Five Things you Need to Know about Driving on the Isle of Skye

There's no getting around it: in my opinion, the best way to get around the Isle of Skye is by car. Since the Skye Bridge was built in the 90's (and the infamous toll was removed in 2004) getting to experience the Isle of Skye for yourself has become all the easier.

However, driving on the Isle of Skye is not something you should head into without preparation. As someone who grew up in Glasgow and learned to drive on town, it took a lot of learning to get used to the country roads in the Scottish Highlands. And I'm sure if you're coming from a part of the world where you drive on the opposite side, that's a whole different challenge to get your head around.

At the same time though, discovering the amazing sights on the Isle of Skye does make the drive worth while. There are so many incredible places on the Isle of Skye to discover and the best ways to discover them is by car. If driving on the island feels daunting to you, then hopefully this guide with some of my favourite tips will reassure and inspire you on your next Skye adventure.

The Majority of Roads are Single Track

Something you may already know if you've done some research about driving on the Isle of Skye. As with much of the Scottish Highlands, a lot of roads on the Isle of Skye are single track (meaning the road is a narrow, two-way road which is only wide enough for one vechile to pass at a time).

In order to use single track roads effectively, you have to be aware of the passing places around you. These are points in the road wide enough for two cars, meaning you can safely pass one another. One of the most important things to remember when using a passing place is to stick to the left. Even if the passing place is on the right, make sure you stick to the left hand side of the road to stay on the correct side of the road.

One thing a lot of people don't realise about these single track roads is how many of Skye's most famous sights are along these kinds of roads. Some of these include:

• Neist Point Lighthouse

• Talisker Whisky Distillery and Talisker Bay Beach

• The Fairy Pools and Glenbrittle Beach

• Coral Beach
  

If you're planning on visiting one of these spots (which I'm sure you will be) you'll some realise the road to get to these beauty spots can sometimes feel quite hairy. But fear not, if you take the road carefully and with plenty of care, you'll get to the spots you want to visit easily.

Be Aware of Other Road Users

One of my biggest bug bears with tourists who come to visit my home in the Scottish Highlands is the complete ignorance some people seem to have with other road users. There have been far too many times when I have been stuck behind a car driving far below the speed limit because a passenger in the car (and on some occasions, the driver themselves) is taking pictures of the scenery out of their window.

I think a lot of tourists seem to forget that there are local people living and working on the island when do they things like this. Although I would say the majority of people who live in the Scottish Highlands are very keen to have tourists come to visit, those people also want to get home at the end of a working day without being stuck behind groups of tourists slowing down the traffic to take pictures of the scenery. If you see there's a big group of cars behind you, be sure to pull into a layby to let other road users ahead of you.

If you drink any Alcohol, you'll have to Change Driver

This one is important, especially if you're planning on doing a distillery tour on your visit to the Isle of Skye. Scotland (unlike other parts of the UK) has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to drinking and driving. That means if you're planning on sampling a dram at a distillery, or enjoying a beer or glass of wine with your lunch, you'll need to have a designated driver to be able to dirve you to your next destinations.

Driving at night or during the Winter months has Pros and Cons

If you're planning a trip to Skye during the winter months (one of my favourite times of year to visit the island) you'll be hit with a lot of pros and cons to driving in the off-season. Although the roads are a lot quieter at this time of year, the darker evenings combined with the single track, often windy roads can feel quite scary if you aren't used to them. Another thing a lot of people don't think about at this time of year is that there are very few places on the island with street lights, so the roads are really dark at this time of year.

The weather can turn really quickly in this part of the world as well. We have been caught out a couple of times by snow and freezing temperatures, which can lead to some pretty scary driving conditions. Most hire car companies also fail to provide snow tyres for the wintery months, which can leave tourists in a real pickle.

Expect the Unexpected

To me, this is the beauty of visiting the Isle of Skye. Even if you plan everything down to the final detail, you have to expect the unexpected. Whether the weather is unexpectedly better or worse than you expected, potentially leading to busier roads or weather related issues on the roads, or there's a road closure, you have to expect the unexpected.

I wrote about this with regards to planning a trip during the summer months, but I think a lot of the same advice is true if you are thinking about driving on the Isle of Skye. There is also the potential of running into a herd of sheep, cows or goats on your journey. You just never know what you'll expect when you're driving on the Isle of Skye.