Armadale is the little port on Skye where the car ferry from Mallaig on the mainland docks.
From Mallaig it is possible to travel courtesy of Caledonian Macbrayne to the islands of Rum, Eigg, Muck and Canna.
Remember, as I said elsewhere, "the earth belongs unto the Lord and all that it contains, except the Western Islands and they are all MacBraynes," to whom you should address your ferry enquiries
If you are travelling to Skye from the south, it is questionable which is a better route, that is to say whether to go to Kyle of Lochalsh, or whether to turn left at Fort William and go to Mallaig.
I suppose, looking at it logically, the answer has to be to drive further and go to Kyle. At least the Skye bridge is always there. You don't have to have a booking to cross it, nor is there any need for a timetable.
In addition, the drive from Fort William to Kyle goes through some of the most beautiful scenery that I know.
When I first started to visit Skye, travelling on the Mallaig to Armadale ferry was quite a performance. The ship was a lot smaller in those days and there were no drive on drive off facilities of the type that there are today. It was necessary to drive the car on to a hydraulic elevator on the fore deck of the ship. When a certain number of cars were on it, the elevator was lowered down to the level of the car deck and the vehicles then drove off into the ship's innards to park. Needless to say this could be a very, very slow process withall the going up and going down.
Now there are proper roll-on roll-off facilities and the ships are much bigger and more modern. They offer a high degree of comfort and the crossing time is only about half an hour.
The main problem with the Mallaig to Armadale crossing is with the link roads at either end. Parts of the road from Fort William to Mallaig are still single track. On the Armadale to Broadford side, although there have been vast improvements in the road in the past couple of years, parts of this road are still single track also.
These particular single track roads can be dangerous. This is not because of anything wrong with the roads themselves, it is entirely due to the people who drive on them. When you think about it, a single track road near a ferry port will be carrying three types of people. Firstly there will be local people who will know what they are trying to do. Secondly there will be people who are having their very first experience of driving on a single track road and are a bit clueless. Lastly there will be people who are rushing trying get the ferry and travelling too fast anyway.
Mind you, twin track roads can have their moments as well, especially in tourist areas. In the United Kingdom we drive on the left. More than one accident has been caused by the forgetful foreign tourist who gets into his car first thing in the morning and promptly drives off up the right-hand side of the road.
This might be a very good place to state the obvious. You would be surprised at just how many people find that the obvious is something beyond their comprehension. I am referring to.........
Single track roads.
When on a single track road drive slowly, sensibly, and remember to slow down when you come to blind bends. On a single track road you cannot pass something coming the other way unless you happen to be at a passing place. If you drive too quickly you will have a head-on collision.
Secondly remember to use passing places to permit overtaking.
If you are driving along a single track road and you notice another vehicle is coming up behind you, you do not have to be Einstein to realise that he wants to go faster than you do. Also you don't need a university degree to work out that the vehicle behind cannot get past you unless you pull in to a passing places to permit overtaking.
Remember, you might be on holiday and have all the time in the world. The person behind you might be a local person to whom time is money.
Even worse, the person that you are holding up may possibly be a doctor on the way to a seriously ill patient or a lifeboatman, or a fireman, or other member of the emergency services.
You will be surprised to learn that this never occurs to some people. I have been held up for mile after mile on single track roads by those who assume that everybody is on holiday and wants to admire the scenery at 15 mph. Sometimes I wish I had one of James Bond's cars with some serious artillery behind the headlights!
Do show a little consideration please.
At Armadale there are to be found some rather beautiful gardens, the Clan Donald Centre, some rather nice walks, a souvenir shop, and a restaurant, all in the former grounds of Armadale Castle. Janet and I would not make a detour to visit the restaurant. We thought it neither memorably good nor memorably bad
Although grounds are still there, the castle is no more. There is no need for me to go into any further details, about Armadale Castle and its grounds. To find out more, why not go to their web site?
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Copyright © Gareth Boote 2000