SKYE-SCOTLAND

Skye has always attracted plenty of visitors. Known as Eilean a Cheo in Gaelic, it scores highly for its wild scenery and its romantic Bonnie Prince Charlie connections. Its skyline is gashed either by brooding, craggy black rocks or rounded, red-hued mountains that inspired many 19th-century landscape painters, including JMW Turner. Only 48 miles end to end, it nevertheless boasts a thousand miles of coast and nowhere on the island is more than five miles from the sea. The combination of mountain, sea and abundant wild flowers is truly seductive, particularly in spring, when wild daffodils and deep lilac bluebells carpet the landscape. Now the island of Skye has become a centre of culinary excellence using the freshest local ingredients, from scallops to salad leaves, for which these islands are justly famous.

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WHERE TO STAY

• ISLE ORNSAY HOTEL

  Sleat(01471 833332)
  Idyllic setting in Sleat in the south of the island, with four suites in the converted stables and 12 other individually decorated bedrooms. Room 2 has spectacular views of the lighthouse and the Sound of Sleat beyond.

• KINLOCH LODGE

  Rùm(01471 833333)
  Fifteen bedrooms in two buildings (the main lodge and a newer house), with traditional baronial surroundings and a real-life laird and his wife. Guests are attracted by Lady Macdonald's cookery books and the full-on tartan experience.

• MARY'S COTTAGES

  Elgol(01471 866275)
  Three restored crofthouses in Elgol in the south of Skye, with views of Loch Scavaig and the Cuillin range. Each has veiled, boxed beds, wood-burning stoves and heated stone floors. Although let down by some of the furniture, the standard is better than the usual self-catering options and the houses are in a very quiet setting.

• ROWAN COTTAGE

  9 Glasnakille, Elgol(01471 866287)
  The doll's-house cottage is set in a tiny cluster of dwellings called Glasnakille, about two miles from Elgol, making it almost a suburb in these parts. The village is down a road so wild and remote, you lose faith in there being any form of human life at the end of it. Rowan Cottage is nestled into the side of a hill, with mesmeric views over the loch. Its homely décor will never grace the pages of World of Interiors but the prevailing yellows and greens, from the loo-roll to the towels, sheets and bath mats, are clean, bright and not a distraction from the main business at hand.

• THE THREE CHIMNEYS

  Colbost, Dunvegan(01470 511258)
  Shirley Spear's restaurant with rooms, The Three Chimneys, is situated on the shores of Loch Dunvegan in northern Skye, and has done wonders for the island. Six years ago, the Spears built six rooms for those diners unable to summon a helicopter to whisk them away after downing the last drop of their digestif, in what they have quaintly called The House Over-by. Outside, they have matched it to the idyllic, whitewashed croft building that houses the restaurant, but the unappealing concrete roof tiles and plastic window frames let it down. Inside, the handsome bedrooms are free from the tartan tyranny and stuffed stag heads that smother many other Highland hotels. They are unapologetically contemporary, with large, luxurious beds, wooden Venetian blinds and cool, grey-and-white bathrooms. Rooms at The Three Chimneys are often fully booked, sometimes by house parties. The real draw here is the restaurant: entirely self-taught, Spear has nevertheless been awarded a raft of culinary gongs: for two years running, The Three Chimneys was voted one of the 50 best restaurants in the world in a poll of other chefs, restaurateurs and food writers.

• WHERE TO EAT

  CUILLIN VIEW GALLERY & COFFEE SHOP
  5 Elgol (01471 866223). Unsurpassed views, with great coffees, cakes and cheeses, and an interesting photo gallery.
  
  LOWER DECK
  The Pier, Portree (01478 613611). Outstanding fish and harbour views.
  
  LOCH BAY SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
  Stein, Waternish (01470 592235; www.lochbay-seafood-restaurant.co.uk). Another popular place to eat: locally caught seafood such as Loch Bay king prawns is served simply in a lochside-cottage setting.
  
  ROWAN COTTAGE
  9 Glasnakille, Elgol (01471 866287; www.rowancottage-skye.co.uk). Ruth Shead's is the only pair of hands in the tiny kitchen, but then she can only fit three tables into her pint-sized dining room. The miniature, domestic setting in no way detracts from the food, which is every bit as good as the Three Chimneys. What's on offer depends on the season, and that day's catch. You could enjoy a rich seafood chowder and sweet local scallops; Shead's husband is a scallop diver and supplies her with seafood caught so recently that inland city restaurants will never be able to compete.
  
