Glenelg Kylerhea ferry to Skye

[Mike Sales]

There was an item on Today this morning about this ferry.
It is apparently the last muscle operated turntable ferry in Scotland and owned by the community.
It was used by Johnson and Boswell, though probably not the same vessel!
It is the shortest crossing so the tide runs fastest.

https://skyeferry.co.uk/

Years ago I visited the Cuillins regularly but I never used this crossing, I was usually travelling by thumb.
Of course it involves climbing the pass of Mam Ratagan.
I would love to ride this way, but this is unlikely, to happen.
Has anyone used this way and have memories to share?

[Mike Sales]

Has nobody used this ferry?
Surely the climb does not deter intrepid cycle tourists?
I enjoy getting on the water, even for a short ferry ride. I would always choose the ferry over the Channel Tunnel.
No fare for bikes is listed on their site, but they are carried, judging from these pictures.

[Pendodave]

I can be of no assistance, but thanks to your post I at least have now heard of it!
It would gave been a good photo for the "lockdown where am I" thread...
I'll be sure to add it to an itinerary next time I'm in the vicinity. Thanks.

[Tigerbiten]

I've used it on the UK tour where I tried to maximize the number of ferries used.
Being on a recumbent trike with a trailer I can only use vehicular ferries, the gangplanks and boats on foot ferries tend to be to small.
I think I got up to about 25 different ferries used on that tour.
The ferry was fine, just like I remember as a kid.
But I had burnt out a set of cable disks and warped the rotors by the time I got down to Shiel Bridge.

Luck ........

[PDQ Mobile]

I have not used it, sadly.
I believe it used not to operate in winter.
I have been to the Cullins on the Kyle of Lochalsh ferry and along the road past the Kyle Rhea ferry.

My interest at the time was partly the house with the fictitious name Camusfearna ("Bay of Alders",in Gaelic), where Gavin Maxwell wrote the charming Ring of Bright Water.
It lay a little further South where the Sound of Sleat opens out.

The house's real name was Sandaig.
It burned down long ago (68) but there is a memorial on the spot.

[Tangled Metal]

We drove that way and took the ferry. The Skye side had steep, winding road with cars speeding round blind bends. Add to that very rough road surface with potholes. I was driving and very glad to get onto better roads. I thought it a little hairy to cycle on if it's busy with cars. Too many drivers are not aware of how to drive on mountain roads where it's often single track with passing places, steep sides and blind bends.

[buryman]

Used it from Skye over forty years ago. The rain never stopped once whilst we were on Skye but the sun came out as we climbed Mam Ratagan en route for Ratagan SYHA.

[LollyKat]

I've used it a few times in the past but with a car, not a bike. The last time the ferry men misjudged the length of our Volvo 240 estate when raising the ramp at the back, and whacked the rear bumper so hard that it had a permanent bend in it ever afterwards.

A couple of years ago they misjudged the tide and were stranded.

[Norman H]

I've been wanting to cycle that way ever since I took the car across some years ago, its a beautiful route. I nearly made it in 2015 when we cycled back to Oban from the Hebrides via Skye. In the event we changed our plans and took the Armadale ferry to Mallaig.

It is the shortest crossing so the tide runs fastest.

Yes it certainly does, something like 8 knots on a spring tide. I dived Kyle Rhea in 1985, drifting from just north of the ferry towards Kyle of Lochalsh. We dived it on neap tides but it was still quite an adrenaline rush.