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 Lochalsh Hotel & the Skye Bridge |
 Eilean Donan Castle |
 Plockton |
Kyle of Lochalsh is best known as the main jumping off point for Skye. Until 1995 this was via the ferry service operating between Kyle and Kyleakin. Since then most visitors to Skye have used the Skye Bridge, which since 21 December 2004 has been toll-free.
Kyle is also an important train terminal with regular services to and from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness. The route from Inverness via Achnasheen and Lochcarron is one of the most scenic in Scotland.
A busy port, Kyle is the hub of the local fishing industry and boasts a newly built lifeboat station. Pleasure craft also operate out of the harbour offering fishing trips, wildlife cruises or simply a chance to marvel at the magnificent Cuillin mountains on Skye.
East of Kyle, on the north shore of Loch Duich, is Eilean Donan Castle, which features on more Scottish calendars than just about any other building. The original castle dates back to the 1200s, but was destroyed by the Royal Navy in 1719 after occupation by the Spanish (see our Historical Timeline). What you see today is a magnificent reconstruction largely dating back to a rebuild that took place between 1913 and 1932.
Further east still is Glen Shiel, home to some of the best ridge walks and many of the most attractive mountains in the Western Highlands. Two excellent mountain walks feature the South Glen Shiel Ridge, and the Sgurr nan Conbhairean Group.
North of Kyle of Lochalsh is the picturesque village of Plockton, brought to public attention in the 1990s by the filming there of the popular television series Hamish Macbeth.
Standing at the seaward end of Loch Carron, Plockton was a crofting hamlet until the start of the 1800s, when it was developed as a fishery. The tiny curved harbour with its whitewashed cottages and palm trees along the waterfront is extremely pretty and, though busy with tourists in the summer months, remains unspoilt. On the road from Plockton back to Kyle you pass through the pretty crofting township of Duirinish.
From the head of Loch Duich at Shiel Bridge a minor road travels over the 1100ft Mam Ratagan Pass before arriving at the head of the Glenelg Peninsula in the village of Glenelg. Nearby a small seasonal vehicle ferry links Glenelg with Kylerhea on Skye, while to the south a single track road continues around the peninsula to the beautiful villages of Arnisdale and Corran.
