Neist Point

Neist Point marks the most westerly tip of the Isle of Skye, a dramatic headland where towering basalt cliffs plunge into the Atlantic and a iconic white lighthouse perches at the edge of the known world. The walk to the lighthouse descends steep steps cut into the cliff face, with views opening up at every turn: sea stacks, wheeling seabirds, and on clear days, the distant mountains of the Outer Hebrides floating on the horizon.

The lighthouse was built in 1909 by David Alan Stevenson, continuing the famous engineering dynasty that lit Scotland's treacherous coastline. Though automated since 1990, the light still guides ships through the Minch. The lighthouse buildings now offer holiday accommodation, and it's possible to imagine the isolation of the keepers who once lived at this remote outpost, their only company the seabirds and the endless roll of the Atlantic swell.

Neist Point has become one of Skye's most celebrated viewpoints, and with good reason. The cliffs glow gold and orange as the sun descends toward the Hebridean horizon, and whales and dolphins are regularly spotted from the headland. Basking sharks cruise these waters in summer, minke whales breach in the distance, and the air is filled with the cries of fulmars, guillemots, and razorbills nesting on the cliff ledges. It's a place where Scotland meets the ocean in a final, magnificent flourish.