Bridge and strait view
From the headland you take in the arch of the Skye Bridge, Kyle of Lochalsh and the mainland hills in a single frame.
Glen Denny — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Euan Nelson — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ralph Greig — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Steven Brown — CC BY-SA 2.0
Two thick fragments of wall, no roof, no door and no stair, yet they are the first thing that greets you as you cross the Skye Bridge: a dark stone stump on a rocky headland above Kyleakin harbour, staring at Kyle of Lochalsh on the mainland across a strait only a few hundred metres wide. This is what survives of the MacKinnon clan's tower, raised in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century to command the shipping lane, on a spot fortified since much earlier. Local legend gives the place to a Norse princess nicknamed 'Saucy Mary', married to an early MacKinnon chief generations before these walls went up, who is said to have strung a chain across the sound to charge every passing ship a toll. The documented record is more sober: island chiefs gathered here in 1513 to back Donald MacDonald as Lord of the Isles, and the tower was left for more comfortable lodgings after its last occupant, Neill MacKinnon, died around 1601. Be clear about what you are getting: a ruin, not a castle. Storms took chunks of it in 1949 and 1989, and on 14 February 2018 a lightning bolt blew the top off one of the two remaining walls; Highland Council had masons photograph every stone before lifting it and set each one back exactly where it had been in matching lime mortar, finishing the work in October 2018 and fitting a lightning protection system. There is nothing to enter and little in the way of signage, and the point is the setting - the arch of the bridge behind you, the grey mainland hills in front, the boats in the harbour below. Getting there is the real activity. From the free car park on the north side of the harbour you cross the small bridge to the south side, follow the road to its end, then take an earthen path that curls along the shore, hops a little inlet that floods at high tide, and finishes with a short, steep, slippery grass climb. Allow 15 to 20 minutes each way in proper shoes. It is no place for a pushchair or for anyone unsteady on rocks, and you should check the tide times posted on the noticeboard in the car park before you set off. Children of about seven and up enjoy it as an adventure; with younger ones, admire the castle from the harbour, which is honestly the better view anyway. It is free and never closes, but it only makes sense as part of the island rather than a destination in itself. Kyleakin sits immediately after the bridge, roughly 55 km (45 minutes on the A87) from Portree, the island's hub, so it is a natural half-hour stop on your way in or out, with coffee, waterside benches and public toilets in the village. In winter the light is gone soon after four and the rocks turn to mud, so treat it as a summer stop or skip it with a clear conscience.
From the headland you take in the arch of the Skye Bridge, Kyle of Lochalsh and the mainland hills in a single frame.
The tale of a chain stretched across the sound to toll passing ships gives two broken walls more drama than they look.
The short scramble over rocks and across the inlet at low tide is the real adventure for older children.
Harbour headland, Kyleakin, Isle of Skye IV41
Not if time is tight. Eilean Donan is a complete castle you can enter and photograph; Caisteal Maol is two broken walls seen from outside. Look at it from Kyleakin harbour over a coffee, and only make the walk if you have a spare hour and the tide is low.
No. The path is rocky and muddy, crosses an inlet that floods at high tide, and ends with a slippery grass climb. The harbour itself is flat, suitable for everyone and has an excellent view of the castle, so anyone unsteady on their feet should stay there.