In Search of Water Horses on Skye

Scotland Travel

An Isle of Skye Tour from Edinburgh is a popular multi-day tour of Scotland.

Scottish Guided Tours offer fun and relaxed private day tours and multi-day tours of Scotland from Edinburgh.

We depart not only from Edinburgh however, but from all over Scotland.

Private guided tours of Scotland and bespoke travel planning.

The Isle of Skye is the largest island in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides, and as such, hidden gems like Loch Coruisk are often missed by travellers on mixed group tours.

Our article below “In Search of the Water Horses on Skye” is about Loch Coruisk on the Isle of Skye – Enquire about a Private Skye Tour.

'In search of Water Horses on Skye'

Loch Coruisk is an epic freshwater loch on the Isle of Skye (Gaelic Coire Uisg / the ‘Cauldron of Waters’) As such, this unique location makes for an incredible addition to your Scotland travel.

A back door to the Cuillin mountains and with views of epic proportions.

…a scene so stern as that dread lake. Sir Walter Scott

They say memories are the treasure trove of the mind, and this is one of the best views in Europe.

Not just the view, but the feel of your surroundings will stay with you forever.

A special place. A fey place, and a place where water horses lurk in the deep loch.

Yet, on a fine day like today, you would still consider taking your chances even if it is just dipping your toes.

Water horses lurk in the deep

On a recent Scotland tour, we added this wonderful corner of the Isle of Skye to our itinerary.

Isle of Skye from Edinburgh is a popular choice for travellers.

Most visitors travel by boat from the little harbour at Elgol, although you can walk from Sligachan (7-8 miles)

The rocky coastline from Elgol can also be walked, but this involves negotiating the “Bad Step.”

The “Bad Step” above Loch Scavaig

A tricky rock face with a sheer drop into Loch Scavaig and not for the faint-hearted.

Elgol is a great addition to any Scotland travel plans you have and coupled with a boat trip on the BellaJane , or Misty Isle Cruises makes this a truly marvellous experience.

Sir Walter Scott visited the Cuillin and Loch Coruisk in 1814 and described it thus: ‘Rarely human eye has known A scene so stern as that dread lake, With its dark ledge of barren stone…’

Skye is huge, so be adventurous - Explore more on your Scotland travels with Scottish Guided Tours

An Isle of Skye sightseeing tour can naturally draw you to the North East of the Island, and the beautiful Trotternish peninsula.

The Trotternish is a must-see and a great start to any Isle of Skye sightseeing tour. The Old Man of Storr, Kilt Rock, Lealt Falls and over to the Quiraing to name a few.

Isle of Skye from Edinburgh

This does not mean you’ve seen it all. In fact, far from it !!

Skye is a large island. The largest of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland with over 400 miles of coastline.

On a private guided tour of Scotland, one of the advantages is exploring places large bus tours will never reach, and having a local guide.

Sometimes secret places or sometimes places less visited.

Find out about adding a trip to Loch Coruisk on your multi-day Scotland tour with Scottish Guided Tours.

The mountains of Skye, bathed in sunshine with a typical single track Scottish Highland road meandering into the distance

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You Won't Regret a Tour with Niall! In the spring of 2018, our party of 3 adults visited Scotland for the first time. We arranged a day-long private tour outside of Edinburgh with Niall McOwen. Before arrival, we exchanged emails about our expectations. Some attractions the three of us asked to see were probably the usual tourist fair for first time visitors, but Niall also took us to places we didn't even know to ask about! Mr. McOwen was considerate, interesting, knowledgeable and truly concerned about the desires of our group. Around mid-day, the restaurant he chose provided us with good food, a bit of shopping and some time for us to get to know each other better. Getting to see this beautiful country through his eyes helped me to understand more of Scotland, its history and its citizens. If we are ever blessed to visit Scotland again, Niall will absolutely be included as part of our trip.

An Epic Day to Remember! Scottish Guided Tours offers some preplanned itineraries, but their specialty is in working with you to customize a single or multi-day tour to fit your specific needs. We’d been to Scotland in the fall of 2017 and started planning our second trip as soon as we got back. We wanted to go to places a bit off the beaten track this time, so contacted Niall McOwan of Scottish Guided Tours. Niall built on our “must see” request, and suggested some other sites that worked well with our schedule. He picked us up from our hotel, and gave us an absolutely epic day to remember! One highlight was visiting an Old Kirk that is the final resting place of the famous Highlander Rob Roy MacGregor. Just behind the Kirk, we hiked up a trail that took us to a rallying point overlooking Loch Voil. A stone cairn at marked the place where Clan MacLaren would have lit a fiery cross to summon their men to battle. The view from this spot was just breathtaking! Throughout the day, Niall filled us in on the significance, history, and lore related to our stops. In addition to taking us to absolutely stunning viewpoints and ruins, he knew the best places to stop for lunch, coffee, and restrooms. 🙂 Our entire experience with Scottish Guided Tours from planning to the drop off back at our hotel was smooth, professional, friendly, knowledgeable and fun! I can without any hesitation recommend this service to anyone looking for a custom tour in and around Scotland.

