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Kyle of Lochalsh To Mallaig via Skye
- Thread starter 8ace
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RailUK Forums
Yes, at least from Glasgow.
0822 Glasgow Queen Street to Mallaig 1340
1420 Mallaig to Armadale 1450
1505 Armadale to Broadford 1530
1600 Broadford to Kyle of Lochalsh 1621
1713 Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness 1959
2022 Inverness to Glasgow Queen Street 2357
I don't think the timings on the Kyle or Mallaig lines allow the round trip to be done from Inverness in a day.
0822 Glasgow Queen Street to Mallaig 1340
1420 Mallaig to Armadale 1450
1505 Armadale to Broadford 1530
1600 Broadford to Kyle of Lochalsh 1621
1713 Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness 1959
2022 Inverness to Glasgow Queen Street 2357
I don't think the timings on the Kyle or Mallaig lines allow the round trip to be done from Inverness in a day.
anothertyke
Member
Yes you can do it in a day from Inverness starting at 0855 and returning from Fort William on the last bus arriving back 2049.
Thanks Jonathan, that seems like a great plan will try and do that
Can I just pay on the day for the ferry/bus?
Killingworth
Established Member
Nostalgia! Back in 1958 my father took me by boat between Kyle and Mallaig aa part of a round trip from Newcastle. We over nighted in Portree. Those were the days. Took us a week.
Hope the weather is kind for a day trip.
Hope the weather is kind for a day trip.
StarCrossing
Member
- Joined
- 27 Jul 2015
- Messages
- 229
BE VERY CAREFUL!
CalMac's ferry timetables are different on each day of the week. From what I can see, the 14:20 only exists on Wednesdays. On some other days, the timetable is only slightly different, so this plan would still work. On some days, the timetable is sufficiently different that this plan would not work.
Note that the route is currently running on a reduced timetable due to one of the two usual vessels covering another route. In theory, they should be back to the two vessel timetable by early August. However, in practice, these things are often delayed.
Also note that this route has special timetables when tides are low. This won't impact the first week of August, but it's worth noting if your plans change.
You can pay on the day for the ferry, but CalMac are advising foot passengers to buy in advance during the current period when the reduced timetable applies. It's very easy to buy online. If you have a tight connection onto the ferry, I'd suggest buying beforehand anyway rather than wasting time visiting the ticket office.
All info on the ferry route is here:
https://www.calmac.co.uk/en-gb/route-information/mallaig-armadale/#/
Good luck and enjoy it!
Did this (sort of) on Friday. On the train to Fort William the conductor announced that all ferries on the Mallaig-Armadale were cancelled for the day as we were crossing Rannoch moor. She advised catching the citylink bus, so I purchased a ticket online for the sum of £33.10. I caught the 13:55 915 service from Fort William Bus Stn to Kyle Of Lochalsh Old Slipway Bus Stop. I wasn’t initially that thrilled about having to get a coach for a couple of hours but ended up enjoying the journey catching a few sights I otherwise wouldn’t have seen. Got to Kyle in plenty of time for the 17:13. Didn’t quite get to Skye but had a great day and didn’t get stranded lol!
LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
I did that trip in 1974 (Portree-Kyle-Mallaig by boat, in between rail from Edinburgh/Inverness and to Fort William/Glasgow).
But the sea fog was so thick you couldn't see the shores, let alone the mountains, on the Kyle-Mallaig section.
But we did see HMY Britannia moored off Raasay, which is where it went when not hosting the royal family when they were staying at Balmoral.
And a pair of golden eagles.
Thanks Mag_seven
I'm hoping to attempt this again next month, this time starting at Inverness (as I'm staying there after my Wick trip) and finishing in Glesga. My route would be
0853 INV - KYL 1131.
bus/buses across Skye to Armadale ?
Ferry to Mallaig ?
1605 MLG - GLQ 2143.
Doable? (weather dependant obvs)
I'm hoping to attempt this again next month, this time starting at Inverness (as I'm staying there after my Wick trip) and finishing in Glesga. My route would be
0853 INV - KYL 1131.
bus/buses across Skye to Armadale ?
Ferry to Mallaig ?
1605 MLG - GLQ 2143.
Doable? (weather dependant obvs)
Mcr Warrior
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 8 Jan 2009
- Messages
- 17,306
Thanks Mag_seven
I'm hoping to attempt this again next month, this time starting at Inverness (as I'm staying there after my Wick trip) and finishing in Glesga. My route would be
0853 INV - KYL 1131.
bus/buses across Skye to Armadale ?
Ferry to Mallaig ?
