The reverse waterfall
In a strong westerly the water is blown back up the cliff as spray instead of falling to the sea.
Klaus-Martin Hansche — CC BY-SA 2.5 · Richard Law — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Michael Walsh — CC BY 3.0 · Steven Brown — CC BY-SA 2.0
The waterfall here sometimes runs upwards. When a westerly gale hits the cliff at Talisker Bay, the water pouring off the edge is caught mid-fall and thrown back over the top as spray, a sight that on its own justifies the single-track road out to this lonely corner of Skye's Minginish peninsula. Below it lies a beach of dark volcanic sand marbled with paler grains and rounded pebbles; to the left a huge sea stack stands alone in the water, to the right the waterfall, and between them the open sea runs west toward the Outer Hebrides. It is a day trip from Portree: about 17 miles (27 km) on the A87, A863 and B8009 to Carbost, and from there 7 km (4.4 miles) of single-track road that takes ten minutes on its own between sheep and blind bends, so 35 to 50 minutes in all depending on what you meet on the way. There is no real car park, just a handful of spaces along the last stretch of road near Talisker House that fill by mid-morning in July and August; come before 10:00 or after 17:00 and never park in a passing place or in the turning circle at the road end. From there a flat private farm track runs about 1.5 km through gates and grazing land, a comfortable 20 minutes each way. A sturdy, big-wheeled pushchair copes until the last stretch, where the track gives way to shingle and slippery rounded boulders. The tide makes or breaks the visit. At high water the sand vanishes entirely and only a band of stones remains, which is a let-down with children. Check the tide table before you set off and aim for the two hours either side of low water, when the grey sand spreads wide and adults can scramble along the rocks to the foot of the sea stack. The sea is very cold, there is no lifeguard and the currents are not to be trusted, so this is not a swimming beach, and the surrounding rocks are either slick or crusted with sharp barnacles. There are no facilities at all, no toilets, no cafe, no dependable phone signal, so bring water and food, and on still summer evenings expect midges, which vanish with the first breeze. Is it worth two and a half hours of a Skye day? Yes if you love empty wild beaches and westward sunsets; no if time is short and you want the island's headline views, which belong to the Old Man of Storr, the Fairy Pools and the Quiraing. One last caution: the Talisker name is better known for a whisky distillery in the village of Carbost, which has nothing to do with the beach, so make sure your satnav is pointing at Talisker Bay or Talisker House, not the distillery.
In a strong westerly the water is blown back up the cliff as spray instead of falling to the sea.
A tall pillar of rock on the left of the bay that adults can reach along the shore at low tide.
Dark grey sand marbled with paler grains and polished pebbles, fully revealed only at low water.
Talisker, near Carbost, Isle of Skye IV47 8SF
The track is flat and easy, and a sturdy pushchair gets you close to the beach but not onto the sand itself. The real issue is timing: at high tide there is no sand at all, so go at low water or not at all. There are no toilets on site either; the nearest are back in Carbost, about 7 km away.
The Fairy Pools on a first visit to Skye: they are more famous, closer to the main road and have a large paid car park. Talisker is for a second day or for anyone who wants quiet and a sunset. Both sit on the same peninsula about 25 minutes apart by car, so they combine in one day if low tide falls in the evening.