First guided tour, Don’t often write reviews but felt the need to for our trip. We live in Spain and decided on a little trip back to the motherland,we were not disappointed and our trip was made even better by Niall,his knowledge and passion for his country and what he does is evident,not your bog standard repitive tour guide,there was not one day of our trip that he didn’t have us laughing. Can highly recommend Scottish guided tours,we will return and when we do,we will definitely be booking with Niall.

Best of Scotland & Edradour Distillery Day Tour We spent a really entertaining and informative day with our guide, Niall ( Neal in Gaelic). He took us north to see the three bridges from different eras that span the Firth of Forth. It was fun to see a train go over the old one. Then we were off to Dunkeld, the river Tay, a wee hike in the woods to find a salmon ladder (alas,, no salmon running at that moment), coffee at a charming shop in Dunkeld, a tour at Edradour Distillery, the only remaining hand made single malt whiskey in Scotland, and the smallest to boot. We had a quick look at the village of Pitlocry, and ended the day at Loch Tummel to see The Queen's View. One more coffee stop, and it was back to Edinburg. But the best part of this fine day was the time we spent with Niall, who was a font of information, jovial and witty. As one does, we compared cultures, talked about everything under the sun, and laughed together much of the time. If you are looking for a tour guide with a warm demeanor and a kind and helpful personality, Niall is the best.

Best Day Ever!!!! My family and I had the good fortune to have Niall as our personal tour guide for a day during our vacation to Scotland. We found that one day wasn't enough! Niall taught us more about his country in 10 hours than a professor in History could have done in 10 weeks. He was an absolute pleasure to be around. He made sure our day was spectacular from beginning to end. We can't wait to go back and let Niall show us more!

Extraordinary and outstanding! With all the great tour guides I have hired, Niall stood out. He was with our family from Nov. 21-25. He picked us up at the Edinburgh airport and we started touring immediately. seeing the Kelpies, South Queensferry and the Forth Bridges all in the first afternoon. After that, we spent four more days together while he regaled us with history, legends and fairy stories. He listened and did not interrupt. Niall seemed to know how much to talk and how much to listen. He played the most beautiful Scottish music as we drove. We felt immersed in Scottish history and culture. He even wore his kilt for two of the five days. He went out of his way to accommodate our dietary needs. (It really helped that he is vegan himself.) We traveled through ancient woodlands, burial sites, battlefields, castles, fairy pools and fairy glens, mountain ranges, Outlander, Harry Potter and other film sites. We ended up enjoying him so much that we considered him part of the family and wanted him for the rest of our stay. Finally, we all noticed how kind Niall was with not only us, but with everyone including other drivers, restaurant staff and hotel staff. I only hope that he will be available when we return. We thought that Scotland was magical and that magic was mainly because of him. We would never tour with anyone else. Niall is the very best.

Private tours are the best! Spending a day doing what you want to do is the best tour option! We had been on many small group tours and found them enjoyable, but for the ultimate tour experience, choosing your day exactly how you want is definitely the way to go! Niall, at Scottish Guided Tours, is the man for the job! He picked us up at our hotel, and we spent the day exploring the Trossachs National Park. We visited four lochs (lakes), several historical locations, explored at our own pace and hiked to breathtaking locations that we wouldn't have known about if it weren't for Niall's expertise of the area. You don't need a headset to explain every step of the way when Niall is happy to provide you with history and insight into each location. He is also kind, funny and a great companion for touring around (he knows all the great food stops, too). During our last visit to Scotland, I felt the tour stop locations were a bit crowded, and I wanted to do a little more hiking into the depths of the beautiful forests of Scotland. We hiked to incredible mountain viewpoints, beside streams and along lochs. It was the best! Of course, if hiking isn't your thing, the beauty of Niall's tours is that you can do anything you want - well, with time and distance considered. 🙂 Don't hesitate, contact Niall to discuss 'your' trip. You won't regret it!

In Search of Water Horses on Skye

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'In search of Water Horses on Skye'

…a scene so stern as that dread lake. Sir Walter Scott

Water horses lurk in the deep

The “Bad Step” above Loch Scavaig

Skye is huge, so be adventurous - Explore more on your Scotland travels with Scottish Guided Tours

Isle of Skye from Edinburgh

Browse a selection of our 5* rated Private Day Tours of Scotland

Stirling Castle & Loch Lomond Day Tour

Loch Ness - Glencoe & Highlands Day Tour

Outlander Day Tour

Rosslyn Chapel & Hadrians Wall Day Tour

St Andrews Day Tour

Glencoe & Scottish Highlands Day Tour

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