The Varragill River Walk is a quiet sanctuary close to the main road. A lovely river side path, popular with locals and dog walkers running alongside the Varragill River. It is not a path that is appropriate for wheelchair users as it is too narrow. However it can be navigated with a couple of walking sticks as Sarah did on our adventure.
Location of the walk.
The start of the walk is located next to the bridge over the Varragill River on the B883 Braes Road. From Portree take the turning on the left off the A87 and you drop down to the bridge in a few hundred metres. From Sligachan take the B883 signed for Skye Lodges. At the T junction turn left, follow the road on a sharp left hand bend. Down the hill until you reach the bridge over the river. Parking is limited so do not block any gateways or passing places. The walk starts through the metal gate next to the bridge.
The Varragill River Walk
The path starts fairly wide and level but soon gets narrow as the summer vegetation takes over. In about 200 metres the path splits, left to the river bank and right to head further down stream. Take which ever path you feel like. The return journey is the same way so you could walk this section as a loop. We dropped down onto the shingle river bank which afforded us views to the Old Man of Storr and Portree.
The path eventually leads all the way to the head of Loch Portree. Here you see boats moored, birds wading and more views up the Trotternish peninsula. On hot days local kids often swim in the pools of the Varragill River alongside the family dogs. Just walk as far as you can manage, sit a while on the river bank relaxing and in your own time make your way back to the car. After a lot of rain the path can be muddy but other than that it is a perfectly pleasant stroll. We were out about an hour but we walked less than half a mile. The rest of the time was spent sitting and chatting.
