Kyle to Mallaig next month

[91104]

Hi all. I've decided to head up to Scotland next month and after staying in Inverness overnight on Sunday 4th June I want to catch the early train that arrives in Kyle at 11.30 then make my way to Mallaig where I've booked a ticket on the afternoon Jacobite service.
It's the getting from Kyle to Mallaig bit I'm finding tricky.
The best I can come up with is catching the 12.15 Scottish Citylink service from Kyle to Portree then having a bit of time there before catching the 15.30 152 bus to Armadale for the 17.10 ferry to Mallaig. Traveline Scotland backs me up on this but the thing that worries me is the tight connection at Armadale.
The stop isn't even shown on the Stagecoach timetable but it's booked to arrive around 16.56 but from what I can see doesn't stop at the ferry terminal so I would have to get off the bus,walk to the ferry and purchase a ticket in around 10-15 minutes and I'm terrified of missing the ferry and getting stranded.
Has anyone else done this trip or are there others on the bus likely to be catching the ferry or will the ferry wait for the bus in the event of late running?
Any advice welcome

 

[Romilly]

Here is a link to the Stagecoach timetable. Please note that this timetable runs to 4th June only and the new timetable from 5th June is not yet on the Stagecoach website. Please note also that the 152 from Portree to Armadale continues to Ardvasar (where it arrives and terminates 2 minutes after Armadale) and is a schooldays only service in the current timetable. Although 5 June is a school holiday in Fife, it appears to be a schoolday in Highland. You get off at the Armadale post office/shop/filling station. To walk to the pier, initially follow the bus towards its terminus, but bear left for the pier where the bus bears right for Ardvasar.

https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/Timetables/North%20Scotland/Highlands/TT%20Skye%20Summer_from%2024%20APRIL%202017%20Updated%2014.04.17%20WEB.pdf

 

[Hadders]

Normally in the summer there's a direct Stagecoach bus around lunchtime that goes from Kyle to Armadale.

Even in Winter there's a Macleans service from Portree to Armadale that connects with the 1215 Citylink service from Kyle. This doesn't run in the summer as the direct Stagecoach bus runs instead.

I've no idea what'll happen this yearbut I bet it won't be vastly different.

 

[Romilly]

From 5 June to 22 October 2017, but Mondays to Thursdays only, it seems there will be a direct No.51 Kyle (Harbour slipway)-Armadale (pier) bus at 1145 arriving 1235 (and returning at 1240).

The timetables themselves are now on Traveline Scotland, but you need to use the timetables option on that site for now as it seems that the journeys are not yet in the journey planner.

And I think it also operates on Fridays during the sub-period 3 July to 13 August 2017.

Here's the link to the Stagecoach summer Skye timetable (but note that the 51 timetables need to be interpreted as regards operating dates by reference to the combined 50/51/52 timetables):
https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/Timetables/North%20Scotland/Highlands/TT%20Skye%20Summer_from%205%20JUNE%202017-WEB.pdf

 

[les.]

Yeah, there's definitely a bus (the number 51) which goes direct from Kyle to Armadale, so that you don't have to go all the way to Portree, but I think that there's only 1 a day.

There was last year anyway as we did the same trip ourselves. The bus goes past the turn off to Armadale and into Broadford before doing a u-turn at the bus layby there and going onto Armadale Pier.

 

[Hadders]

IIRC the 'direct' bus from Kyle to Armadale used to run at around 1300 but there seem to be some changes this year.

 

[Romilly]

The 11.45am direct No.51 is now in the Traveline Scotland journey planner for Monday to Thursday next week (w/c Monday 5 June 2017).

 

[DarloRich]

the bus will not wait for the train as i found to my cost. The taxi was also unreliable