Ornsay
Island Passport
Collect Ornsay
Be the first to collect it
Tidal island. Stamps are never worth a risky crossing. Check official safe crossing times and local signs before walking out.
Ornsay is a small tidal island of around 86 acres off the east coast of the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye. It shelters a fine natural harbour, overlooked by the village of Isleornsay, which takes its name from the island, and it has long been a favourite anchorage for sailors in the Sound of Sleat. Its lighthouse, on the neighbouring islet of Eilean Sionnach, is one of the landmarks of the south of Skye.
Landscape
Ornsay is a low, green island of grass and rock, separated from Skye by a channel that dries at low tide. Across the Sound of Sleat rise the mountains of Knoydart, among the wildest country in Scotland. From the island there are fine views up and down the sound, from Glenelg in the north towards Mallaig and the Small Isles in the south.
History
The Ornsay lighthouse was built in 1857 by Thomas and David Stevenson, of the famous family of lighthouse engineers, on the islet of Eilean Sionnach, beside Ornsay. It is a masonry tower with a gallery, lantern and keeper’s house. The light was automated in 1962, mains power was installed in 1988, and it still shows a white light every eight seconds. The old keeper’s cottage is now privately owned.
Isleornsay was once a busy fishing port, and it remains a lovely little village, with a harbour, an old hotel and views across to the lighthouse.
More about Ornsay
Isleornsay was once a busy fishing port, and it remains a lovely little village, with a harbour, an old hotel and views across to the lighthouse. Sleat is known as “the garden of Skye” for its gentler, greener landscape, and is home to Armadale Castle and the Clan Donald gardens.
Visiting
Ornsay can be seen from Isleornsay, off the A851 in Sleat. Crossing at low tide should not be attempted without local knowledge of the tides. You can collect Ornsay as a landing or a sighting in your Island Passport.
Wildlife and area
Look out for Sea Eagle, Golden Eagle, Eurasian Otter and Harbour Seal, and in the Sound of Sleat for Harbour Porpoise and Minke Whale. Other islands nearby include Pabay, Eilean Bàn, Guillamon Island, Scalpay and Eilean Donan.
Tides
Now
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Next high water
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Next low water
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Not for crossing. These are modelled tide heights, not safe crossing times. Tidal causeways and sands can flood quickly: always check the official safe crossing times and local signs before walking out.
Heights in metres relative to mean sea level; times are UK time. Not for navigation. Tide model: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
How to get to Ornsay
You can reach Ornsay on foot.
On foot
You can walk to Ornsay at low tide. The way across floods quickly as the tide turns: check the safe crossing times and local signs, and never cross on a rising tide.
Plan your trip
Timetables change, so always check with the operator before you travel. We may earn a commission if you book through some of these links, at no extra cost to you.
Wildlife
51 species recorded on the island
Highlights
Island specials
All wildlife
Loading all 51 species…
Nothing on the list is usually seen this month.
Recordings from Wikimedia Commons, under Creative Commons licences; hover a Listen button for the recordist. Sightings are records shared with GBIF since 2000.
Watching wildlife responsibly. Keep your distance from seals, seabird colonies and cetaceans, stay quiet, and never feed or chase wildlife. See the Scottish Marine Wildlife Watching Code.
