Bharcasaig Bay

Bharcasaig Bay is a bit of a hidden gem on Skye. Usually only seen by locals and those headed to the MacLeod’s Tables or MacLeod’s Maiden. We are here to share this beautiful spot with you. Unfortunately wheelchairs will probably not be able to go the whole distance but it is reasonably accessible for most other abilities and well worth the visit.

Location of Bharcasaig Bay

To get to the bay you take the A863 south out of Dunvegan. Take the turning signed B884 Glendale, next to the Church. In 0.5 miles take the left hand fork in the road signed for Orbost. Follow this road for approximately 2 miles. You will eventually arrive in a farm yard opposite the entrance to Orbost House. Park sensibly here as this is where the walk begins. No parking spaces are marked out so use a bit of common sense and don’t block another car in. On the wall by the barn is a map of the Orbost Estate and all their paths and tracks. There are no toilet facilities on this walk so take advantage of the public toilets in the Dunvegan village car park before you set off.

The track to walk along

In the top right hand corner of the farm yard is a green footpath sign pointing down the land-rover track. This is where the walk to Bharcasaig Bay begins. It is a little over a mile/1.6 km to the Bay itself. The track is initially level and then after the Z bend it starts a long slow descend to sea level. The first section isn’t too rough but the Z bend is very bumpy and steep. The following long straight section is again quite rough with a lot of loose stones and gravel. This is the hardest section of the track. Here is a short video of our day out.

When you reach the first sweeping right hand bend in the track the views open up in front of you. From here the track surface is a little more forgiving but still quite difficult for those using wheeled walking aids or wheelchairs. Despite being compacted from vehicles using the track some stones are loose or protruding above the surface. Sarah’s wheels got caught on the stones quite a few times on the way down and back up! After recent rain there were also a few puddles to swerve around. In fact Sarah spent a lot of time swerving from left to right on the track to avoid stones and puddles. Luckily the amazing views distracted her, but it became quite exhausting towards the end.

One sticking point on the track is the cattle grid, situated about half way down. Impossible for Sarah to walk over, luckily there was a path to the side. Not a great path however. It is narrow, wet and just a bit tricky. With a bit of shuffling and jiggling her rollator Sarah did get through. A victory for us but it is highly unlikely a wheelchair would get through here. Obviously we cannot say that for certain as we were on foot but the path was too narrow for Sarah’s rollator.

The view to Bharcasaig Bay

Once over the cattle grid the view to Bharcasaig Bay opens up in front of you. With amazing views to your left and the bay drawing you toward it, the walk is quite mesmerising. With one eye still on the bumpy track Sarah was still able to enjoy the view fully. Although the track is still used by vehicles to access a couple of houses and the boat house it is very quiet. A couple of vehicles passed us when we were walking but we heard them from a distance away and managed to step aside. And, to be fair they were not travelling at speed as the track is too bumpy.

Small burns with waterfalls pass under the track, so there is always something to look at if not the view. It was a beautiful Spring day on our visit so we saw violets, celandines and gorse bushes all in flower. We were also buzzed by a very low flying buzzard, maybe we looked tasty! Slowly but surely we descended to the bay. Stopping to admire some ponies with fabulous moustaches. Sadly they were too shy for a photo! We sat above the sand and had a picnic lunch. It was like being in the Caribbean, but just at Hebridean temperatures! Despite the sun, the temperature reminded us it was still only April in the far north.

The walk back to the car

We sat for an hour recharging our batteries before the walk back to the car. The return is the same way as you came down. The rougher sections of the track were harder going uphill for Sarah, as stones stopped the wheels rolling. And her arms were suffering from bumping over the stones the next day. For a few hundred metres Melanie lent a helping hand and took some weight off the wheels which helped them glide a bit more. We had a wonderful, if not tiring walk to the bay. The swerving and bumps tired Sarah immensely but the amazing views and the peaceful bay were the pay off. With so many photo opportunities along the way there was always an excuse for a little breather whilst the camera got busy. It is definitely a walk worth trying if you feel like you may be capable. And remember you can always turn back if it is getting too hard, the early views are still very rewarding.

Fun Facts – Rebels Wood

As the path leads to the bay, ahead of you you can see a heavily wooded hillside. Beyond here is Rebels Wood. Rebels Wood was planted in 2003 as a living memorial to Joe Strummer, guitarist of the punk band The Clash. Some 8,OOO saplings of predominantly birch, alder, rowan, oak and willow, were planted in memory of the musician who advocated the planting of trees to soak up pollution when he was alive. Joe had links with Skye through his grandmother who was from Raasay and was a Gillies, a common family name in the area. The now mature woodland is home to hundreds of species of wildlife, such as otters, red deer, foxes and sea eagles. Maybe the buzzard we encountered on our walk lives there too.

Take your time to explore the bay area, don’t worry if you should stay or if you should go! London might be calling but ignore it and relax!! (sorry we couldn’t resist)