Has nature ever made you feel small?
There has to be some long German word about the joy of feeling small in nature. Because that’s exactly how I felt at the Quiraing on the Isle of Skye.
Coming from the Old Norse “Kví Rand,” meaning Round Fold, the Quiraing is a landslip that’s part of the Trotternish Ridge. It was our second stop on the Isle of Skye after Fairy Glen and definitely did not disappoint.
Arriving at the Quiraing
If you’re there on a sunny day or during high season, it will be extremely crowded. Drive down the road slowly and look for parking. Something should open up. If you can’t find parking in the main section, you can drive down the single track road and park in one of the smaller stopping spaces (as long as there is room for other cars to use). Be careful not to park in the peat—we saw one car park there and slowly sink into the ground.
Hiking the Quiraing
The entire hike will take about 2 hours. If you don’t like heights/cliffs/edges like me, you can walk about 10 minutes of the trail and then turn back when you hit the rock gorge you must cross to continue. I was laughing at how small children could easily hop across the gorge (it’s really not that bad for those who aren’t afraid of heights!) and as much as I tried to pluck up the courage, I couldn’t continue. I take comfort in the fact that my dad couldn’t make it as far as I could!
Instead, we turned back and sat in the grass soaking up the sun, getting sunburnt, and people watching while my brother hiked.
If you want detailed instructions for the full hike, follow this guide. After our mini-hike, we went in the opposite direction to get views of the pinnacles from afar. If the weather is iffy, be careful on the trails.
Patricia says
Gemütlichkeit
Love your posts. Working on getting my husband to head over to the British Isles.
almathews says
I love that! Thanks :) You would LOVE it over there. Perfect to just rent a car and drive and stop where you want. I’d love to go there longer term with no other objective than to just explore.
Matt says
Thanks for sharing so many photos of what you were able to see from the first 10 minutes of the walk! I’ve seen other blogs suggest that is all you need to do if you don’t have much time, but then they hardly show any pictures of what to expect. I understand, what comes later is pretty epic from the looks of the pictures, but it is really helpful to get an idea of what we might see if we only have time to do the first section.
almathews says
Of course! If only my fear of heights didn’t keep me from going further. It was one of my favorite spots on the Isle of Skye, even from close to the car park, so I highly recommend visiting. My brother went off on his own and did the hike and LOVED it if that’s any help.