Northern Lights
Skye — Trotternish Peninsula
The Trotternish peninsula — Skye's long northern finger — offers the island's best dark-sky conditions away from Portree's light dome. The ridge itself (Quiraing, Trotternish Ridge, Old Man of Storr) creates dramatic silhouetted foreground for aurora photography, and the northern tip at Rubha Hunish (the northernmost point of Skye) faces an unobstructed northern horizon. Skye's growing reputation for winter aurora tourism has led to a proliferation of dark-sky stays, particularly around Staffin and Uig.
Aurora Alert Now: No significant activity
21:22No significant geomagnetic activity. Aurora unlikely tonight.
Quick facts
- Designation
- Exceptional informal dark sky
- Bortle scale
- 2/ 9
- Aurora probability
- High aurora probability
- Region
- Skye
- Grid ref
- NG 450 680
Getting there
A855 coastal road on the east side of Trotternish. The Old Man of Storr car park (IV51 9HU, NG 509 526) is the most popular aurora vantage point on Skye — arrive early before other photographers. Quiraing car park on the pass road above Staffin gives higher altitude and slightly darker skies. Rubha Hunish bothy (northernmost point of Skye) is a 45-minute walk from Duntulm and provides very basic overnight shelter.
Postcode: IV51 9HU
Photography notes
Old Man of Storr is perhaps Scotland's most-photographed aurora location for the reason it works well: the pinnacles create a distinctive silhouette against the northern sky and the subject is instantly recognisable. Arrive at the car park at least 1 hour before predicted aurora onset. Quiraing Road (the pass between Staffin and Uig) has a lay-by at the highest point — less visited, equally dark, different composition.
Current conditions
Daylight Today
- Sunrise
- 05:16
- Sunset
- 21:27
- Civil dawn
- 04:25
- Civil dusk
- 22:18
NOAA Solar Calculator · 9 May 2026
Common questions
- Is the Old Man of Storr a good aurora photography location?
- One of the best-known in Scotland. The silhouette of the pinnacles against the northern sky is highly compositionally effective. The downside is that the car park fills with photographers during significant aurora events — arrive early, or use the Quiraing road lay-by as an alternative with a different composition.
- What is the Rubha Hunish bothy?
- A small NTS/MBA-maintained shelter at the northernmost tip of Skye, in a converted coastguard lookout. Sleeps 4–6 and is one of Skye's most dramatic locations — on a clear aurora night the display is visible directly overhead and to the north with sea in all directions.
Seen the lights here?
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