Not to be confused with the Glenelg beach suburb of Adelaide in South Australia, or the Glenelg rock feature near the Curiosity Rover landing site on Mars.

Glenelg is a small village on the coast of Wester Ross in the Scottish Highlands, which historically was one of the main crossings to and from Skye. The cattle swam across on their way to market, while the humans took a ferry. Paradoxically the ferry was boosted when the road bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh opened in 1995, as this had high tolls, prompting community protests, refusals to pay, and work-around routes. The bridge became toll-free in 2004 and now takes the bulk of the traffic but the Glenelg ferry still sails in summer.

Glenelg and the coast to Arnidale had a population of 291 in 2011. The village has helpfully put up a sign on its outskirts confirming that you've reached the Glenelg that's on Earth, not the one on Mars.

Get in

The only road in is the narrow lane branching off A87 at Shiel Bridge at the head of Loch Duich. It climbs over the hills to Glenelg then continues south for 10 miles along the shores of Loch Hourn to dead-end at Arnisdale and Corran. Macrae Kintail Bus 712 runs once in the morning M-F from Corran via Glenelg (around 8AM), Dornie and Kyle of Lochalsh (9:30AM) to Plockton. It immediately turns round for the return, passing Kyle at 11:40 and Glenelg at 12:50PM. Inter-city buses between Glasgow / Inverness and Skye stop at Shiel Bridge but from there it's a seven-mile walk to Glenelg.

By train: the nearest railway station Kyle of Lochalsh is ten miles north as the crow flies, but over 30 miles by road winding around Loch Duich. Kyle has four trains a day from Inverness; buses to Portree and Uig on Skye meet these trains. With bike on train, consider cycling from Kyle over the Skye Bridge then doubling back to Kylerhea for the ferry to Glenelg.

1 Glenelg-Kylerhea Ferry. April till mid-Oct daily 10AM-6PM, Jun-Aug until 7PM. This unusual contraption runs every 20 min in summer, pay on board. The deck is a turntable platform that can just about fit six cars. The ferry comes in alongside the pier, then the turntable is swivelled manually so vehicles can drive on and off. Car with up to 4 passengers £20, motorcycle £10, foot passenger £3. (updated Apr 2024)

Get around

The barracks, brochs and ferry jetty are easily reached on foot; there's no onward transport from Kylerhea on the Skye side.

See

• Kirkton is the tiny main settlement. The parish church is from the 18th century.
• 1 Bernera Barracks. 24 hours. After the 1715 Jacobite rebellion, the government were determined to tighten their grip on the Highlands, and built several forts and garrisons at strategic locations. These barracks, built 1717-1723, were for troops controlling the crossing from Skye. These fortifications all proved ineffective in preventing or subduing subsequent rebellions, and the barracks were abandoned in 1797 and fell into ruin. They're unsafe and you can't enter, so admire them from the road or fields. (updated Apr 2024)
• 2 Dun Telve (2 miles south of Glenelg up lane to Balvaid). Always open. Two iron-age brochs (about 2000 years old) stand close together; they're some of the best preserved in Scotland, in spite of having their stone pilfered to build Bernera Barracks. Dun Telve, the larger, is a drystone tower 18.3 m in diameter and 10.2 m tall; its walls are 4.3 m thick at the base. The two brochs were "cleaned up" by officialdom in the early 20th century without any archaeological supervision, and have never been excavated. Free. (updated Apr 2024)
• 3 Dun Troddan. Always open. Beyond Dun Telve, this is the other broch, 17.5 m in diameter and 7 m tall. Free. (updated Apr 2024)
• 4 Dun Grugaig is a broch a further mile up the glen by a steep path. This is a "semi-broch", D-shaped rather than circular, some 17 x 12 m in area. It's not to be confused with Caisteal Grugaig broch by Loch Duich, see Dornie.

Do

Bernera Barracks

• Wildlife: watch for ospreys anywhere along the waterside. They're often seen near the ferry pier.

Buy

• Glenelg Shop, 3 Kirkton, Glenelg IV40 8JR (next to Glenelg Inn), ☏ +44 1599 522221. M-Sa 9AM-12:30, 2-5PM. Grocer and gift shop. (updated Apr 2024)

Eat

"The inn was furnished with not a single article that we could either eat or drink."

- Boswell and Johnson had a miserable stay in Glenelg on their 1773 “Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland”.

• Ruth's Cafe in the village community centre is open M-Th 10AM-3PM, F 5-7:30PM.
• Shore Station by the ferry pier has a coffee shop open daily 10AM-5PM.

Drink

Dun Troddan broch

Glenelg Inn is the only pub.

On the road towards Glenelg, Dr Johnson glad-handed a group of soldiers with money for drink. They got utterly wasted.

Sleep

• 1 Glenelg Inn, Glenelg IV40 8JR, ☏ +44 1599 522273. Cosy inn with rooms, and restaurant & bar open to non-residents. Nov-March they only open Th-Su. B&B double £130. (updated Apr 2024)
• Kirkton Bay House, Glenelg IV40 8JR (next to Glenelg Inn), ☏ +44 7876 572693. Stylish welcoming B&B open April-Oct, with only two rooms so they seldom have availability. B&B double £130. (updated Apr 2024)
• Self-catering places are Larach Sithe and Lamont Chalets on the approach lane, and The Green House south edge of the village.

Connect

The ferry deck swivels

As of April 2024, Glenelg has 4G from EE, but nothing from O2, Three or Vodafone. There are many dead spots on the approach road, and no signal on the road across Skye from the opposite ferry pier. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

• Dornie has the scenic Eilean Donan Castle.
• Kyle of Lochalsh is where you cross the bridge to Skye.
• The lane on the other side of the ferry crossing leads to Broadford on Skye, where you have to double back to reach Armadale.
• Plockton harbour is popular with yacht and dingy sailors.
• Glenelg on Mars was named as a palindrome, as Curiosity was planned to return there. However since landing in 2012 it has kept going and going, and is now exploring areas 30 km away.