Kyle to Mallaig via Skye

[pitdiver]

Can anyone tell me if I can get from Kyle of Lochalsh to Mallaig going via Skye.

 

[iainbhx]

Can anyone tell me if I can get from Kyle of Lochalsh to Mallaig going via Skye.

It's easier in the summer than the winter, but yes you can. You can get a bus from Kyle to Broadford on Skye and then another bus from Broadford to Armadale.

 

[ainsworth74]

Most certainly! You'll need to take a bus between Kyle and Armadale (from where the Ferry to Mallaig departs) changing at Broadford. I've been wrestling with the Stagecoach website but cannot get it to show me the necessary buses to make the interchange. A group of forum members did something similar to the above (we stayed in Portree overnight and travelled to Armadale from there) and it made for an excellent trip.

If you time it right you can get a Scotrail service from Mallaig that connects into the Sleeper at Fort William so you can enjoy a slightly more convivial train journey to Glasgow (or London of course).

 

[yorkie]

And a ticket that's valid from Edinburgh to Kyle is valid to return via Mallaig (though separate Advance singles are likely to he cheaper)

 

[Lrd]

I did the "Skye Circular" a few years ago and apart from a long fester in Kyle waiting for the bus it was most enjoyable!

 

[iainbhx]

I did the "Skye Circular" a few years ago and apart from a long fester in Kyle waiting for the bus it was most enjoyable!

I did it last year except I did my fester overnight in Broadford. I think in the winter there are three connecting bus services on a weekday with a Broadford fester of between 20 and 50 minutes. It is a bit better in the summer.

 

[iainbhx]

And a ticket that's valid from Edinburgh to Kyle is valid to return via Mallaig (though separate Advance singles are likely to he cheaper)

And a Spirit of Scotland covers you on the ferry and the Citylink bus to and from Kyle but not the service down to Armadale.

 

[StarCrossing]

I'm not entirely sure what's going on this summer. It looks like some of the routes that Stagecoach ran on Skye are going, including the Portree to Armadale services. However, it's not clear if another operator is going to replace them. The Stagecoach website says the new timetables will be available this coming Monday.

This link is the most up to date info I can find, though it's now over a month old:
http://www.theskyetimes.co.uk/index.php/1380-proposed-changes-to-skye-bus-timetables

 

[pitdiver]

The reason I ask is I'm hoping to do a circular rail tour of Great Britain. As this
Flitwick - London- Inverness- Thurso- Inverness-Kyle- Mallaig- Glasgow-Penzance- London- Flitwick
Early stage at present but what is the best suggestion re ticketing.

 

[yorkie]

I'm not sure how the best could be calculated, though without best being defined it would be difficult to know where to start!

Cheapest would probably be a string of Advance singles.

Most flexible would be an All Line Rover.

Best could be either, or neither!

 

[Liam]

Most certainly! You'll need to take a bus between Kyle and Armadale (from where the Ferry to Mallaig departs) changing at Broadford. I've been wrestling with the Stagecoach website but cannot get it to show me the necessary buses to make the interchange. A group of forum members did something similar to the above (we stayed in Portree overnight and travelled to Armadale from there) and it made for an excellent trip.

If you time it right you can get a Scotrail service from Mallaig that connects into the Sleeper at Fort William so you can enjoy a slightly more convivial train journey to Glasgow (or London of course).

The summer timetable on Skye usually only operates during the school holidays, almost 3 months away. The latest I can get Traveline Scotland to show is for June 30, where it is possible using the Citylink service from Kyle (with a 1 minute connection in Broadford!!). Check again next week for summer services (if the summer timetables are live.)

Kyle-Armadale:
http://www.travelinescotland.com/lt...ype=BALANCED&cycleSpeedIntervals=20&operator=

 

[Hadders]

The Skye Circular is my favourite rail trip which I've done several times both during Summer and Winter.

The buses are generally very reliable - in summer there's usually a direct Stagecoach bus that runs from Kyle to Armadale via Broadford. In winter you generally have to get a Citylink service from Kyle to Broadford then change for a Macleans service to take you to Armadale. I've always found the Stagecoach website is updated very late with the summer timetables. If it all goes wrong on the day (it never has for me) there is an 'exit route' available from Kyle to Fort William which will get you there before the sleeper departs.

Note also that if you're planning to use the seated sleeper from Fort William to travel south the useless Serco don't recognise the local Scottish Routeing Guide Easements referred to above by yorkie.

 

[philjo]

I did this in the other direction on my highland rover trip in 2015.

I think the summer bus services on Skye don't start until the last week of May?

I had stayed overnight in Fort William so got the morning 08:30 train to Mallaig then ferry (covered by the rover) to Armadale. The Portree bus was waiting for passengers coming off the ferry. I went through to Portree then later caught the citylink coach to Kyle (I & had prebooked a seat on that). the best scenery is between Broadford and Portree. then got the train to Inverness where I was staying a couple of nights (I was off to Wick the next morning)

Keep an eye on the weather - the afternoon I arrived in Fort william there were messages saying that due to bad weather the ferry from Mallaig had been suspended for the rest of that day (that was the day before I was planning to use the ferry) - it was back to normal when I arrived at Mallaig. This was in late August.

 

[38Cto15E]

I once had Advance tickets booked on the WHL and WCML and got rather worried when the Armadale-Mallaig ferry was cancelled due to rough seas but fortunately it was the day before I was due to use the route.
Years ago there was a Calmac ferry on Tuesdays and Thursdays that went from the Kyle direct to Mallaig, showing my age now.