Kyle and Mallaig. Clockwise or anticlockwise?

[Diplodicus]

If and when I can get north, I would like to bash the lines to Mallaig and Kyle of Lochalsh. Which way round would you seasoned travellers recommend? Mallaig - Kyle or t'other way round?

 

[JonathanH]

If and when I can get north, I would like to bash the lines to Mallaig and Kyle of Lochalsh. Which way round would you seasoned travellers recommend? Mallaig - Kyle or t'other way round?

It doesn't really matter - main point is about ensuring that the timetables and connections work and that you do as much of the trip as possible in daylight.

Kyle of Lochalsh is somewhat closer to Inverness than Mallaig is to Glasgow.

 

[AzumaLover11]

If and when I can get north, I would like to bash the lines to Mallaig and Kyle of Lochalsh. Which way round would you seasoned travellers recommend? Mallaig - Kyle or t'other way round?

I wouldn't suggest any particular direction. It depends what time the connections are.

 

[SeanG]

When I went I did the sleeper Edinburgh to Fort William, then Fort Bill to Mallaig. It was a decent connection onto the boat at Mallaig. The boat was meant to connect with the (once/twice daily) bus at Armadale. As the boat was docking, the bus was waiting. however before any passengers could get off the boat, the bus left, much to the annoyance of a number of us. No taxis were to be found so it was boat back to Mallaig, train to Fort William then Coach to Inverness.

Therefore, in the future, I would recommend train from Inverness to Kyle. There is then a decent connection to the bus down to Armadale (or taxis would be more readily available). The boats are then pretty frequent from Armadale to Mallaig, ready for the train to Fort William.

 

[paul1609]

Do you mean via the Skye Ferry to Armadale/ Mallaig? If so and your any sort of scenery person make sure that you go up to Portree rather than just changing bus at Broadford as that section of road is spectacular. Ive always done it anti clockwise and stayed the night somewhere in the Isle of Skye

 

[theironroad]

When I went I did the sleeper Edinburgh to Fort William, then Fort Bill to Mallaig. It was a decent connection onto the boat at Mallaig. The boat was meant to connect with the (once/twice daily) bus at Armadale. As the boat was docking, the bus was waiting. however before any passengers could get off the boat, the bus left, much to the annoyance of a number of us. No taxis were to be found so it was boat back to Mallaig, train to Fort William then Coach to Inverness.

Therefore, in the future, I would recommend train from Inverness to Kyle. There is then a decent connection to the bus down to Armadale (or taxis would be more readily available). The boats are then pretty frequent from Armadale to Mallaig, ready for the train to Fort William.

Was the boat very late?

Assuming the bus is supposed to connect with the boat, that's pretty bad and not a great advert for integrated public transport.

 

[SeanG]

No, the boat was on time, if not early.
Chatting to the crew of the the boat, they were not surprised, basically saying that the bus driver would rather have an easy life with no passengers.

 

[yorkie]

If and when I can get north, I would like to bash the lines to Mallaig and Kyle of Lochalsh. Which way round would you seasoned travellers recommend? Mallaig - Kyle or t'other way round?

On previous occasions I've always done this anti-clockwise, for the following reasons:

• I've generally found the timetable works best this way around
• I preferred doing the Fort William sleeper in the southbound direction
• I generally start the trip with the Highland Chieftain to Inverness, and stay overnight there; I preferred doing the HC in the northbound direction

 

[Mcr Warrior]

When I did this many years ago, I did Glasgow to Perth, then Perth to Aberdeen, followed by Aberdeen to Inverness with an overnight stay at the Station Hotel. Then the relatively short Inverness -> Kyle of Lochalsh section with a second overnight stay, this time at the Lochalsh Hotel. Then the following morning across on the ferry to Kyleakin (this was in pre-Bridge days), bus from Kyleakin to Broadford, then another bus from Broadford to Armadale, the afternoon big ferry from Armadale to Mallaig, and back on the 4.00 pm (ish) train from Mallaig to Glasgow Queen Street via Fort William.

Didn't see much of Skye due to the clag being down (it's not called the "Misty Isle" for nothing!) but I do agree with paul1609 that a diversion to Portree (the main town on Skye) is worthwhile if your itinerary allows it.

Key thing IMHO is having sufficient slippage in your connections at the various interchanges to ensure that you don't get stuck mid-route.

 

[paul1609]

Was the boat very late?

Assuming the bus is supposed to connect with the boat, that's pretty bad and not a great advert for integrated public transport.

I did the clockwise trip in the winter some years ago, staying overnight in Broadford. The bus was a LDV van that also took the kids to school and delivered the newspapers en route to Armadale. The newspapers were late arriving from Inverness and I'd assumed that I'd have to shift to my back up plan which was spending the day in Armadale but the van driver phoned the ferry terminal to say he had a passenger and the ferry waited for me.