1605 MLG - GLQ 2143.
15:00 midweek sailing from Armadale (Skye) would get you across to Mallaig pier for 15:45 just in time to walk over for the 16:05 Scotrail train to Glasgow Queen Street (short walk from the ferry to the railway station). Foot passengers need to be at the pier at Armadale (Skye) 10 minutes before the ferry departs.
Working backwards, you'd need to be on the 14:15 bus (#52) from Broadford to Armadale (Skye) which arrives 14:42. Think this one only operates during Scottish school holidays, however.
And to catch that, you'd need to have been on the 11:50 bus (#55) from Kyle of Lochalsh - Harbour slipway to Broadford - Post Office (arrives 12:10). (So, two hours for a potential lunch break?)
So, do-able (just!) and you could always pre-book a taxi, if needed, when travelling on a day if/when the bus connections don't work?
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H F Stephens
Member
Options will depend on the day of the week that you plan to travel, and whether or not it’s a school holiday.
As mentioned above, CalMac timetables vary by day, and there are selected days when particular tide times and levels also affect schedules.
As there’s a fixed link to Skye, the Mallaig to Armadale service is also one that can and has been deprioritised when there are vessel issues on other routes, although recent interventions seem to have reduced the incidence of this happening.
You will, however, have to piece together the timetables for Kyle to Broadford buses (55/915), Broadford to Armadale buses (52) and the CalMac Armadale to Mallaig ferries (18).
Route numbers above are links to the relevant timetables.
The most resilient option is a taxi from Kyle to Armadale, for about £70 for up to four passengers.
Kyle Taxis on 01599 534323 or website: www.lochalsh.net/taxi/taxi.html
As mentioned above, CalMac timetables vary by day, and there are selected days when particular tide times and levels also affect schedules.
As there’s a fixed link to Skye, the Mallaig to Armadale service is also one that can and has been deprioritised when there are vessel issues on other routes, although recent interventions seem to have reduced the incidence of this happening.
You will, however, have to piece together the timetables for Kyle to Broadford buses (55/915), Broadford to Armadale buses (52) and the CalMac Armadale to Mallaig ferries (18).
Route numbers above are links to the relevant timetables.
The most resilient option is a taxi from Kyle to Armadale, for about £70 for up to four passengers.
Kyle Taxis on 01599 534323 or website: www.lochalsh.net/taxi/taxi.html
The date would be Wednesday 1st July - I have no children myself hence am totally clueless when school holidays occur.
70 sheets is a bit rich for my pockets seeing as I'll be travelling solo.
arrrggh!
looks like a sherbert from broadfoot to Armadale then!
70 sheets is a bit rich for my pockets seeing as I'll be travelling solo.
arrrggh!
looks like a sherbert from broadfoot to Armadale then!
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anothertyke
Member
I agree. I think you need to be looking at 6 july or later for your trip, when the 1415 from Broadford to Armadale should be running although Stagecoach don't seem to have updated their timetable from summer 25 and BusTimes.org doesn't seem to show all the 52 buses for today. Also whatever date you choose the Calmac timetable needs careful reading! Best of luck, it's a great trip but I was mighty relieved to see the bus coming at Broadford the day I did it.
If you get the 08:30 Citylink coach from Inverness to Broadford, arr 11:00, you can then make the 11:45 to Armadale and arrive Mallaig 14:05 if all works out. I assume you want to do the train though, the 08:15 Fort William - Mallaig - Kyle - Inverness works better but given the limited Armadale - Broadford service it's easier to taxi.
I recently spent a week in Skye. In my experience, the buses were reliable, the ferries less so. Electronic roadside signposts warned on several days of ferry cancellations between Armadale and Mallaig. As that ferry route is absolutely key to completing this round trip, you need to plan very carefully, double-check before setting out and have a Plan B. I would not want to be stranded in Armadale.
Noted thanks, I've managed to re-arrange my hotel date in Inverness
Yes, train all day long. I tried the journey in reverse as you suggest last year but the weather wasn't kind and the ferry was cancelled. I'm doing the Far North Line the day before hence my starting from Inverness this time around.
I will do - I'm not a very good swimmer either lol
Buzby
Established Member
Are those Scottish holidays (for that Council area) ?
Yes Highland council which seems to be the right one.
Just to add to the comments re the "52" service, there is also a "152" "School Bus" service which I believe is open to the general public. During term time on Fridays it runs at 13:10 from Portree and in effect replicates the school holiday only 14:15 "52" from Broadford mentioned above, it is 14:00 from Broadford and just makes the 14:45 Mallaig ferry. So on Fridays during school term you can, on paper, also do the journey but it's very tight.
Cheers mate