Skye Sighs… Peace is Returning !

Now, as each day passes, there are greater gaps appearing between the convoys of camper vans that lumber onto Skye over the bridge. Timid left-hand-driver overseas visitors in their right-hand-drive rental cars are becoming fewer and further between. There are even a few empty spaces in the car park in Portree. Skye and its residents breathe a collective sigh of relief. The summer season is coming to an end.

The powerful promotion of the Scottish Highlands, and Skye in particular, as a tourist destination has been very successful. Year on year our visitor numbers are increasing, and it is a delight to see so many people discovering this most fabulous part of the world. But at what cost?

In ‘our’ part of Skye, we have three natural attractions that have been much promoted on social media with brightly coloured over-photoshopped images. These are the Fairy Pools, the Coral Beach and Neist Point. All lie at or near the end of several miles of single track road. The car parks at each of them are tiny, and there are no other facilities such as shops, cafes or toilets. Just about every visitor heads for one or all of these locations, with the result being blocked roads with damaged verges, and damage to some of the rental cars and camper vans too. It is hard to imagine how a visit to a crowded and muddy ‘scenic’ location is going to leave a visitor with the best impression of what they have seen.

For me, the silence and solitude on Skye is a big part of the island’s magic. Somehow, Skye needs to find a balance between providing for the numbers of summer visitors without spoiling the wild and ethereal beauty of the landscape. It would be good if fewer visitors came in July and August, and more came in winter. November to March, Skye is empty of visitors, but the scenery is still here! Sure, the daylight hours are shorter, and it‘s a bit colder, but rain is not much more likely, and there will probably be snow on the hills which adds to the majesty of every scene. Some of the touristy shops will be closed – but consider that a bonus! The canny folk see Skye at its sparkling best by visiting in April/May or October.

Plans are in place to provide visitor facilities and larger car parks at one or two popular Skye attractions, but I would hate to see our single track roads being widened, visitor centres created, and over-commercialism kill the essence of this lovely land – though for now at least, I know plenty of spectacular secret and virtually unvisited locations to sneak off to while the crowding tourists fight for a parking place at one of the more congested spots.