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.

Get in

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.

Get around

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.

See

• 1 Dunvegan Castle & Gardens, Dunvegan IV55 8WF (A mile north of village off jcn A850 & A863). 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 £14, child £9, senior £11. (updated Jun 2019)
• 2 Giant MacAskill Museum. Apr-Oct: daily 9:30AM-6PM. Small museum about a giant (an ancestor of the owner) from Berneray, who emigrated to Canada. 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. £2. (updated Apr 2017)
• 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.
• 3 Dun Fiadhairt is a broch, an Iron Age fortified settlement, overlooking the coast two miles north of the castle.
• 4 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.
• 5 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.

Do

• 1 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.
• 2 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.

Buy

The castle in the mist

• 1 Fasgadh Stores, IV55 8WA (junction by Dunvegan Hotel), ☏ +44 1470 521432. M-Sa 9AM-7PM, Su 10AM-5:30PM. General store and grocer. (updated Jun 2022)
• Craft shops include Skye Silks, Croft Studio and Hebridean Alpaca Company.

Eat

• 1 Old School Restaurant, Dunvegan, ☏ +44 1470 521421. Mid-Mar to mid Oct: daily noon-3PM & 6-9PM. In the old school house, serves modern Scottish seafood, beef & game; limited vegetarian choice. Mains from £16. (updated Apr 2019)
• Waterside Cafe Bistro is a pleasant little place near the junction, open M-F 9AM-5PM.
• Harlosh Takeout is open Tu-Sa 1-7PM.
• Three Chimneys restaurant and House Over-By accommodation: see Colbost.

Drink

Seal on the loch shore

• Dunvegan Hotel (see "Sleep") has a small lounge bar upstairs in the Restaurant dining room. The former Cellar Bar below is now permanently closed.

Sleep

• 1 Dunvegan Camping Pods, located behind the Post Office, ☏ +44 1470 521469, dunvegancampingpods@yahoo.com. Check-in: Between 15:30 and 21:00, check-out: 7:00 to 10:00. Four camping pods available all year round. Each pod can accommodate up to 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children and have en-suite shower room. starting from £120 per night. (updated Mar 2024)

• 2 Dunvegan Hotel, Dunvegan IV55 8WA, ☏ +44 1470 521497. Small family-run hotel with six rooms en suite; lounge bar and restaurant and pub downstairs. Great sunset views over the loch. They also run the adjacent bunkhouse. B&B double from £90. (updated Jun 2019)
  • 3 Dunvegan Hotel Bunkhouse, Dunvegan IV55 8WA, ☏ +44 1470 521497. Two small rooms with bunks run by the adjacent Dunvegan Hotel, sleeps six. Linen provided, small bathroom but no kitchen facilities. £12.50 ppn. (updated Jun 2019)

B&Bs

• 4 Skye Lodge, Mill Rd, ☏ +44 1470 521538, info@skyelodge.co.uk. Check-in: 16:00, check-out: 10:00. 2 night minimum starting from £358 for 2 nights (double). (updated Mar 2024)
• 5 Atholl House, located across from Post Office, ☏ +44 1470 521810, enquiries@athollhouseskye.co.uk. Check-in: 16:00, check-out: 10:30. 3 night minimum. Family-run hotel with 8 rooms of various sizes. £375 for 3 nights (single). (updated Mar 2024)
• 6 Minnie's Rooms, Ceol na mara, Dunvegan IV55 8WA (by the filling station), ☏ +44 1470 521701, stay@minniesrooms.com. Check-in: between 16:00 and 21:00. £100 per night. (updated Mar 2024)
• 7 Tullochard House, on A863 road, ☏ +44 1470 521510. Check-in: 16:00, check-out: 11:00. (updated Mar 2024)

Connect

As of June 2022, Dunvegan and its approach roads have 4G from all UK carriers but with lots of dead spots. 5G is sporadically available on Skye, principally around Portree.

Go next

• 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.