In June my sister and I spent a long weekend exploring the Isle of Skye, from Friday to Tuesday. It was my first experience of visiting a Scottish island and I definitely want to return to explore more, along with more of the mainland too! We hired a campervan in Inverness and drove across to Skye on the Friday evening, about a three hour drive to reach Glenbrittle Campsite. This is a gorgeous spot on the coast with plenty of amenities.

Glenbrittle Campsite

Glenbrittle Campsite

On Saturday morning we woke to beautiful blue skies and fresh sea air, and after some breakfast in the van we headed over to the Fairy Pools, where we enjoyed walking alongside the many rockpools with crystal-clear water and mini waterfalls. Even our lunch spot in the car park had scenic views! We made the most of the good weather and spent the afternoon at the stunning Talisker Beach (it’s about a 25min walk to the beach from where you can leave your vehicle). I dipped my toes in the freezing water and my sister went in up to her waist! We had a relaxed evening back at Glenbrittle Campsite overlooking the sea.

The Fairy Pools

Talisker Beach

On Sunday we drove to Portree, the ‘capital’ of Skye, and strolled along the colourful houses and pretty harbour. I’d recommend popping into the lovely lifestyle shops Or, and also sampling coffee or lunch at Birch. In the afternoon we climbed up the Old Man of Storr, in the wind, rain and cloud! Unfortunately the poor visibility meant we couldn’t see the famous rock formation so I shall save that for next time. We continued on to what became my favourite campsite of the trip, Camus More, an incredibly stunning remote spot on the north of the island. It overlooks a huge bay, and there are just a couple of toilets plus a water supply and space for a handful of vehicles. Heavenly! We cooked dinner in the van and then set up a disposable BBQ on a stack of rocks so that we could roast marshmallows and bananas (wrap the bananas in foil, leave for 15 minutes or until the skin is dark, then slice open, insert some squares of chocolate to melt, and dig in with a spoon!). The sun came out and I did some sketching of the bay, it was fun to try painting a landscape for a change (urban scenes are my default!). It felt really lovely to strip back to the basics of living and spend time away from civilisation and the many screens of modern life.

Portree

Birch

On Monday we soaked up the views then headed to the Skye Museum of Island Life which explains the history of Skye in old stone crofters’ cottages. It was also a great opportunity to say hello to a highland ‘coo’! Our next stop was the Fairy Glen, where we parked for some lunch and then had a wander round the unique land formations. It was a lovely place but if you’re short on time this is something you could easily skip. We continued south towards the mainland, and stopped for chai lattes and baked goods at the Lean To Coffee Cabin, a really beautiful little spot (heads up – no toilets!). We drove back over the bridge connecting Skye to the mainland and headed to our final campsite of the trip, Loch Ness Bay Camping. This was very much geared towards motorhomes but a useful location to break up the journey to Inverness. We enjoyed a walk to the loch before our final night in the van, returning it to Inverness on Tuesday morning. I flew back to Bristol and my sister took the train back to Edinburgh.

Highland coo

Lean To Coffee Cabin

Loch Ness

We hired the campervan through GoBoony, a great website that offers campervan and motorhome hire throughout the UK mostly from private owners. You usually have to put down quite a large security deposit. We chose a VW pop-top which was great for navigating the narrow roads around Skye (there are heaps of passing places and everyone is really good at stopping at these to let others past), plus we the appreciated extra height when making food in the van. And it effectively gave us two separate beds, upstairs and downstairs! As it was a smaller van there was no toilet onboard, but it was only a short trip so we were quite happy to stay at campsites. I believe in Scotland you can camp anywhere, so for a longer trip I’d look for a van with a toilet to enable greater flexibility and the chance to camp in even more remote locations.

VW pop-top

We were fortunate to have no trouble from midges, but I have been recommended Smidge insect repellent which was developed in Scotland. If you’re planning your own trip to a Scottish island, I’d recommend downloading offline maps for the area – this came in really handy for us.

The Isle of Skye certainly lives up to the hype, I was continually struck by the endless beautiful scenery – so many mountains, forests and lochs. It was even more green and rural than I expected. I also loved the freedom of hiring a van and carrying your home around with you, it enables you to see so many places without frequent unpacking and repacking.

I hope this post encourages a visit to Scotland or a vanlife trip of your own!

Alexa

P.S. Have you read Tips for Solo Travel and Edinburgh Travel Guide?

Header photo: Camus More