Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls

Pull in at the viewpoint car park on the A855 north of Staffin and you get two sights at once. Kilt Rock is the sea cliff in front of you: a band of tall, vertical basalt columns sitting on flatter layers of older sandstone below, which from a distance looks like the pleats and hem of a kilt. Right beside it the Mealt burn, running out of Loch Mealt just inland, pours over the lip and falls straight down the cliff into the sea as Mealt Falls, something like 55 metres in one go.

It is all roadside. A fenced platform does the work, so there is no walk and no scramble, which makes it an easy stop on the round of Trotternish. In a strong wind the metal railings can hum and whistle, which catches people off guard the first time. Bring a coat either way, because the wind comes straight off the sea and the spray blows back over the top.

While you are up this stretch of coast, The Quiraing, the great landslip of pinnacles and hidden terraces, is a few minutes’ drive west and worth far longer than the falls. Lealt Falls is just to the north if you want another quick roadside stop.