Ramasaig Cliffs

Summit at Ramasaig Cliffs with Neist Point behind, featuring me and a dog on a string

The Hill - Ramasaig Cliffs

Location: Waternish Peninsula, Isle of Skye
Grid Reference: NG158449
Height: 248m
Classification: Tump

The Walk

Ascent: 30m
Distance: 1km there and back (0.6 miles)
Terrain: Firm ground with well grazed grass. No path.
Parking: Tucked well in to the side of a passing place at the high point on the road to Ramasaig. 

This short walk gives you an excellent view out over the cliffs at Ramasaig to the much more famous Neist Point. It's another route with interesting driving single track driving - you take the B884 all the way up through Glendale, along with all the tourists heading for Neist Point. 

I would highly recommend stopping en route at the Glendale General Store in Lephin. It's a delightful old-fashioned local shop, selling everything from potatoes to playing cards. The entire shop is smaller than my living room and it is quite amazing what they manage to fit in. These kinds of shops were to be found all over the highlands and islands in my childhood, but these days they are generally confined to the truly remote locations. I bought some very excellent fresh apple juice in a glass bottle, some locally made flatbreads and a bag of organic bread flour. The hill-bagger bought a cup of hot coffee, a mint aero and a packet of millionaire shortbread. 

Glendale General Stores (Photo: Glendale Shop and Post Office - included by kind permission of the owners)

Continue on the B884 until you come to a turning to the left signposted Ramasaig. About a half a mile in you will think you must have taken a wrong turn, as you find yourself driving through what looks like a farm yard. Cows may or may not be in evidence on the road. Evidence of cows on the road is pretty much guaranteed. 

Bloggers impression of the relevant signpost

Continue on however and you find yourself crossing a cattle grid onto an increasingly potholed road. Take it slow for the next few miles if you are at all attached to the underside of your car. It's perfectly passable - we did it in a Fiat Panda, but there were definitely a few scrapey bits... Pass a small freshwater loch on your right, continue up the hill and just over the summit there is a reasonably large passing place with a sheep feeding station to the right. Tuck yourself well in so as not to inconvenience the farmer or block the passing place. If there isn't space to park without blocking the passing place then turn round and drive back up towards the high point of the road, there is another passing place where you can get well tucked in up there, and it will only add a few hundred metres to your walk. Make sure any dogs you may have brought with you are under very close control as the sheep will come and see if you are going to feed them. We put Dogbad the Terrible on a lead. She is a fetch obsessed maniac with absolutely no interest in sheep, but there is no viable way to explain that to a sheep. And you are on a cliff top. So leads are a must, even if your dog is as well behaved as Dogbad (who's name is completely undeserved). The summit is to the right of the road, more or less straight ahead.

Map of route taken by myself and the hillbagger - definitely not definitive.

From there it is very much a case of picking your own route. You can see the summit, and it doesn't much matter which way you go to get there. Even the hill-bagger didn't manage to get wet feet, which is a rare occurrence. We made it into a very small circular walk, climbing more or less straight up to the summit, then following the fence along the clifftop to the gully which runs inland and then walking back to the road. This whole walk is fairly exposed (wild and windy) which I love. There is however, much to the relief of the hill bagger, a sturdy fence running along the cliff top preventing man or dog from falling off the cliff.

Highly scientific testing of the wind speed at Ramasaig Cliffs

Hill bagger and his dog following the fenceline, looking towards Neist Point

For us, this was a fairly driving heavy trip for a reasonably short walk, but with a tiny hill adventure sometimes that is part of the charm. I used to think I could only justify driving to go on a walk if the drive was shorter than the walk. Which was fine when I was fit and healthy and could go on a 5 hour walk anywhere in a 2 hour long drive radius if I fancied it. Applying this logic to walks with fatigue was miserable though, as when my standard walk is 10 minutes long I am never allowed out of the village for a walk. Ever. Which is ridiculous. And mean. Everyone should be allowed to go on a small adventure every once in a while. So now every month or so* the hillbagger and I will go out on a longer drive and I get to explore new places. We also get to hang out for several hours, just like we would if we were on a long walk. We chat. Maybe we eat a picnic. I feel human. This is important. 

If you are also limited by fatigue, joints, fitness, small children or other encumbrances then remember adventures are also for you. They just might take a slightly different form.  

Neist Point from Ramasaig Cliffs - February 2020

*Pandemics permitting - this trip was taken in February 2020.