  THE THREE CHIMNEYS
  Colbost, Dunvegan (01470 511258; www.threechimneys.co.uk). Shirley Spear's restaurant, The Three Chimneys at Colbost, on the shores of Loch Dunvegan in northern Skye, has done for the island what Dartmouth's New Angel achieved for Devon: established a centre of culinary excellence that has paved the way for other ambitious restaurateurs. Spear had never worked in a restaurant when she decided to sell her house in Surrey and move up to Skye with her partner Eddie and their son and daughter. But she loved good food, and cooking it, and she still does. Entirely self-taught, she has nevertheless been awarded a raft of culinary gongs: for two years running, The Three Chimneys was voted one of the 50 best restaurants in the world in a poll of other chefs, restaurateurs and food writers. It is not hard to understand why: Spear's Loch Dunvegan langoustines, lobsters from the Minch, arty salads made from local edible flowers and leaves, and trademark hot marmalade pudding draw a wealthy foodie crowd from the Scottish cities, London and as far afield as the USA and Japan.

• WHERE TO SHOP

  DIANA MACKIE'S GALLERY
  10 Borreraig Park, Dunvegan (01470 511795;www.diana-mackie.co.uk). Diana Mackie's gallery exhibits her bold, contemporary paintings of Skye. Open by appointment.
  
  RAGAMUFFIN
  (01471 844217). Ragamuffin can be found next to where the ferries come in at Armadale pier in Sleat, sells a range of soft throws, scarves and other woollen goods. With a fast-expanding fan base, it has outgrown the Portakabin where it started life to move to a new, chic purpose-built shop.
  
  SKYESKYNS
  17 Loch Bay, Waternish (01470 592237; www.skyeskyns.co.uk). Skyeskyns sells traditionally prepared, fluffy sheepskins of many colours, styles and sizes, with names such as Hebridean Browns and Cappuccinos, as well as cushions and other accessories.

• HOW TO GET THERE

  AIRPORT
  The nearest airport is at Inverness.
  
  AIRLINES FROM THE UK
  The journey to Skye is not a simple one, but is well worth the trouble. Flight prices vary enormously. British Airways (0870 850 9850; www.ba.com) flies daily from Gatwick and Manchester to Inverness. BMI (0870 6070 555; www.flybmi.com) flies from Heathrow and Manchester. Car hire is available from Inverness airport for the spectacular two-hour drive to the Skye bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh.
  
  BY TRAIN
  More romantic is to take the Royal Caledonian Sleeper from London Euston to Fort William, (08457 550033; www.firstscotrail.com). You can then hire a car at Fort William and cross over to Skye from Mallaig to Armadale with Caledonian MacBrayne ferries (08705 65000; www.calmac.co.uk), which is one of the most scenic short crossings in the world.

  WHAT TO SEE

  The Bella Jane boat trip is a memorable experience which takes in Loch Coruisk - a dramatic sliver of sparkling, pale-green water surrounded by 3,000ft crags reachable only on foot or by boat, whose name in Gaelic means 'water cauldron', the Cuillin mountains and a grey-seal colony. It takes about one and a half hours; booking is a must. Boarding times are 10.45am and 2pm daily, but times can vary according to tide. Contact 0800 731 3089; www.bellajane.co.uk

• WHEN TO GO

  Summer days are long in the Scottish Highlands, although temperatures rarely rise above 20˚C and the weather is notoriously unpredictable - a sunny day can quickly be covered up by scudding clouds. The best months to go are June, when the sun doesn't set until gone 11pm, and September, towards the end of high season but before most tourist attractions close for winter.

• TRAVEL INFORMATION

  Visas: As in the rest of Britain, EU citizens may live and work in Scotland, free of any immigration controls. Citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are generally allowed to stay six months without a visa.
  
  Public holidays in Scotland: New Year's Day; New Year's Bank Holiday; Good Friday; Easter Monday; May Day Bank Holiday; Spring Holiday; Summer Bank Holiday; Late Summer Bank Holiday; Christmas Day; Boxing Day; New Year's Eve.
  
  Good buys in Scotland: Stock up on whisky and shortbread. Tartan and tweed clothing is also a popular buy.
  
  Local dishes in Scotland: Celebrated national dishes include haggis with 'tatties and neaps' (potatoes and turnips), black pudding, cock-a-leekie, and world-class fresh meat, fish and seafood.
  
  Good reading: Scottish literary classics include Rob Roy, by Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stephenson's Kidnapped. Any anthology of Robert Burns' poetry is also recommended. Also Muriel Sparks' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Whisky Galore by Compton McKenzie, and Irving Welsh's Trainspotting, a contemporary take on Edinburgh.