Northern Lights
Skye — Trotternish Peninsula
The Trotternish peninsula — Skye's long northern finger — gets away from Portree's glow. The ridge itself (the Old Man of Storr, the Quiraing) makes a dramatic silhouetted foreground for aurora photography, and the northern tip at Rubha Hunish faces an unobstructed northern horizon. Skye's reputation for winter aurora has grown fast, and the Storr is busy with photographers on strong nights.
Aurora Alert Now: Live status unavailable
01:48Live alert unavailable right now — check AuroraWatch UK directly for tonight’s status.
New to this? Start with the Scotland Northern Lights guide — season timing, the Kp index and what a display really looks like.
Quick facts
- Designation
- Exceptional informal dark sky
- Aurora probability
- High aurora probability
- Region
- Skye
- Grid ref
- NG 508 528
Getting there
The A855 runs up the east side of Trotternish. The Storr car park (NG 509 528) is the best-known aurora spot, but it has no overnight parking — see the charges and rules below. The Quiraing car park, at the top of the Staffin–Uig road, is charged in the daytime only. The Lookout bothy at Rubha Hunish is a walk along rough clifftop from the car park near Duntulm, and is not one to find for the first time in the dark.
- The Storr Car Park
Charges and overnight rules: £6 up to 6 hours, £8 up to 12 hours (from 1 April 2026; cash, card or RingGo; no overnight parking) — thestorr.com parking page, read 28 Oct 2026
- Quiraing Car Park
Charges and overnight rules: Pay-and-display — check the charge on site. The tariff we used to quote came from a Highland Council page that no longer exists: the council's rebuilt website carries no Quiraing car-park tariff that we could find (28 Oct 2026), so we no longer print a figure.
Photography notes
The Storr pinnacles make an instantly recognisable silhouette against the northern sky, and the car park fills on big aurora nights — arrive early. The Quiraing road is less visited, equally dark and gives a different composition.
Current conditions
Daylight Today
- Sunrise
- 07:50
- Sunset
- 16:27
- Civil dawn
- 07:07
- Civil dusk
- 17:09
NOAA Solar Calculator · 7 November 2026
Common questions
- Can you see the Northern Lights from Skye — Trotternish Peninsula?
- Yes — given an active night and a clear sky. Skye — Trotternish Peninsula sits at 57.5°N. At this latitude it takes a stronger display (around Kp 5 or above) to show over the northern horizon, rather than the lower readings that reach the far north. You still need a clear night, an open view to the north, and as little light pollution as possible. The darkest, longest nights for aurora hunting run through September, October, November, December, January, February, March. Check AuroraWatch UK and a clear-sky forecast before heading out, and watch the live aurora alert at the top of this page.
- Is the Old Man of Storr a good aurora photography location?
- One of the best-known in Scotland. The pinnacles make a striking silhouette against the northern sky. The downside is that the car park fills with photographers during significant aurora events and it has no overnight parking — arrive early, or use the Quiraing road as an alternative with a different composition.
- What is the Rubha Hunish bothy?
- The Lookout: a small MBA-maintained shelter at the northern tip of Skye, in a former coastguard lookout. Room for about three at most, with no fire and no water, and on a clear aurora night the display is to the north over open sea.
Seen the lights here?
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