The Skye Guide

The independent guide to the Isle of Skye

Location

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Finding the right place to live on Skye can be a big, and very personal, challenge. The island is considerably larger than many people expect, and the choices of location are wide.

The different parts of the island have quite distinct characters. Proximity to shops, employment and schools varies dramatically. It really is important to think carefully about location on Skye, and not to underestimate travel times. Living in the far north west adds more than 50% to the travel time to Inverness compared to living near the Skye Bridge. There are certainly no 'places to avoid'. It's just that some will work better for you than others, depending on your own circumstances and needs.

One risk you might not notice when choosing a house, especially if you've not lived this far north before, is that if it's tucked in below a big hill to its south, it may get no sun for months in the winter.

Most people moving here will have spent lots of time on Skye during past holidays, and will have a good idea of the geography. If you don't know the place that well, it is probably worth coming for a couple of weeks exploration before beginning to search for a new home.

 

 

Skye Lines

Beyond the lochs of the blood of the children of men,
beyond the frailty of the plain and the labour of the mountain,
beyond poverty, consumption, fever, agony,
beyond hardship, wrong, tyranny, distress,
beyond misery, despair, hatred, treachery,
beyond guilt and defilement; watchful,
heroic, the Cuillin is seen
rising on the other side of sorrow.

Sorley Maclean

Skye Guide Translator


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