Portree

Portree is the only settlement on Skye big enough to be called a town, built around a natural harbour on the island’s east coast, and named, on one telling, for a visit by King James V in 1540 (Port Rìgh, “king’s port”). It’s the practical base for most visitors to Skye: the largest concentration of accommodation, shops and restaurants on the island, and the starting point for the road north into Trotternish, where most of Skye’s best-known scenery sits.

Why base here

Skye’s two most photographed features, the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing, are both on the Trotternish peninsula north of Portree, reached by a single road, the A855, running up the east side of the peninsula. Basing in Portree rather than further out means shorter drives to shops and services and a wider choice of places to stay, at the cost of a longer drive to the peninsula’s far end. The town also has a working harbour, with boat trips and sea kayaking operating from it and from nearby beaches.

On foot versus by car

Nothing in this guide’s list of Portree activities is walkable from the town itself; both the Storr and the Quiraing need a drive of 20 to 40 minutes up the A855, which narrows to single track beyond Staffin. Sea kayaking sessions run by local operators sometimes launch from Portree harbour, a walk from the town centre, though exact meeting points vary with tide and weather.

Practicalities

Skye has no railway; the nearest station is Kyle of Lochalsh, over the bridge on the mainland side, itself on a branch line from Inverness. Portree’s car parks fill early in summer, especially near the harbour. The Trotternish road is narrow and single track in its northern half, with passing places that need care and courtesy, and it carries heavy tourist traffic through the summer months.

With children

The Old Man of Storr is not an easy family outing despite its fame: 340 metres of ascent on ground that grows steep, loose and eroded near the top, enough to defeat plenty of fit adults, let alone a tired eight-year-old, and the car park itself carries rockfall warnings. The Quiraing is the gentler version of the same landslip scenery: the main viewpoint is a few minutes along a gravel path from the car park, no climbing involved, though the fuller circuit beneath the cliffs is a separate and much rougher undertaking best left for later. On the water, North Skye Outdoors runs weekend taster sessions for beginners from Portree harbour, a five-minute walk from the town centre, and a separate family session for children aged six to thirteen, its meeting point shifting between Portree and Uig on the day. The Aros Centre, on the edge of town, adds an indoor alternative: a play area over three floors, a cinema and an exhibition on Skye’s history.