Bearreraig Bay

Summary

Bearreraig Bay is a beautiful stony bay famous for its fossils - a short walk with a very steep path. This is a quiet and secluded place when the nearby Old Man of Storr is packed with visitors.

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Grade

Bog Factor

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Terrain

A very steep descent to the bay on a path with steps. Can be slippery in the wet. Stream at bottom occasionally inpassable if water not being diverted by power station.

Getting there

Start

Parking area just before the dam part way along the Scottish Hydro Road from the Storr Lochs.

Public Transport

Bus number 57 from Portree - 4 times a day. Get off at end of Storr hydro road at bus shelter. Walk down this road 0.5km to walk start.

Start Grid Ref

NG516524

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Walk Statistics

Distance: 3.25km / 2 miles
Time: 1.5 - 2 hours
Ascent: 153m (Profile)

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Explorer 408 - Trotternish

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Walk Description

User reports (4)

Stage 1

Heading north on the main road from Portree, the Hydro road turns off on the right immediately after the Storr Lochs. There is a bus shelter next to the turning. There is a parking area part way along this road before the dam. Start the walk here and continue along the road before turning right to leave the road at a path sign to follow a short section of path skirting the house and turning area.

Stage 2

The winch house is the square flat roofed building used to pull a carriage up and down a funicular track to the Hydro station below. Bear left to head down the far side of the winch house to reach a viewpoint. The viewpoint has superb views of the bay below, with the Storr cliffs visible far above. Interpretative displays explain about the fossil finds and the geology. The path down to the bay starts on the seaward side of this viewing area, descending in a series of zigzags. It soon reaches a staircase cut out of the rock above a big drop - luckily this part has a handrail!

Stage 3

Beyond the path continues zigzagging right down to the Hydro station on the beach. The hydroelectric scheme, which includes the Storr Lochs on the moorland above, was built in 1952 and gave Skye its first electricity supply (apart from the Royal Hotel which had a generator). It has a capacity of 2.4MW, not nearly enough to supply the island's needs today. You can see the turbine through the windows. Go through the gate and head along the front wall of the building, passing above the water rushing out from the turbines. Beyond the building, cross the stile. Usually it is easy to cross the burn near here as most of the water now heads through the turbines instead but occasionally there is more water here and it may be impassable.

Stage 4

After crossing there's a broken stile. Cross to head out onto the stony beach - looking out for otters which can sometimes be spotted swimming offshore. At the far end of the bay crumbling cliffs reach down almost to the sea. Below these cliffs is the best place to hunt for fossils - at low tide; but don't take any away as this is a protected site. Afterwards, return back past the front of the hydro building. Before heading back up the steep path to the right, it's worth crossing the stile ahead and exploring the wave cut platforms at this end of the beach. If you round the corner of the bay you can see Holm Island just offshore - according to local legends this was Tir Na Nog, the land of eternal youth. It's necessary to reascend the path you came down in order to return to the start.

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