elgol and nearby
Our location in the village of Elgol is spectacular. Here, you can fully unwind, away from the crowds, surrounded by stunning landscapes and nature. Get ready to switch off, disconnect, and recharge in what is, in our view, the most beautiful place on earth.
From Coruisk House, there are many interesting places nearby that you can explore or quietly relax, enjoying the views. Below you’ll find a handful of activities and sites a short distance from us. This list is by no means exhaustive, but includes some of our local favourites.
If you would like more help planning your visit to Skye, we are more than happy to help you book fantastic experiences across the island. You can email us with any questions at info@coruiskhouse.com.
Our location in the village of Elgol is spectacular. Here, you can fully unwind, away from the crowds, surrounded by stunning landscapes and nature. Get ready to switch off, disconnect, and recharge in what is, in our view, the most beautiful place on earth.
From Coruisk House, there are many interesting places nearby that you can explore or quietly relax, enjoying the views. Below you’ll find a handful of activities and sites a short distance from us. This list is by no means exhaustive, but includes some of our local favourites.
If you would like more help planning your visit to Skye, we are more than happy to help you book fantastic experiences across the island. You can email us with any questions at info@coruiskhouse.com.
Loch Coruisk
If you could only choose one activity to do on Skye, a visit to Loch Coruisk might be the most enthralling experience on our island. From the sailing across waters – teaming with life – towards the Black Cuillin, to the incredible stillness and grandeur of the loch, with its towering jagged ridges overhead.
Coruisk itself is a stunning example of Skye’s complex geological history. The water forming the loch fills a 60 million year old lava chamber, carved out and exposed by the last ice age that gripped the island.
You can still see and climb the once flowing magma rivers that poured from the volcano. Skye’s true and epic nature can be experienced and felt here, like in no other place on our island. If you can, you must go.
For easy access to Loch Coruisk, we recommend booking on one of the boat trips mentioned below.
For the more experienced and adventurous hikers, Loch Coruisk can be accessed on foot, setting off from Elgol. The walk is around 10 miles (16 km) and takes you along the shoreline of Camasunary Beach and onwards toward the famous ‘Bad Step’. The Bad Step is the last obstacle you’ll face before accessing Loch Coruisk. Hikers must carefully scramble along a narrow crack formed on a sloping coastal rock face. Going carefully, you will pass through this portion of the route with relative ease. However, we wouldn’t recommend this route to anyone not used to experienced hiking or without a head for heights.
If you don’t plan on walking back this way, be sure to book your return trip to Elgol by boat before setting off.
For more details on this walk, click here.
Boat Trip to Loch Coruisk
Most people who visit Elgol are heading for the nearby harbour to step onboard one of our local boat trips.
If you are looking to venture across the waves to Loch Coruisk, Misty Isle Boat Trips offer a ferry service from the nearby pier. The MacKinnon Family have been running boat trips from Elgol to Loch Coruisk on the Isle of Skye since 1969 and continue to operate the crossing to this day. You may find it astounding to know that The Mackinnon family have lived in Elgol since the 1300’s, when they were gifted the land by Robert the Bruce.
If you are looking to meet local people with an exceptional knowledge of our area, a trip on the Misty Isle with the MacKinnons should not be missed.
The trip takes about 45 minutes, and you can then choose how much time you would like to spend at the loch.We recommend spending a few hours and taking a picnic along with you.
Isle of Skye Puffins, Wildlife and Smaller Isles Boat Trip
For those interested in seeing some of our local wildlife, plan a trip on a fast boat out to the smaller surrounding isles. Aquaexplore offers trips from Elgol harbour to Canna to see the local puffin population. There are a range of trips and excursions on offer to the remote islands of Rum, Canna, Soay & the Skye Cuillin.
Guests will have the opportunity to see a huge variety of wildlife. From dolphins, whales, seals, puffins, wild deer, and a sea eagle, to countless other seabirds that call our nearby shores home.
Local Skye History and Walks Nearby
Elgol is an historic place, with evidence of generations gone by dotted throughout our landscape.
The story of Skye’s people is one of bravery, passion, and, at times, hardship. Only 150 years ago, the population of the nearby area was cleared from their homeland during an infamous time in our history known as the Highland Clearances. Many of Skye’s people found their way to Australia and America.
The remnants of these communities, like Keppoch, can still be visited today. Exploring these former villages provides an incredible insight into the lives of the locals living in this area hundreds of years ago.
For visitors, whose ancestors have come from Skye, these visits can be particularly interesting and meaningful.
A visit to the Church of Kilchrist en route to Elgol is well worth it. Kilchrist (Christ’s Church), is a ruined 15th–16th century church. It served as the parish church for Strathaird for over 300 years. The churchyard is the final resting place of many members of Clan MacKinnon, and a great deal of evidence from the medieval period can still be seen here.
A Relaxed Walk Towards Coruisk
You don’t have to walk all the way to Loch Coruisk to enjoy some of the best views on the island. From the picturesque Elgol harbour, the first portion of the route to Loch Coruisk takes an elevated path above the shoreline, offering incredible views over the sea towards the Black Cuillin and out to the smaller isles.
This is a perfect place for photographs in all weather, and at sunrise and sunset.
For visiting photographers, part of the drama of the Cuillin is their every changing nature in light and shadow, in sun, mist, wind and rain.
A Challenging Hike to the Summit of
Bla Bheinn (Blaven)
For experienced hikers, we are close to one of the Cuillin’s most dramatic climbs.
Apart from the excellent climb itself, the panoramic 360 degree views of the legendary Black Cuillin and wider Skye from the summit of Bla Bheinn make this hike one of the most rewarding in the whole of the UK.
The scenery itself, will more than make up for the 5–6 hours of climbing, and the photos you take home will leave your friends in awe.
Although this is a difficult climb, we encourage those interested in climbing to take on the challenge as no other summit offers views quite like Bla Bheinn.
