Cave of Gold, Kilmuir

TROTTERNISH, PORTREE AND THE BRAES


Summary :	The Uamh Oir or Cave of Gold is Skye's answer to Fingal's cave on Staffa. It gives a delightful short walk and is a great place for a picnic; the slope down to it is very steep and requires great care.
Terrain :	Pathless walk through rough fields; the descent to see the cave is down an extremely steep grass slope which could be dangerous in the wet.
Grade :		Distance :	3km/1.75 miles
Bog Factor :		Time :	1 – 2 hours
Start :	End of public road north from Bornesketaig cross-roads	Grid ref :	NG376713
Map :	View an OS map of the route Buy Explorer 408 – Trotternish online	Ascent :	68m
GPS Route/ Waypoints :	Open this walk in QUO 2 Tell me more Open this walk in GPX format (compatible with Memory map etc)	Open this walk in Google Earth Tell me more Open all walks in Google Earth Tell me more
Pronunciation and meaning :	Press play button to listen Tell me more
Public Transport :	No public transport to start. Bus number 57 from Portree passes along the A855 through Kilmuir - get off at the road junction for Camas Mor, 2 kilometres from walk start.[Click for timetables - choose Area 4]

1. Take the road signed for Camas Mor from the A855. The road passes a ruined church; take the second turning on the right, which is at a cross-roads. Drive 300 metres up this road and park on the right hand side before the sign reading 'End of public road'. Continue along the lane on foot, which soon becomes overgrown with grass. At the very end is a stile - climb over this. Beyond the stile there is a short boggy section (the rest of the walk gives dry going). Head diagonally up left to the far corner of the field, where there is another stile going over the fence. Cross this and turn right for a short distance uphill, before turning left to contour the low ridge, soon coming alongside the remains of another drystone wall. The rocky hillock to your left is Dun Bornaskitaig, a ruinous iron-age broch.

2. As you approach the coast, follow a faint path to the right which curves above the cliffs and continues along their tops - the views to the Outer Hebrides are magnificent on a clear day. The start of the descent to view the cave can be hard to find. As the path approaches a fence, look out for a rusting iron fence post set into a boulder. Taking great care, make a very steep descent down the grass slope to the coast here, keeping the crags just to your right. Two thirds of the way down you'll reach a wide rocky platform - go out along this.

3. The cave entrance is visible just round the corner to the right. It is not possible to enter the cave but this is a delightful spot, with perfect hexagonal columns of basalt all around. There are usually lots of shags and other seabirds here, and it is worth keeping an eye out for dolphins and porpoises. After your rest, return up the grassy slope to the clifftop.

4. It is worth continuing along the clifftop to view more impressive coastal scenery. After a short distance you can step over a broken down fence to reach a gate. Go through the gate and carefully over the fence to its left to continue along the cliff. A couple of hundred metres along there are basalt sea-stacks and an arch to be seen. It is possible to carry on for some distance before returning to the gate, passing through it and then following the fence to the left to return to the stile you crossed earlier. Go over this and head back through the boggy area to reach the stile at the end of the track, and return to the start.

Have you done this walk?

If so, why not be the first to comment on it in our Forum. If you start a new topic in the walking discussion with the name of this walk as the topic, we will link the discussion to the walk so that others can read your comments here.

Have you found an error or is any information wrong or missing?

Please let us know by using the error reporting form.

Route profile

View Accommodation for this area:
Hotels in Portree, Trotternish, Braes
B&B in Portree, Trotternish, Braes
Cottages in Portree, Trotternish, Braes
Skye hostels
Skye campsites