Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Isle of Skye Soap Co
( 01478-611350; www.skye-soap.co.uk ; Somerled Sq; 9am-5.30pm Mon-Fri, to 5pm
Sat) A sweet-smelling gift shop that specialises in handmade soaps and cosmetics made
using natural ingredients and aromatherapy oils.
COSMETICS
Carmina Gadelica
( 01478-612585; Bank St; 9am-5.30pm Mon-Sat, to 9pm Jun-Aug) Browse the
shelves for CDs of Gaelic music and books on local subjects.
MUSIC
Getting There & Around
BicycleIsland Cycles ( 01478-613121; www.islandcycles-skye.co.uk ; The Green;
9am-5pm Mon-Sat) You can hire bikes here for £8.50/15 per half-/full day.
Bus The main bus stop is in Somerled Sq. There are seven Scottish Citylink buses every
day from Kyle of Lochalsh to Portree (£6, one hour) and on to Uig.
Local buses (Monday to Saturday only) run from Portree to Broadford (40 minutes, at
least hourly) via Sligachan (15 minutes); to Armadale (1¼ hours, connecting with the fer-
ries to Mallaig); to Carbost (40 minutes, four daily); to Uig (30 minutes, six daily) and to
Dunvegan Castle (40 minutes, five daily Monday to Friday, three on Saturday). There are
also five or six buses a day on a circular route around Trotternish (in both directions), tak-
ing in Flodigarry (20 minutes), Kilmuir (1¼ hours) and Uig (30 minutes). Buses from the
mainland also come through Portree.
Dunvegan (Dun Bheagain)
Skye's most famous historic building, and one of its most popular tourist attractions, is
Dunvegan Castle ( 01470-521206; www.dunvegancastle.com ; adult/child £9.50/5;
10am-5pm Apr-mid-Oct) , seat of the chief of Clan MacLeod. It has played host to Samuel
Johnson, Sir Walter Scott and, most famously, Flora MacDonald. The oldest parts are the
14th-century keep and dungeon but most of it dates from the 17th to 19th centuries.
In addition to the usual castle stuff - swords, silver and family portraits - there are
some interesting artefacts, most famous being the Fairy Flag, a diaphanous silk banner
that dates from some time between the 4th and 7th centuries. Bonnie Prince Charlie's
waistcoat and a lock of his hair, donated by Flora MacDonald's granddaughter, share a
room with Rory Mor's Drinking Horn, a beautiful 16th-century vessel of Celtic design
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