The Glen Brittle Forest is a lovely spot for a quiet walk on Skye. The crowds follow the road down to the infamous fairy pools but we stopped a little earlier on the road to access the forest. Glen Brittle can also be accessed from Loch Eynort on the other side of the hill. From our side the path is fairly level with no steep inclines so is very accessible.
Getting to Glen Brittle Forest
From the main A87, take the turning for the A863 at Sligachan signed for Dunvegan. Then take the left turn to Carbost & Talisker Distillery. Soon you pass one of our favourite places, Donald John’s. So we called in here for a spot of lunch before we started our walk. Follow the road up the hill and take the left turn signed for Glen Brittle and the Fairy Pools. The road hugs the edge of the glen and in the distance you see a forest coming into view. As soon as you get to the forest there is a metal gate and wide driveway on the right. Park here for this walk. The forest is an active timber logging area so do not block this gate or driveway. If you park carefully you can tuck a couple of cars in on the right hand side and will not block access.
The Glen Brittle Forest Walk
The Glen Brittle Forest Walk is a circular route but you can just do as much as you want. Just remember to leave enough energy to get back to the car. The full route is available on WalkHighlands website. The full circle is approximately 9 miles. We covered a tiny portion of that on the adventure. Melanie has walked about 4 miles of the route and can confirm that from where we have started the walk until the Eynort path the surface remains the same and is very accessible.
As with many of the forestry paths we have explored the surface is reasonably well compacted by the forestry vehicles that use it. This makes for a good surface for Sarah’s rollator. It would also be good for wheelchairs and even mobility scooters. And kids would be able to bring bikes or scooters too. There was the occasional larger stone to make things more interesting, but that is the great outdoors for you.
Glen Brittle Forest offers fantastic views of the Cuillin mountains and a wide variety of flora and fauna. Many seabirds can be seen in the area. Sometimes you can even spot a white tailed sea eagle visiting from the nearby island of Rhum. There used to be a forestry commission nursery at Glen Brittle Forest which produced young trees for experimental plots so don’t be surprised to see exotic eucalyptus trees among the pines. The highlight of this visit was spotting purple flowers which matched Sarah’s shoes.
We made a short video during our walk which you can see here.
Near to Glen Brittle Forest
Not far from Glen Brittle Forest is Glen Brittle Beach so if you have any energy left after your visit you may want to visit there as well. If mobility isn’t a problem for you the Fairy Pools are just a couple of miles further down the road too.