Kilt Rock (Skye) parkingĀ - reopened yet?

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 heleno 20 May 2023

Does anyone know if the Kilt Rock Viewpoint parking has reopened following the recent re-surfacing work?

Hoping to climb there tomorrow 🤞

Thanks! 

Post edited at 14:48
 henwardian 20 May 2023
In reply to heleno:

No.

And god knows how long it will be. Apparently the ground keeps settling more every time they put more hardcore down and also apparently, it's not a good idea to put the final tarmac down when the whole site is still subsiding, so they are just playing the waiting game.

But you can park about half a km South, next to the bottle banks if you want to admire the view. Or walk to the crag.

Don't pull over on the side of the road near the Kilt Rock parking, there are clearway signs and you'll earn the ire of locals and may well get ticketed too. The clearway was put in place because a couple of weeks back an ambulance was stuck unable to get past because so many people had parked half on, half off the road on both sides.

Actually, for climbing you'd be better off parking at the Dinosaur Museum, walking a little uphill on the road and then going to Kilt Rock cross country, even easier than from the Kilt Rock parking because there are less fences to cross.

Post edited at 14:59
7
 Tom Green 20 May 2023
In reply to henwardian:

Maybe worth asking the chap at the Dinosaur museum before just using the car park. It’s  signed as ‘museum parking only’ and when we asked the bloke if we could park there the answer was no, but he was super helpful suggesting an alternative up the road (actually more convenient than the dino parking). He was very nice and sympathetic to climbers so it would be a shame to change this by just assuming it’s ok to use that car park. 

 henwardian 20 May 2023
In reply to Tom Green:

Fair point. The problem with the bit just a little further up is that it often gets jammed with too many vehicles (it's barely suitable for more than 1 or 2 cars) and it has two different access gates on it which you should not be blocking access to.

OP heleno 20 May 2023
In reply to henwardian:

Thanks for the replies both of you - we'll keep an open mind and can climb elsewhere if parking at Kilt Rock is problematic at the moment. 

 Andy Moles 21 May 2023
In reply to henwardian:

> Fair point. The problem with the bit just a little further up is that it often gets jammed with too many vehicles (it's barely suitable for more than 1 or 2 cars) and it has two different access gates on it which you should not be blocking access to.

Worth knowing that I got a row off the crofter here recently (even though I was parked in a way that didn't block access to either gate in the slightest, which it's easily possible to do provided, as you say, there aren't more than 1 or 2 other vehicles). I've since seen people parking there, equally respectfully, with no issues, presumably because they haven't happened to meet the crofter.

For what it's worth other locals think that he was in the wrong, but it's a bit of a febrile atmosphere with roadside parking on Skye at present, so be aware.

The nearest uncontroversial parking for Kilt that I know of is the big layby with the glass bins that Henward mentioned 1km south, though it's a bit of a grim walk along a fast stretch of road.

 henwardian 21 May 2023
In reply to Andy Moles:

> For what it's worth other locals think that he was in the wrong, but it's a bit of a febrile atmosphere with roadside parking on Skye at present, so be aware.

I think that might be overstating it a bit.

However it is definitely a bit of an issue due to the very high numbers of visitors and the fact that some people park in very silly places, either blocking access to people's houses/crofts or blocking lanes or even whole roads.

If the museum are not too happy for you to park there then I'd suggest dropping your backpacks at the museum, parking at the glass recycling and then walking back to pick up your packs, wouldn't add too much time to your day and walking a km with no pack isn't too bad.

(btw, there is nowhere suitable to park in Ellishadder either if anyone was thinking about that).

 Andy Moles 21 May 2023
In reply to henwardian:

> I think that might be overstating it a bit.

Having had horns blown at me and being sworn at when I've been parked totally reasonably, I wouldn't.

 henwardian 21 May 2023
In reply to Andy Moles:

> Having had horns blown at me and being sworn at when I've been parked totally reasonably, I wouldn't.

If this has happened multiple times then there is another, perhaps not very welcome, possibility....

2
 Andy Moles 21 May 2023
In reply to henwardian:

Charming as ever, Henward.

 henwardian 22 May 2023
In reply to Andy Moles:

Ah, don't take me too seriously. I'm fat and old now, there's naught left to get my kicks but smacking on UKC

In reply to Tom Green:

> Maybe worth asking the chap at the Dinosaur museum before just using the car park.

In law I’m pretty sure he has no authority over you if you don’t believe in dinosaurs.


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