How Skye has 'flourished' in the 30 years since the bridge opened

The National

29-05-2025

The Isle of Skye is the second most visited destination in Scotland after Edinburgh. This year the Skye bridge is 30 years old and is the gateway to the island for the majority of visitors. For an island with single-track roads and rural infrastructure, it's a lot to manage.
Visit Scotland works hard to market other parts of Scotland yet the pull of the Cuillins is magnetic. The dramatic cliffs and peaks of Skye, the miles of coastline, the constantly changing light . . . there's nowhere quite like it. I'm far from immune. Growing up in Lochaber, the mountains of Skye were always on my horizon and, as an adult, I take every opportunity to visit, particularly out of season. Whether out hiking, visiting distilleries or eating my way around Skye, every visit I discover somewhere new and fall a little further under the island's spell.
In the 30 years since the bridge opened, the hospitality industry has flourished. Today Skye's restaurants, cafés and distilleries are as much of a draw as the mountains and beauty spots. Isabella Macdonald runs Kinloch Lodge ( kinloch-lodge.co.uk), at the end of a single-track road on the Sleat peninsula. It's one of my favourite hotels in Scotland. Isabella remembers Skye before the bridge.
'I have so many childhood memories of queuing for ferries, or just missing the last one,' she says. 'A lot of the dislike for the project was because of the tolls. I'd liken it to the Edinburgh trams: initial grumbling but very quickly people grew to love it. Now we wouldn't be without it. It's made Skye so much more accessible. As a business owner you're not worrying about your guests missing the ferry or booking one in time. It definitely helps with attracting visitors year round too.'
Dinner at Kinloch Lodge is a treat, with the menu changing daily depending on available produce, the weather and what chef Jordan Webb and his creative team dream up. When I visit that's Skye venison tacos as a snack, a beautiful seared Skye scallop in a light dashi with pak choi and peanuts, then poached Shetland cod with home-smoked lobster.
(Image: UNKNOWN) The hotel still feels like the Clan Macdonald family home with portraits ranging from ancient oil paintings to recent school photos of the current youngest generation. It also offers a tapas-style lunch menu. I delight in west coast crab with foraged Alexanders on toast, and scallop sashimi, all in the idyllic garden overlooking Loch na Dal.
A little further south on the Sleat peninsula is Torabhaig Distillery ( torabhaig.com), a newer rival to the island's mighty Talisker. Both make fine whisky but I prefer the intimate tour experience at Torabhaig. When the distillery opened it trained up members of the local community for all the new roles including the distillers.
'We meld into the community because we brought the community here,' tour guide manager Anne says. Having the bridge meant building this new island distillery was far easier, particularly when transporting huge wooden washbacks. The café at Torabhaig is excellent, with tasty soup and sandwiches, and whisky-infused traybake to fuel walks.
Talisker is still worth a visit, particularly with a booking at The Three Chimneys at Talisker ( talisker.threechimneys.co.uk), which has just been made a permanent fixture in the lochside building opposite the distillery. I've eaten at The Three Chimneys restaurant before and adore it but it's a big budget treat of a place. This café style offering brings the talent of this famous kitchen to a bigger audience. I sit at the elegant bar and enjoy oysters with a spritz of Talisker 10 and a hearty bowl of Cullen Skink.
(Image: Lynne Kennedy Photography) On the road to Talisker is Café Cùil ( cafecuil.com) run by Skye local Clare Coghill, who relocated her café from London after the pandemic. In the iconic red-roofed building I sip a dried flower topped 'machair matcha' and eat delicious blood orange and beetroot cured local trout with crowdie creme fraiche, and hot sweetcorn fritters with chilli.
It's a café that arguably could thrive anywhere but here on Skye with local ingredients and Gaelic language and culture celebrated, is where it truly belongs. It's a bright, joyful place to eat and everyone in the queue knows it. Clare says: 'The bridge is our link to civilization. It does more than you think it does. It makes island living more realistic and more appealing to younger people too.'
Chef Calum Montgomery at Edinbane Lodge ( edinbanelodge.com) agrees: 'Having the bridge has helped my career too. I can finish service then drive to Edinburgh or Glasgow for an event or a meeting and get back on the island when I want, without worrying about missing the last boat.'
Calum and Claire are part of a young generation of returning homegrown culinary talent. Calum says: 'We're all deeply rooted in Skye. A lot of us left and worked elsewhere. We'd be seeing the produce we knew arrive miles from where it was landed and it's just not as good as what we grew up eating. I'm so proud of the whole place now.'
At Edinbane Lodge I eat an enormous scallop with a dulse butter sauce, and local hake with wild garlic. Calum calls his menu 'A Taste of Skye', and it's exactly that: an embrace of the very best Skye ingredients. The menu shows the distances the produce travels to the restaurant, for the scallops hand dived in Loch Greshornish, the Edinbane venison, the sea herbs and garden vegetables, it's zero miles.
Skye can get busy, that's undeniable, but by visiting off-season and exploring beyond the island's tick-box attractions it doesn't have to feel that way. It's a big island with so much to see. Part of the joy of the bridge is visiting Skye is easier year-round: you never need worry about a rocky winter crossing, just look forward to a quiet week of big skies and dramatic scenery.
(Image: Michael_Dickie_Square_Foot) More businesses are staying open in winter than ever before, which also creates permanent rather than seasonal jobs. Upgrading infrastructure takes time, and money, but it is happening. There are now good car parks at the Fairy Pools, the Quiraing, the Old Man of Storr, and Neist Point (but only a small heavily rutted one at Coral Beach so be aware). Car park fees help maintain and improve facilities and contribute toconservation and community projects. Potholes do remain an ongoing issue.
I try to stay somewhere different each time I'm on Skye. This time it's Bracken Hide Hotel ( perlehotels.com/brackenhide) on the hill overlooking Portree. Above a spacious hotel restaurant and bar, little wooden 'hides' are dotted up the hillside. Inside the rooms are surprisingly spacious and fitted out in a luxurious Scandi-Scot style. From my front deck I have a panorama of the sky and mountains to myself.
The hotel restaurant Am Braigh ( perlehotels.com/brackenhide/restaurant) is a great new discovery. I eat leggy langoustines with garlic butter and local samphire. Later my wee deck is a perfect stargazing spot. I also stay a night at sister-hotel Marmalade ( perlehotels.com/marmalade) on the other side of Portree. The rooms here are large and lovely, overlooking trees with a distant view of the Cullins. It's an ideal location for exploring Portree, and just a five minute walk from Birch Cafe ( birch.coffee), one of Skye's best spots for coffee or brunch.
I leave here with a hearty slice of topped focaccia and a perfect pistachio pastel de nata to sustain me on the drive home. As I cross back over the bridge, I glance longingly in my rear-view mirror, already plotting my next trip.