Neist Point, Isle of Skye – Scotland

Executive summary by darmansjah

The most Westerly point on the Isle of Skye, giving excellent views over Moonen Bay to Waterstein Head  and out over the Minch to the Western Isles.

The sea around the point is teeming with sea-birds including gannets, black guillemots, razorbills and shags.

The causeway at the tip of Neist Point is home to several species of rare and unusual plant, including alpine plants such as saxifrages.

The sheltered bays of Neist Point are also excellent places to fish, with fourteen species of fish being caught in Moonen Bay.

A furore erupted in 2002 when a former owner of the Lighthouse Cottages installed a toll booth at the Neist Point Car Park and began charging for access to the Point. The Lighthouse Cottages, together with the small enclosed area around them, are now owned by Jane Corfield. Neist Point was used as the dramatic setting for a number of scenes in the movie Breaking The Waves in 1996, starring Emily Watson. More recently, scenes for the movie, 47 Ronin, starring Keanu Reeves, were filmed on the headland at Neist in October 2012.

The lighthouse tower is 62 feet high and stands 142 feet above sea-level. The lighthouse itself is unmanned and owned by the Northern Lighthouse Board. 

Neist Point  is renowned for its rock formations, which are closely akin to those at the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. For details of the walk down to Neist Point to explore the causeway click here