| Portree (picture by Peter Watts) |  |
Portree
Portree
Panorama from the end of the quayside at Portree (Port Righ) on Skye overlooking the harbour and the bay. The buildings along the quayside are brightly coloured, emulating the colourful harbour front at Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, while the whitewashed houses round the bay are very picturesque.This harbour area offers tourist facilities including fish and chips (the fish often bought straight off the boats here), a number of guest houses and also restaurants offering freshly caught seafood - some of which you can catch for yourself on the many boat cruises on offer in the harbour. These are usually working fishing boats adapted to increase income by becoming licenced to carry paying passengers for sightseeing tours. Tour boats depart from this part of the quayside at Portree taking tourists on trips around the harbour, up Loch Portree and out to the Raasay Island. There is a good viewpoint overlooking this harbour from the road exiting Portree above the harbour towards Staffin.
Portree also lies at the beginning of the northern and western loops of the Isle of Skye. From here roads continue up north with the dramatic scenery of the Trotternish peninsula and the Quiraing towards Staffin, Floddigarry, Duntulm, the Aird and on round the headland to the ferry terminal and harbour town of Uig. The road west leads to Dunvegan past Waternish peninsula and across more gentle, rollong green landscape heavily cultivated into croftland used for livestock and small scale intensive market gardening. From Dunvegan, the road continues along behind the Cuillin ridge offering outstanding views of the Black Cuillins as you approach Loch Sligachan and Glen Sligachan where you rejoin the only road south back to Broadford, Kyleakin and across the Skye Bridge to the mainland at Kyle of Lochalsh.
Portree is the commercial, cultural, residential and geographic center for the island and is orientated towards being the hub of daily life for island-dwellers. It has the majority of necessary local services and amenities for everyday life; the supermarket, hospital, dentist, doctor, garage, swimming pool, council offices, school etc ideal as a central location to explore the island. It has several hotels from one star to five star, guest houses, bed and breakfast, hostels and a tourist information centre located above the harbour near to Somerled Square. The Aros Centre offers a theatre and occasional use cinema, cafe and gift shop and is located on the main road south. The local bars frequently offer live music from local musicians with a good mix of traditional and contemporary, classic and popular. By the end of an evening, it is not uncommon for willing patrons to join in and start an impromptu "ceilidh".
Travel and Getting There:
Portree lies 35 miles north of Kyleakin, approx 40 miles north of Armadale and 20 miles south of Uig - the three main access points to Skye. Portree lies at the centre of the island of Skye.