The Isle of Skye is rich in wildlife and spectacular scenery. There are also a wide range of activities available on the doorstep - not only walking, fishing and birdwatching but also numerous museums and sites of historical interest.

For both aspiring and amateur birdwatchers, the birds that may been seen in the area include the following:

1 Red throated diver 2 Black throated diver 3 Great Northern diver 4 Slavonian Grebe  5 Black necked Grebe 6 Little Grebe 7 Great Creasted Grebe 8 Fulmar 9 Manx Shearwater 10 Sooty Shearwater 11 Great Shearwater 12 Corys Shearwater 13 Storm Petrel 14 Leaches Petrel 15 Gannet 16 Cormorant 17 Shag 18 Grey Heron 19 Mute swan 20 Whooper swan 21 Bewick swan 22 White fronted goose 23 Pink footed goose 24 Bean goose 25 Greylag goose 26 Barnacle goose 27 Brent goose 28 Shelduck 29 Mallard 30 Gadwall 31 Pintail 32 Shoveller 33 Wigeon 34 Teal 35 Garganey 36 Pochard 37 Scaup 38 Tufted duck 39 Tufted duck 40 Eider duck 41 Common Scoter 42 Velvet Scoter 43 Long tailer duck 44 Goldeneye 45 Smew 46 Goosander 47 Red Breasted Merganser 48 White tailed eagle 49 Osprey 50 Golden eagle 51 Red kite 52 Hen Harrier 53 Common Buzzard 54 Sparrowhawk 55 Goshawk 56 Kestral 57 Peregrine Falcon 58 Merlin 59 Red grouse 60 Ptarmigan 61 Quail 62 Corncrake 63 Pheasant 64 Water Rail 65 Spotted crake 66 Moorhean 67 Coot 68 Oystercatcher 69 Ringed plover 70 Grey plover 71 Dotterel 72 Golden plover 73 Lapwing 74 Knot 75 Sanderling 76 Purple sanpiper 77 Dunlin 78 Curlew sandpiper 79 Temminks stint 80 Little stint 81 Wood sandpiper 82 Green sandpiper 83 Common sandpiper 84 Redshank 85 Spotted redshank 86 Greenshank 87 Black tailed godwit 88 Bar tailed godwit 89 Curlew 90 Whimbrel 91 Woodcock 92 Snipe 93 Jack snipe 94 Grey Phalarope 95 Rednecked Phalarope 96 Ruff 97 Great skua 98 Artic skua 99 Pomarine skua 100 Long tailed skua 101 Blackheaded gull 102 Common gull 103 Herring gull 104 Yellow Legged gull 105 Lesser black backed 106 Greaterblack backed 107 Kittiwake 108 Glaucous gull 109 Iceland gull 110 Sandwich tern 111 Common tern 112 Artic tern 113 Black tern 114 Little Auk 115 Puffin 115 Puffin 116 Black guillimot 117 Guillimot 118 Razorbill 119 Rock dove 120 Collard dove 121 Wood pigeon 122 Turtle dove 123 Cuckoo 124 Tawney Owl 125 Long eared owl 126 Short eared owl 127 Swift 128 Kingfisher 129 Wryneck 130 Skylark 131 Sand martin 132 House martin 133 Swallow (barn) 134 Meadow pipit 135 Rock pipit 136 Tree pipit 137 Pied wagtail 138 Grey wagtail 139 Wren 140 Dipper 141 Waxwing 142 Dunnock 143 Robin 144 Redstart 145 Black Redstart 146 Wheatear 147 Whinchat 148 Stonechat 149 Songthrush 150 Redwing 151 Fieldfare 152 Blackbird 153 Ring ouzel 154 Garden warbler 155 Blackcap 156 Lesser Whitethroat 157 Whitethroat 158 Sedge Warbler 159 Grasshopper warbler 160 Reed warbler 161 Willow warbler 162 Wood  warbler 163 Chiff chaff 164 Goldcrest 165 SpottedFlycatcher 166 Piedflycatcher 167 Red flycatcher 168 Great tit 169 Blue tit 170 Coal tit 171 Long tailed tit 172 Tree creeper 173 Red backed shrike 174 Great grey shrike 175 Jackdaw 176 Rook 177 Hooded crow/carrion 178 Raven 179 Starling 180 House sparrow 181 Chaffinch 182 Brambling 183 Linnet 184 Twite 185 Redpoll 186 Meally redpoll 187 Goldfinch 188 Greenfinch 189 Bullfinch 190 Common crossbill 191 Reed bunting 192 Snow bunting 193 Yellow hammer 194 Corn bunting 195 Red necked grebe 196 Bittern 197 Marsh harrier 198 Hobby 199 Little ringed plover 200 Little tern 201 Barn owl 202 Green woodpecker 203 Greatspotted woodpecker 204 Woodlark 205 Shorelark 206 Yellow wagtail 207 Firecreast 208 Bearded Reedling (tit) 209 Nuthatch 210 Magpie 211 Jay 212 Tree sparrow 213 Hawfinch

If you are looking for a break with a partner or a family holiday, we feel confident that one of our properties and the environment of Skye will provide you with the setting that you require. Here are just a few comments that we have heard from our guests:

If it is solitude or sociability that you are after you will find both - whether an informal Ceilidh with local musicians in a bar, meeting local crafts people, potters, spinners, basket makers or on the hill, mountain or cliff walks then you won't be disappointed! For a good night out the Isle of Skye Fiddle and Accordian club is hard to beat, visit their website on www.skyemusic.co.uk

When it comes to feeding the inner person, the selection of good, locally produced foods and restaurants are impressive. And when you leave, there will always be that feeling that there is still more to see, more to do, more mountains to climb and that, perhaps, 2 weeks may be better than one next time!!

Getting Here - Over the Sea to Skye

There are over 101 ways of getting to Skye (exact details on how to find the Chalets or Cottages are sent out on receipt of full bookings). While the most obvious, and maybe daunting, is with your own car, there are numerous alternative options and with today's problems of stressful driving and high private transport costs a combination of systems may suit. For English, mainland Europe, US and other visitors it may work out cheaper and less stressful to fly to either Inverness, Glasgow or Edinburgh and then take a hire car to get to Skye. There are many very competitive car hire deals in operation.

Once you are here and if you want to throw away your car keys, or if all your travel will be by public transport, then its no problem The island's integrated transport network is developing apace. Bus rover tickets, taxi tours, bus tours, ferry tours linking with bus tours to the outer Isles, Post Bus trips are all available:- just contact the travel line 0870 608 2 608 or public.transport@highland.gov.co.uk or when you get here just drop into a Tourist Information Office. Full details will also be in which ever of our properties you decide to stay in.

Air

Train

Coach (Cheapest by far!)

Ferry

Car

Further Information on Skye

The official Skye and Lochalsh website has a tremendous amount of information on the area, and can be found at www.skye.co.uk. 

Member of the Association of Scotland's Self-Caterer's

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Contact: Edinbane Self Catering, Nuig House, Upper Edinbane, Isle of Skye, Scotland IV51 9PR
Tel: +44-(0)1470-582221 Fax: +44-(0)1470-582323 or email enquiries@edinbane-self-catering.co.uk.