Dornie

Dornie is a village in Wester Ross in the Scottish Highlands. It's on A87 the main road to Skye, and is a compulsory photo stop for Eilean Donan Castle perched on an islet. Dornie had a population of 360 in 2006.

The village is at the foot of Loch Long where it joins the broader Loch Duich; Loch Long was first bridged in 1940 and the present bridge opened in 1990. The ancient ferry continued in sporadic use to cross Loch Duich to Totaig on the other bank, but this didn't last. Appropriately then, the bagpipe tune Dornie Ferry is a "Strathspey", a slow, rather melancholy, back-and-forth dance tune.

Get in
Dornie is on A87 nine miles east of Kyle of Lochalsh.

By train: Kyle of Lochalsh is the nearest railway station. It has four trains a day from Inverness, stopping at Dingwall, Achnasheen, Stromeferry and Plockton. Buses to Skye connect with these trains. With a bike on the train, you could also get off at Stromeferry and follow the shorter but hilly A890 over to Dornie.

By bus: Scottish Citylink Bus 915 runs twice daily between Glasgow and Skye, stopping in Dornie. The route north is from Buchanan St Station via Glasgow Airport, Dumbarton, Loch Lomond west bank, Crianlarich, Glencoe, Fort William and Invergarry taking six hours to Dornie. Buses then cross the bridge at Kyle to Skye, through Broadford, Sligachan and Portree to Uig, for ferries to Tarbert on Harris and Lochmaddy on North Uist.

Scottish Citylink Bus 917 runs twice daily from Inverness via Loch Ness, taking two hours to Dornie then onward to Kyle and Portree on Skye as above.

Macrae Kintail Bus 712 runs once in the morning M-F from Corran via Glenelg, Dornie and Kyle of Lochalsh to Plockton. It immediately turns round for the return, so it's no help for day trips.

Get around
It's only five minutes walk between the Castle and the village of Dornie.

See

 * : the lane west from Shiel Bridge divides, drive straight on to go over the hills to Glenelg (for the Kylerhea ferry) and Corran. The right-turn branch keeps to the lochside, passing through Ratagan and Letterfearn to the end of the public road at Totaig. Near here is the iron age broch of Caisteal Grugaig, 16.5 x 9.6 m in extent. It's not to be confused with Dun Grugaig, one of the three brochs near Glenelg.
 * : the lane west from Shiel Bridge divides, drive straight on to go over the hills to Glenelg (for the Kylerhea ferry) and Corran. The right-turn branch keeps to the lochside, passing through Ratagan and Letterfearn to the end of the public road at Totaig. Near here is the iron age broch of Caisteal Grugaig, 16.5 x 9.6 m in extent. It's not to be confused with Dun Grugaig, one of the three brochs near Glenelg.

Do

 * Go hiking and hill-walking - this is an excellent area for walking, see Walkhighlands (Kintail and Lochalsh) walks for suggested routes. There are thirty-some "Munroes" in the area.

Eat

 * There's also a cafe at the castle Visitor Centre, land-side of the bridge to the islet.
 * There's also a cafe at the castle Visitor Centre, land-side of the bridge to the islet.

Drink

 * Fairytale Distillery northwest of the bridge makes gin and rum. No tours, but the shop is open M-Sa 10:00-17:00.
 * And see "Eat" and "Sleep" options.

Sleep

 * A few small B&Bs and self-catering cottages in the village, and another scattering west of the A87 bridge.
 * A few small B&Bs and self-catering cottages in the village, and another scattering west of the A87 bridge.

Connect
As of July 2022, Dornie and the A87 have 4G from all UK carriers. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

 * Plockton is a pretty village, an easy day trip on the train from Kyle of Lochalsh.
 * Skye across the A87 bridge may initially disappoint, as you arrive in low-lying Sleat. Keep going for the Cuillin mountains, and Trotternish the spectacular northeast peninsula.
 * A87 east leads into the Great Glen, joining A82 northeast to Loch Ness and Inverness or southwest to Fort William.