skye or Orkney...?

JSC

So, I'm planning to take some folk for a day tour this Saturday from Inverness and am wondering if I should take them to Skye or Orkney??  Any advice??

OutandaboutElaine

Hi @JSC @NatalieRendall has just posted a brilliant top ten of Orkney which might be too late for this trip but worth checking out for future trips to Orkney.  Did you go to Skye or Orkney today? if so, what did you discover that you'd like to share with the Community?

JSC

We chose Skye and what a day!!  Blue skies and wonderful views!!  The craic in Portree was ace too.  We really have the best folk in the world!  We sat and had fish n chips while this chap chatted to us about the island!  

VisitScotlandRuaridh

VisitScotlandElaine said:

Hi @JSC @NatalieRendall has just posted a brilliant top ten of Orkney which might be too late for this trip but worth checking out for future trips to Orkney.  Did you go to Skye or Orkney today? if so, what did you discover that you'd like to share with the Community?

Hi there,

 There is plenty to see and do throughout Skye. Skye is probably most popular for dramatic mountainous scenery and hill walking.

Please find a link attached here, which will give you a guide from Visit Scotland as to what to do when you visit Skye and Lochalsh.

Isle of Skye Guide- http://https//www.visitscotland.com/destinations-maps/isle-skye/  
Walking on Skye- http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/skye

I hope you find this is helpful.

VisitScotlandRuaridh

JSC said:

We chose Skye and what a day!!  Blue skies and wonderful views!!  The craic in Portree was ace too.  We really have the best folk in the world!  We sat and had fish n chips while this chap chatted to us about the island!  

I've just come across this @JSC and I'm very pleased to hear you had a wonderful day on Skye. There is no where quite like it for dramatic scenery on days as spectacular as Saturday. Now, we have gone back to the rain unfortunately The good weather will return though. Please visit Skye again.

jillyb

Skye is my favourite place in Scotland (and probably in the world when the sun shines).  

I'd recommend the walk from Duntulm Castle to Rubha Hunish (wonderful wildlife on the sea cliffs) and also the walk to Loch Sneosdal from near Linicro.  Really peaceful walks away.

I'd recommend heading around to Ellishadder art cafe afterwards for some lunch.  Maggie does some great food and the artwork she sells is great.

EileanDonan

Spent a lot of time in both, and its an almost impossible comparison to make. Both are incredible, yet for very different reasons. Whatever you chose you most certainly will not be disappointed. The one thing I would say is that they BOTH require time to do them justice. In my humble opinion, neither can be done justice in a day. Like many Scottish islands, the longer you spend on them, the more you get out!

ArgyllCoffeeGod

Sadly I haven't been to Orkney yet but I have been to Skye and I think it is a stunning place.  For what it is worth you won't be disappointed with Skye, though I suspect there will be others here who can say the same about Orkney as well!

How's that for decisive??

  

Rondo

JSC said:

We chose Skye and what a day!!  Blue skies and wonderful views!!  The craic in Portree was ace too.  We really have the best folk in the world!  We sat and had fish n chips while this chap chatted to us about the island!  

We are heading up to Skye in October for a week, can't wait

johnmurrayjnr

Both amazing but would have to go with Skye, such a dramatic and enchanting island. 

Iknowluxury

both fantastic places for different reasons: Skye-magnificent scenery , Orkney- great history, archeology, standing stones... difficult decision 

OutandaboutElaine

@magstee asked this question "We'll be going to the Isle of Skye in September, to quite a remote cottage at the northern part of the island.  Can anyone who's been up there recommend good cycling and walking routes for us".  Can our Skye or Cycling members help her out?

OutandaboutElaine

@EilidhSkye I've copied and pasted the great suggestions you made in the intro section into the Skye thread so more people can see it.  

There are soo many beautiful walks up in the north part of the island! The north is my favourite part (though I might be biased as I come from up that way!) and my favourite walks are these here:

– The Old Man of Stòrr: probably one of the most popular ones on the island, but a great one! Decent car park, then you just walk through the gate and follow the path up to the bottom of the stacks. It's about two hours to do the return walk :-) 

– A really nice and much quieter one is on the other side of the road just down from the Stòrr at Bearreraig Bay. The descent is like steps shaped into the hill, but is fairly steep so can be tough on the knees! We spent around 2.5 hours round here and down at the shore and it was just beautiful – also a good spot for fossil hunting when the tide is low.

– Quiraing is another popular walk, though more challenging the further in you get. You can do anything between 1 and 4.5ish hours walking in here, but requires a bit of scrambling further on. I like to walk around 45 mins in to the Needle and the Prison, and tend to turn back then as I usually find myself there in only my trainers.

– Rubha nam Brathairean (Brother's Point) is a short but very rewarding walk, about an hour and a half for the return. Takes you past a couple of old crofthouses which were cleared, and then to the edge of the earth!

– Rubha Hunish is a great walk to the most northerly point of the island: great place for whale and dolphin spotting up there! It's about 4 hours walk, so slightly longer, but really beautiful! 

In terms of cycling, Glenbrittle is a good area for cycling, although there are not many 'cycle routes' as such on the island. Some where down towards the beach there or some mountain biking round the Fairy Pools and Bealach Brittle could be a good idea! Steve at the Bike Shop in Portree is really helpful when it comes to ideas for cycling round the island :-) 

Hope this helps and that you're looking forward to visiting!

Oh also, if you're looking for walks elsewhere on the island (or more round the north) www.walkhighlands.co.uk is a great site for walks. Gives you a little route map and a description as well as an idea of how long/difficult/boggy the route is. :-)

nh59

I love both of these areas. I have had many, many visits to skye over the years. However, two years ago I took my 9 year old son to Orkney for a long weekend. We ended up staying 8 days! Our base for the trip was the campsite in Stromness. Very helpful staff and a welcome tv room and kitchen for when the weather was inclement. My son really enjoyed his tour of the land museums on the island. We did all the tourist stuff we were aware of, a walk to the Old Man of Hoy is a must. However my best memory is of the day my son asked me to turn left and see what was at the end of a road signposted Yesnaby. Not to be missed on a long summer's evening. We returned several evenings it was such a beautiful and peaceful spot. One word of caution for campers... Take a good tent. After a storm we returned to the site to see only 3 tents standing, ours was one thankfully. It can get windy!

Allig

JSC said:

So, I'm planning to take some folk for a day tour this Saturday from Inverness and am wondering if I should take them to Skye or Orkney??  Any advice??

Skye every time

Allig

It has everything. Scenery, good food,  great walks and climbs. True pubs. Real locals. Amazing light at night time.