 

[jfollows]

Both times I did this I went clockwise. However I stayed in Portree as well, which would be a shame to miss, even for one night. On the first occasion I went by bus, and all worked well. On the second occasion I booked a taxi from Kyleakin to Portree and then, a few days later, from Portree to Kyle.

On both occasions I used The Jacobite to Mallaig, although on the second occasion the sleeper ran late and I had to use a taxi from Fort William to Glenfinnan to catch up with the steam train.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I was lucky enough to do this trip pre-Skye Bridge when there was still an occasional ferry service from Kyle to Mallaig through the Sound of Sleat (twice a week from memory, the same boat ran to Portree on other days).
However, the Scottish weather was so muggy and misty that the spectacular coastline was almost entirely invisible!

 

[Diplodicus]

Thank you all for your really helpful suggestions.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Clockwise when I did it.

 

[_toommm_]

Clockwise too. If you do it that way, the sleeper connects fairly nicely with the Jacobite at Fort Bill, and you have about an hour in Mallaig until the ferry departs for the Isle of Skye (unless there’s been a massive timetable change since last year).

 

[Hadders]

I've done it both ways but I find anti-clockwise easier.

As @yorkie says it's best to stay overnight in Inverness following a trip on the Highland Chieftain
A 09:00am start from Inverness gets you to Kyle for 11:30-ish
There are then buses to Armadale - do check the bus timetable carefully though as they regularly change depending on the schools and taxis aren't an option
Depending on which ferry you get you've potentially got a couple of options from Mallaig - a train that gets to Glasgow around 21:30 or get the 18:15 from Mallaig which connects into the sleeper at Fort William for a trip all the way to London or alternatively you can use the sleeper seats as a day train as far as Glasgow/Edinburgh.

Realistically if you go clockwise you need to stay in Mallaig or Armadale. Not impossible but nowhere near as many options as staying in Inverness.

 

[jfollows]

taxis aren't an option

Actually, they are, because that's how I've done the journey in the past, but I needed to book the taxi in advance to meet me. Too long since to remember which company I used, though.

 

[Hadders]

Actually, they are, because that's how I've done the journey in the past, but I needed to book the taxi in advance to meet me. Too long since to remember which company I used, though.

Apologies I should have been clearer. Taxis are available but need to be pre-booked well in advance. The point I wanted to make was don't walk off the ferry or arrive at Kyle expecting to see a taxi rank or phone for an immediate pick up etc.

The other advantage of anti-clockwise is there is a 'get out' if something goes wrong as you can get a City Link coach mid afternoon (it's the Portree - Glasgow c.15:00 at Kyle iirc) to Fort William and get back on track. There might be a similar option if going clockwise but haven't checked.

 

[30907]

Hadders has just beaten me to considering "Plan B."
Other than that, the only thing to add is: it depends how much of a hurry you are and whether you want to do the sleeper one way. Plockton looks nice for example, and going up to Portree is a must, so I would add a night or two to the trip. However, each to their own...

 

[RT4038]

I did the trip clockwise in November 19. Stayed the night at Mallaig. Caught first ferry to Armadale. In the winter bus timetable there was about an hour wait for a bus to Broadford, but then no connection to Kyle. Booked a taxi with [email protected]. Very good service on both. There are more buses in the summer timetable, check at www.stagecoachbus.com and also for the Broadford-Kyle section on www.citylink.co.uk

 

[TixallWanderer]

I've done the journey both ways.

In 2015, having stayed overnight in Glasgow, day one involved taking the morning train to Oban, which gave me around an hour there over lunchtime, then back to Crianlarich, followed by a bit of a wait for the afternoon service to Fort William. On day two I took the morning Jacobite to Mallaig, the ferry to Armadale and bus direct to Kyle, which after quite a long wait led to the late afternoon train to Inverness. Day three involved a round trip on the Far North line (definitely my favourite route) and then home on day four via the Highland Main Line (with a stop off on the Strathspey Railway) and Glasgow.

In 2019 I went the other way, taking the Highland Chieftain up to Inverness for the night, and then a very lengthy day taking the morning train to Kyle, literally running to make the bus to Armadale (due to a late arrival) followed by ferry to Mallaig, a bit of a wait then the afternoon train to Glasgow. The line had been washed out south of Crianlarich so the final section was by coach to Glasgow.

Clockwise was less stressful but took more time - effectively making it a three day trip rather than a two day trip. Being able to add in a trip on the Far North line, or to Oban, or round via Aberdeen, means there are so many different options and I have done various variations over recent years. So whatever you don't do on your next trip you can do on the one after that!