Epona Cottage

Where we are and how to get here

Geary is located at the north end of Skye on a peninsula called Waternish.  We are approximately one hours drive from the Skye Bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh.  Thanks to improved transport links in the Highland area there are a number of ways to travel to the island.

By car

Obviously this will depend on exactly where you are traveling from, but as a rule there are two main routes from the south.  The first route follows the M74 to Glasgow from the border at Gretna.  From here you will leave Glasgow and head north along the A82, hugging the western shores of Loch Lomond as you go.  On from here you will pass through Crianlarich, over Rannoch Moor and down spectacular Glen Coe, finally reaching Fort William on the shores of Loch Linnhe.  Your journey heads north along the A82 until you reach Invergarry, at which point you will now head west along the A87 - the road to the Isle of Skye.  Basically, you follow this road all the way to Kyle of Lochalsh and then carry on over the now 'toll-free' Skye Bridge.  Once on the Island follow signposts for Broadford and Sligachan.  Once you reach Sligachan, in the heart of the Cuillins, you will bear left along the A863 following signs for Dunvegan.  As you pass through the village of Dunvegan you will reach a junction with the A850.  Turn right at this junction following signs for Portree.  After approxiamtely 3 miles you will reach the turn off on the left for Waternish - follow this single track road (the B886) until you meet a T juntion just above the village of Stein.  Take a right hand turn at this junction and follow the road for another 3 miles until you reach the right hand turn to Geary (an old church on the corner).  Take this turning and follow the road over the moor for a short distance and you will drop down on the other side of the peninsula and arrive at Geary.  Carry on over the cattle grid for approximately 1 mile and the holiday let is the fourth house form the end of the road.

An alternative route is to travel north via the A1 and Edinburgh.  Once you have followed the outskirts of Edinburgh and crossed the Forth Road Bridge, carry on north towards Perth on the M90.  From Perth you will carry on further north along the A9 and over the Pass of Drumochter.  You will leave the A9 at Dalwhinnie to join the A889 and then after a short while follow the A86 west towards Spean Bridge.  Once at Spean Bridge you will turn right and head north to Invergarry on the A82.  You can then follow the directions from Invergarry to Skye as above.

It is a good idea to make sure you fill up with fuel at places such as Fort William or Perth because you will not find other service stations until you reach Kyle of Lochalsh and the major towns on the island, such as Broadford, Dunvegan and Portree.  We would also advise people to plan their route and print it off using the AA route planner.

By train

Although there is a train service that runs from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, it is probably easier to get a train to Inverness and then hire a car or take a coach over to Skye via Achnasheen (A832 and A890).  If you did come by train to Kyle of Lochalsh you could catch a bus or taxi to many places on the island.  Inverness station has good links to many of the main centres in the UK and you can find all the information you need at the National Rail Enquiries web site.

By plane

You can now fly from many airports in the UK and abroad to Inverness airport.  As with traveling by train, you would need to either hire a car and travel over to Skye or catch one of the coaches that runs from Inverness to Skye.  It is well worth considering so have a look at the Highland and Islands Airports Ltd web site for more information.

By ferry

If you are driving then you have the option of coming over the sea to Skye on one of the ferries.  Services run from the mainland at Mallaig to Armadale at the south end of Skye.  There is a smaller ferry that runs from the mainland at Glenelg over to Kylerhea, again at the the south end of the island.  Whilst on the island there is also the opportunity to visit the Outer Hebrides from Uig and catch smaller ferries over to the island of Raasay.  Once again, feel free to have a look at the Caledonian MacBrayne web site and also the site for the Glenelg ferry.

Maps

Below are a series of maps that should help you get a better perspective of where we are and how to get here.  Geary is on the last map, in the middle, at the top!

Images produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

Images produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

Images produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.