Dunvegan

Dunvegan (Gaelic: Dùn Bheagain) is a small village on Skye in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, with a population of 386 in 2011. The main draw is the castle. Dunvegan is also a base for exploring Duirnish, the peninsula to the west.

By car take A87 then A850.

Stagecoach Bus 56 runs 3-5 times M-Sa from Portree via Skeabost and Edinbane to Dunvegan (50 min) and Lonmore, with a couple continuing west to Colbost and Glendale.

The castle and village are a mile apart with a road and walking track between. You need a car to reach the lighthouse or the start of the hike to the Maidens.

• 🌍 Dunvegan Castle & Gardens, Dunvegan IV55 8WF, ☏ +44 1470 521206. Apr to mid-Oct daily 10AM-5:30PM. Ancestral home of the Chiefs of Clan MacLeod for 800 years, built in the 13th century but much altered and prettified in the 19th. The "Fairy Flag" is an ancient silk heirloom, steeped in hoaky legend and tenuously-connected miracles; it's probably from Syria and may date back to the Crusades, though family tradition puts it much earlier. Other heirlooms are the Dunvegan Cup, dating to 1493, and Sir Rory Mor's Horn which may be 10th-century Norse. Adult £16.50, conc £13.50, child £11.50. (updated Jun 2024)
• 🌍 Giant MacAskill Museum. July-Aug Th-M 10AM-5PM. Small museum about a giant (an ancestor of the owner) from Berneray. "Giant MacAskill", Angus Mor MacAskill (1825-1863) was known as the world's largest "true" giant (with normal proportions and no growth abnormalities), reaching a height of 7 ft 9 in. He moved to Stornoway then Canada, and never lived on Skye. Adult £2. (updated Jun 2024)
• St Mary's church is a ruin at the main village junction.
• Duirinish Stone behind St Mary's is a modern megalith, erected in June 2000 to mark the millennium.
• 🌍 Dun Fiadhairt is a broch, an Iron Age fortified settlement, overlooking the coast two miles north of the castle.
• 🌍 Coral Beach is reached at the end of the lane north, then a one mile path. It glitters white with marl, best seen at half-tide. At low tide you can walk to the double-islet of Lampay.
• 🌍 Dun Osdale is another broch. It's not deliberate camouflage, but you could easily mistake it for a heather-clad natural knoll as you drive past towards Colbost.
• See Colbost for sights further west on that road, which ends at Neist Point Lighthouse.

• 🌍 MacLeod's Table North or Healabhal Mhòr is a plateau at 471 m, an easy hike from Dunvegan. Its partner Healabhal Bheag is slightly higher but not as bulky, and is a longer tramp.
• 🌍 MacLeod's Maidens are sea stacks near the south tip of the peninsula, a 5-mile (9-km) hike each way, see Walkhighlands for a trail description.

The giant never bumped his head here

• Fasgadh Stores, IV55 8WA (junction by Dunvegan Hotel), ☏ +44 1470 521432. M-Sa 9AM-7PM, Su 10AM-6PM. General store and grocer. (updated Jun 2024)
• Fruit & Nut Place is a greengrocer opposite the Stores, open M 10AM-4PM, W-Sa 10AM-6PM.
• Craft shops include Skye Silks, Croft Studio and Hebridean Alpaca Company.
• Fuel: Atholl Filling Station is on the main road through the village, open M-F 8AM-8PM, Sa 8AM-6:30PM, Su 9:30AM-5PM.

• Blas Inn is at the junction opposite Dunvegan Hotel, open W-Su noon-7PM.
• The Misty next to Blas Inn is open M-Sa noon-9PM, Su 11AM-6PM.
• Dunvegan Bakery & Coffee Shop is by Skye Lodge, open M-Sa 10AM-2PM. They have rooms.
• Old School Restaurant, Dunvegan IV55 8GU (opposite Skye Lodge), ☏ +44 1470 521421. Apr-Dec F-Su noon-9PM. In the old school house, serving Scottish seafood, beef and game; some vegetarian choice. (updated Jun 2024)
• Waterside Cafe Bistro is a pleasant little place by the Post Office, open M-Th noon-3:30PM, 5:30-8PM, Su noon-PM.
• Three Chimneys restaurant and House Over-By accommodation: see Colbost.

Seal on the loch shore

• Dunvegan Hotel (see Sleep) has a lounge bar open to non-residents.

• 🌍 Dunvegan Hotel, Dunvegan IV55 8WA, ☏ +44 1470 521497. Small family-run hotel with five rooms en suite, lounge bar, restaurant and pub. Great sunset views over the loch. B&B double £170. (updated Jun 2024)
• Minnie's Rooms, Ceol na mara, Dunvegan IV55 8WA (by the filling station), ☏ +44 1470 521701, stay@minniesrooms.com. Cosy welcoming B&B. Two nights minimum. B&B double £110. (updated Jun 2024)
• 🌍 Skye Lodge, Mill Rd IV55 8QR, ☏ +44 1470 521538, info@skyelodge.co.uk. Great reviews for this cosy stylish B&B. Two nights minimum, evening meals by arrangement. B&B double £200. (updated Jun 2024)
• Dunvegan Camping Pods, IV55 8WA (behind Post Office, by Skye Lodge), ☏ +44 1470 521469, dunvegancampingpods@yahoo.com. Four camping pods available all year, 2 nights minimum. Each pod has en suite showers and can accommodate 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children. Double pod £120. (updated Jun 2024)
• Atholl House, IV55 8WA (opposite Post Office), ☏ +44 1470 521810, enquiries@athollhouseskye.co.uk. Charming hotel with 8 rooms. Three nights minimum. B&B double £160. (updated Jun 2024)
• 🌍 Millburn B&B, IV55 8GU, ☏ +44 1470 521864. Comfy friendly B&B south edge of village. Two nights minimum. B&B double £160. (updated Jun 2024)
• 🌍 Kinloch Campsite, Dunvegan IV55 8WQ, ☏ +44 1470 508009. Well-kept site open April-Oct, great views. Crowded at the height of summer but pitch sizes are adequate. Tent £29, hook-up £37. (updated Jun 2024)

The castle in the mist

As of June 2024, Dunvegan and its approach roads have a basic mobile signal from O2 and Three, and 4G from EE and Vodafone. 5G has not reached this area.

• The lane west runs to Colbost, Glendale and Milovaig to end near Neist Point.
• The obvious onward route is towards Portree, taking in the other peninsulas of northern Skye.
• You can also wind along the west coast, passing near Carbost (for the Talisker distillery) and rejoining the main road at Sligachan.