Here there is a fork in the road and the traveller can continue to Portree or to Dunvegan.
Sligachan is an area which is popular with climbers. From here, it is possible to gain access to the main ridge of the Black Cuillins by walking down Glen Sligachan.
The Sligachan hotel was at one time a Mecca for climbers. It was to Scotland what the Pen Y Gwyrd Hotel was to Snowdonia in Wales. At the end of the 19th century, the Sligachan Hotel was the popular starting point for walkers going into the mountains. Nowadays, most Cuillin climbers start from Glen Brittle. There is no hotel at Glen Brittle, but there is a camp site.
Perhaps the shift in popularity from Sligachan to Glen Brittle has been caused by the fact that modern transport has made Skye accessible to ordinary people and not just the very wealthy and privileged Victorians who could afford to stay in a hotel.
Remember, in the last century, travel to Skye would have been an adventure of the sort which only the rich and privileged could afford. To travel from the south of England to Skye, in those days, would to be the equivalent of travelling from Europe to America, in terms of expense and adventure, today.
Also, in the old days, Glen Brittle would have been an exceedingly difficult place to get to. Even today, this part of Skye does not boast the sort of accommodation which a Victorian gentleman and his entourage would expect at the end of the journey.
I have never stayed at the Sligachan hotel, so I cannot comment upon the facilities that it offers. There is also a camp site at Sligachan, which is popular with climbers. I would not camp there. This is not a criticism of the site itself but more of its location. Camping on Skye, especially in a tent, can be a hazardous business. Skye does not have the sort of tree cover and shelter which one would get in more southerly parts of the British Isles. It should be remembered that when the winds blow on the Isle of Skye they can blow with a ferocity which has to be seen to be believed. In Skye winters substantially built garden sheds have been known to take to the air.
Janet and I are keen campers and we would love to camp on Skye. However, the risk of losing all of our possessions and our tent to is the thing which stops us from doing so. If you are a hardy climbing type using one of the latest small tents designed for camping in adverse conditions in the wilderness, then the Sligachan camp site may be the place for you. If however you are camping in a large family frame tent, then I would think very carefully about camping on Skye at all. There can be no more dispiriting sight than returning from a hard day at to find that your home has been reduced to tatters and rags, and your possessions are scattered for miles.
Our tent: an ideal home in a sheltered farmer's field, but no place to be in a wilderness in a howling gale.
By the Sligachan hotel is a mountain called Glamaig. Although it is difficult to believe, a Gurkha soldier ran up this mountain in 37 minutes. Today, there is an annual Glamaig Hill Race where hardy (lunatic) souls still run up the mountain to commemorate his ascent. Many years ago I laboured up it and took several hours to get to the summit. The view from the top is very rewarding and includes a view of the entire island of Raasay. However, I think the climb is a real slog.
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Copyright © Gareth Boote 2000