Isle of Oronsay, Isle of Skye
★★★
The raucous chatter of birds, the whistle of the wind, crashing waves on the shingle causeway: Oronsay can be a noisy place. One thing it’s reliably free of, however, is high season crowds, unlike the Isle of Skye to which this tidal island is intermittently attached. A tour of the coastline reveals an impressive inventory of precipitous cliffs, hidden caves, rock-cut platforms and rock pools teeming with marine life – all packed into a circumference of less than two miles. Pity the path on the mainland side is such a boggy one.
Chronological photo guide
Beach on the way to Ullinish Point 
Causeway to Oronsay 
View towards MacLeod’s Tables from the causeway 
Causeway from Oronsay 
East end of Oronsay 
East end of Oronsay 
Top of Oronsay 
Looking back from the summit 
Wiay 
Minginish beyond the west end of Oronsay 
West end of Oronsay 
South coast of Oronsay 
South coast of Oronsay 
South coast of Oronsay 
South coast of Oronsay 
South coast of Oronsay 
South coast of Oronsay
Location
O.S. Grid Reference: NG 323374
GPS coordinates: 57.348378,-6.452582
No public transport within 1 mi
Car park
Key info
5 km / 3 mi | ▲ 160 m |
2.5 hr
Features:
Oronsay coastline; △ Oronsay summit (74 m)
⬤ Moderate | Boggy path to the causeway; faint, intermittent paths on Oronsay with pathless sections. The causeway to Oronsay is submerged at high tide. Aim to cross (in both directions) at half tide or below.
Anticlockwise lollipop circuit: start – tidal causeway to Oronsay – anticlockwise circuit of Oronsay – causeway – start
On our last visit
Wildlife: Shags and chicks in cliff nests on Oronsay; ravens and jackdaws, seagulls, sheep and lambs. Cock crowing near the start.
Weather: Cloud increasingly breaking to give sunshine, light wind with temperature in high teens.
July 2019
