Fort William and isle of Skye plans

[Shakeyourwammyfannyfunkysong]

I'm fancying a trip here from the East Midlands in the May half term. My current plan is Fort William at the Hoseasons Ben Nevis holiday park for 4 nights then 4 nights in Skye. In Fort William we'll enjoy hikes and definitely would want to see the steam train as daughter is a massive HP fan. We might consider Ben Nevis weather permitting . In Skye we'll probably get an air bnb or equivalent in the Portree area.

I've never travelled to this area. Does anyone habe any tips/suggestions? Does this sound like an enjoyable itinery with an 8 year old? Thanks

Hello 👋 I live on the west coast, just a little further south. I think for an 8 year old FW is probably a good choice for the reasons you stated and also the Nevis range activities. But the town itself is so horrible! I always tell adult friends to skip it. Personally I’d recommend seeing Gairloch, Ullapool, Applecross, but there won’t be as much for an 8 year old to get excited about unless they like pottering about rock pools, beach picnics in your waterproofs etc 😀

Skye is massive! So to get a good feel for it be prepared to drive large distances every day.

Thanks. Would you say Portree is a reasonable base for exploring Skye or are we better splitting 2 nights somewhere south and 2 north for example? It's a tossup because we don't want to spend the entire trip checking in and out of places either

For where it is on the island, it’s definitely good because it’s halfway-ish and has th largest number of cafes, restaurants etc. Again not the prettiest of places! But probably best with an 8 year old and if you’d rather stay in one place.

I love the Sleat peninsula. If you have time to do the Armadale ferry rather than driving across the bridge I’d recommend that (and you can stop at Isleornsay for lunch). There are some nice walks on Sleat out to ruined castles (e.g. Dunscaith).
I also love Carbost and Talisker Bay.
Old Man of Storr, Quiraing and the Fairy pools are all worth doing as a tourist, although the pools especially get so busy now 😔 especially in school holidays (so just don’t expect a view with no people in it! You’ll be following a line of people the whole walk up in May.)

Absolutely huge amounts to do, but not all paid attractions. Lots of nature, walking and making adventures.
FT William has lots going on, it's close enough to all sorts of other places. You wont be short of things to do.

Skye: some more ideas such as a day out on Raasay on foot. Take the wee ferry, have a walk towards the Raasay House cafe past the distillery and walk back again.
Lots of places like the Coral Beach, the Quirang, the Store, more beaches and waterfalls than you can see in a week.

I had one very memorable day as a kid in bad (wet but not windy) weather when we just took the ferry out to Harris. We literally cruised Uig to Tarbert watching dolphin, killer whales(!), lighthouses and more. We set foot on Harris for an hour, and returned. As a way of ducking a particularly wet day, it was genius. Foot passengers on calmac are not expensive...

The south end of Skye is totally different, and worth a daunder down to and wander in the forests, Armadale Castle Gardens...

And that's your four days done...

Go, you won't be disappointed. It's like another world.

Agree Portree is a good base for Skye. Make sure you book well in advance though, accommodation gets booked up quickly.

Someone else mentioned the Armadale ferry. I don't disagree but I think the ferry to/from Glenelg is even better. Only remaining manually operated turntable ferry in the world.

So after doing some research I'm considering a couple of nights in Harris. The plan would be fort william for 3 nights, ferry to Harris from the mainland, 2 nights there then ferry over to Uig and 4 nights in Skye. Does this sound good? Honestly there's so much to see and do I could plan a month long itinery

Recommend going up the Nevis range gondola to access high walks and views, and driving up to Fort Augustus to see Loch Ness and the flight of locks on Caledonian canal.

Fort William is a great base to other places but the town itself is fairly rundown with not a lot of excitement to offer. Wetherspoons is the highlight of the high street.

The ferry to Harris (Tarbert) goes from Uig on Skye, not from the mainland. Other route would be via North Uist. I don't think there are any direct ferries from the mainland to Harris. You can go from the mainland (Ullapool) to Lewis (Stornoway) but not to Harris.

Yes we would plan the ferry from ullapool to Lewis then drive over and get the ferry from Harris to Uig when we're done? That should be easy enough?

Oh dear. @PARunnerGirl said something similar.

Is Fort William that bad? Compared, say, to Inverness. Climbing Ben Nevis from there has been on my bucket list for a while...

It takes forever to get anywhere up there because of the roads. Tbh I would just stay in Fort William and then somewhere else. Have you considered Loch Lomond? If you haven't done Scotland before, I think that would be a nice option.

Fort William is awful. (I am currently very close to it, staying with family who live here.)
Inverness is massively better, and I don't actually like Inverness either but would always choose it over Fort W.

Yeah that's doable. Just don't underestimate the time it will take you to get to these places.

On Lewis, try to make make time for the Calanais stones. And then Luskentyre beach on Harris.

I agree it's not lovely, but if you are a family on holiday, you will surely be out on trips every day, so you won't be doing much in the town. And it's well placed for the area.

Don’t bother with Fort William.
what does your 8 year old like to do? Mine is mad about beaches, rockpooling, paddle boarding, so we stay over at Silversands. Then you're close to the Malaig to Armadale ferry to Isle of Skye where we’ve seen dolphins from the boat. I would also skip Portree unless you need to drop in for the supermarket, and stay in the country / on a beach side place in Skye.
isle of Harris beaches are absolutely jaw dropping. Recommend Horgebost or Luskyntyre area.

She's Harry Potter mad (as am I) so the train is a must 🤣

I would start and stop in FW but not spend too much time there as it's a bit grotty. I'd take the Glenelg ferry over to Skye (as pp mentioned, have tea and cake in the ferry cafe, i recommend the lemon polenta cake), drive up through Skye and stop off where you fancy. Portee, Broadford. I wouldn't go as far as Uig as its a long drive and not a lot there. Then drive back down to end up at Armadale and catch the ferry back to Mallaig, dinner in the Cornerstone restaurant (need to book, chef is an ex Masterchef contestant and it's very good), then drive back down the Road to the Isles through Glenfinnan (HP viaduct) to FW. But that's just what I'd do..

I’d swerve FW and get the Coran ferry across to Ardnamurchan (about 30 mins before FW). Go to Kilchoan / Sana Bay / Acharacle / Singing Sands and then drive back to FW and the ‘HP’ railway via Mallaig.

The HP train goes to Mallaig. The last few times we’ve been there it’s not running so double check before you go.

Agree, last year in May the steam train was not running due to hot dry weather and fire risk.

Skye, Lewis and Harris are lovely. Do factor in a lot longer for driving anywhere than you think though. You mentioned climbing Ben Nevis, I did it this year and it was ten hours. Many ( most people) will do it in a lot less but I think there are other great places to climb instead that takes less time.

Ahhhh that would be a shame if the steam train isn't running but won't ruin the trip. I think I'm sold on Skye and Harris but please convince me I shouldn't go to Mull instead/as well... 😂The wildlife there eapecially looks appealing...

Harris and Lewis are great, but I would go via Uig on Skye. The drive up to Ullapool is 3.5-4hrs on a good day, via Inverness on the other side of the country...whereas going out to Mallaig and onto Skye by ferry is a lovely journey, then Skye (Uig) to Tarbert. Base yourself in Tarbert for a couple of days. Then back to Skye.

Ignore what folk are saying about Fort William - the town isn't glamorous it the surrounding area is rich in places to go and things to do...