📌 Trotternish, Isle of Skye
★★★★
Less than a mile from the car park for the famous Old Man of Storr, Bearreraig Bay offers up another, completely different set of unusual attractions. At the north end of the pebble beach, where 150-metre cliffs tumble down nearly into the sea, countless fossils can be made out amongst the fallen boulders, including large ammonites. This is a protected site, so fossils shouldn’t be extracted, but they are nevertheless fascinating to see – and photograph! En route: a superb high level viewpoint for the bay, Skye’s only funicular railway (part of a hydroelectric power station), and a usually dry waterfall which has the potential to be spectacular after exceptional rainfall (or if the power station is out of operation). And unlike The Old Man of Storr, you shouldn’t need to share the surroundings with too many others.
📷 Chronological photo guide
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish on minor road at Storr Lochs dam, 6 mi north of Portree, Skye
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NG 512524
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 57.493577,-6.153619
🚌 Bus stops on A855 at car park turnoff (0.5 mi)
🚗 Car park just before dam
📝 Key info
▶ 3 km / 2 mi | ▲ 150 m | ⌛ 2 hr
Features: 🏖️ Bearreraig Bay & fossils
⬤ Moderate | Tarmac private road at first, then descent to bay on clear but steep path. Bouldery foreshore to reach the fossils at the far end, mostly with a grassy path alternative. Both path & bay are slippery when wet. One burn crossing which is usually nearly dry.
Download file for GPS➡️ Out-and-back walk: start – follow track east – path around southeast side of house – Bearreraig Bay viewpoint – pass around front of power station at foot of funicular railway – ford burn – fossils mostly on landslip boulders at far end of beach – return by outward route
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Sheep & lambs, oystercatchers & seagulls.
Weather: Overcast with temperature in mid teens, with some heavy rain on the return leg.
May 2022
