For centuries it has been seen as an outpost of tranquillity, blessed with some of the most dramatic landscapes in the British Isles.
Now Skye is being pushed to breaking point by a massive influx of tourists. The Hebridean island’s status as a must-see destination was bolstered after it featured in a host of blockbusters, including The BFG, Prometheus and Michael Fassbender’s Macbeth, and attracted visits from celebrities including Kanye West, the American rapper, and Harry Styles, the former One Direction singer.
Its population of 10,000 has soared to more than 60,000 in recent weeks, putting infrastructure under strain and forcing visitors to sleep in their cars. Police have been advising visitors not to go over the sea to Skye, because its accommodation is completely booked.
Many of the island’s attractions, such as the fairy pools in Glen Brittle and the Old Man of Storr, can only be reached by single-track roads, which are being choked by cavalcades of tour coaches and motor homes.
Shirley Spear, the owner of The Three Chimneys, an award-winning restaurant on the shores of Loch Dunvegan, has called for large vehicles to be banned from congested rural routes. She said: “There has been an enormous change in the amount of visitors and many are now renting motor homes.
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“It is absolutely ridiculous to expect to drive them down single-track roads with passing places. Most have never driven a vehicle of that size before and camper vans are being rolled off the sides of roads.”
Ms Spear, the chairwoman of Skyeconnect, which represents businesses and tourism organisations on the island, said the gridlock and a lack of parking spaces and toilet facilities were causing serious problems.
She said: “People are coming to look at these beautiful places and completely disrespecting them by dumping rubbish and leaving excrement very close to public pathways.”
She insisted that sending the message that the island was full was not the answer. She said: “There is not a single person on Skye who doesn’t benefit from tourism, which is our main industry. It needs to be managed properly and given proper support.”
Gillian Glenwright, the owner of the White Heather Hotel in Kyleakin, said: “There are a lot of people who do turn up without booking and it’s tough for them. A lot of them end up sleeping in cars overnight and we’ve had people begging to sleep on the lounge floor.”
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Kate Forbes, the island’s MSP, has lobbied Scotland’s tourism minister for additional support.