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questions on options on getting over to Isle of Skye and then back to Fort William

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My husband and I are going to Scotland, arriving in Edinburgh on April 19th (taking train from London after arriving on a flight which is scheduled to arrive at 7:20). We will fly out of London on Monday the 28th, 14:40. We will focus on Edinburgh the 19th -20th. We will take a Heart of Scotland Tour to Hadrian’s Wall for one day then take a two day overnight Go Scotland Tour (Balmoral Castle, Aberdeen, and North East Coast Tour)

When we return to Edinburgh (around 18:30) on Wednesday, we will then take a train or bus (researching this part still) to Glasgow. We are taking the West Highland Line from Glasgow to Mallaig. We will stay at the Moorings B & B, take the first ferry over to Isle of Skye Friday morning and then pick up a rental car to drive to Elgol for the 12:30 Bella Jane boat trip (hopefully the puffins might have returned by then, smile).

Question: If the ferry isn’t running (we will not have the car on the ferry), I understand there are other ways to get over to Armadale to pick up the rental car and make the 12:30 boat trip in Elgol? We booked the B & B in Mallaig because we thought it was too tight a plan to get up from Glasgow to Mallaig and make the ferry the night before. But, I want to make sure we make the 12:30 boat trip. Is this a realistic plan?

When we are hopefully finished with the boat trip, we will drive from Elgol to Portree. We are staying for two nights at Green Acres Guest House. Are there any recommendations for stops between Elgol and Portree? (The next day, we are going on a one-day tour of the Isle of Skye with Tour Skye Ltd that includes Fairy Pools, Talisker Distillery, Neist Point, Dunvegan Castle, Fairy Glen, The Quiraing, Kilt Rock, Jurassic Skye, The Old Man of Storr) I love knitting, yarn, fiber, but we are open to all suggestions.

We will leave Portree on Sunday, April 27th and need to get to Fort William to get on the overnight sleeper to London). Question: We can drop off the car in Portree, or arrange another drop off point. We have most of the day to get to Fort William. Should we try for a bus or perhaps take a bus to a train? Basically, what are recommended options to get from Portree to Fort William? Thank you for any help with our questions.

Suzanne

Posted by
1374 posts

A quick look at Citylnk service 915 the Glasgow-Skye run via Fort William will give you some answers.
If the ferry is off ( weather) the only upside is the trips out of Elgol surely will be too !

There's no way reasonably to get to Armadale from Mallaig or even Fort William without the ferry to meet your timeline.
Do prebook the Portree to Fort William Citylink ticket, your car hire guys might suggest you could drop off at Broadford ,it also has a Citylnk bus stop.
I spent a fair bit of time on Skye in 2023 to the point of being on first name terms with the drivers of the 57 bus route

Posted by
1374 posts

My friend in Mallaig has his own small boat which he took me up Loch Morar in , an excellent adventure.
For what us worth April is on average one of the BEST months in the Highlands,I had near 5 weeks of no rain and saw the Northern Lights on the 21st out at Duntulm.
Ya never know

Posted by
1371 posts

If the ferry to Armadale isn't running then you are out of luck as there is no other way to get to Armadale. You'd have to back track to Fort William and pick up the Citylink 917 bus to Uig/Portree. But as already said above, if the ferry is off due to weather then boat trips from Elgol are unlikely to be running either. I think you are too early for the puffins (at least in any meaningful numbers).

The day tour you are doing from Portree will be a VERY packed day, with no time for buying yarn. You will be taken from one photo opportunity to the next with little time to linger. If you have a rental car then I'd suggest that you could do your own tour, and could go at your own pace.

As for Yarn, Shilasdair is your best bet on the island. They hand dye their own yarn. It's on the Trotternish loop (same area as Old Man of Storr and Kilt Rock). The tour bus won't stop there but you can get there in your rental car or the public bus service. No decent yarn shops in Portree at all, although some of the tourist shops have a limited selection of Scottish yarns (but not Skye ones).

Who are you renting your car from? It's very unusual to be able to drop a car on the island unless it's from Morrisons or Morar motors. Best (only) way from Portree to Fort William without a car is the Citylink 917 bus.

Posted by
10 posts

Hello
Thanks for the information on Shilasdair. I was hoping to find some yarn options on the ride from Elgol to Portree. I didn't expect to do so on the day trip. Yarn isn't the priority while on the Isle of Skye.

Yes, we will probably be too early for the puffins; just hoping.

I've been emailing with Morrisons for car rental. They will provide a pick up in Armadale, for a fee, and we can drop off at Portree. Once I finalize our times, then I will confirm with Morrisons.

I've also done some checking today and I believe that I can take a morning bus from Portree and arrive to Fort William with plenty of time for our overnight train to London..

I'm now working to see if I can try to get up to the last ferry Thursday night and then I will be over on Isle of Skye and will have more time to make the trip from Armadale to Elgol. I realize that trip is going to take awhile as it is on a single track road and we will be driving left side for first time.

Thanks for your insights and information.
Suzanne

Posted by
8684 posts

The 1540 #916 bus gets you to Fort William at 1842, for the 1900 sleeper.

If he is late jump off at Spean Bridge at 1824 and intercept the train there at 1919.

The previous bus is the #915 at 1035, arrive FW at 1340.

On the Thursday the morning train connects with the 1500 ferry, arrive Atmadale at 1545.

The #917 runs to Inverness, not Fort William.

Posted by
1371 posts

Oops apologies for the wrong bus number. I really shouldn’t type without my specs on.

Posted by
10 posts

Hi Thanks to both isn31c and Skyegirl -
the #15 @ 10:35 is perfect.
Thursday morning train arriving in time for last ferry is helpful information also.
Of course, always nice to know about another yarn stop possibility.
Thanks!
Suzanne

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