Taigh Ailean Hotel

Bar, Food & Accommodation near Carbost

+44 (0)1478 640271

Booking Enquiry

What’s going on this Autumn/Winter?

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If you’re not sure about any dates it’s best to email or give us a ring (01478 640271). Booking is advisable.

OCTOBER:

Open for dinner on Friday 7th & Saturday 8th.

Sunday Brunch 9th – bookings between 11am and 2:30pm

Quiz Night Friday 14th (fully booked)

Open for dinner Saturday 15th

Open for dinner Friday 21st & Saturday 22nd

Open for dinner Friday 28th

Taigh McAilean American Night Saturday 29th

 

NOVEMBER

Open for dinner on Friday 4th & Saturday 5th.

Sunday Brunch 6th – bookings between 11am and 2:30pm

Quiz Night Friday 11th

Open for dinner Saturday 12th

THEN CLOSED UNTIL

DECEMBER

Open for dinner on Friday 2nd & Saturday 3rd.

Sunday Brunch 4th – bookings between 11am and 2:30pm

Quiz Night Friday 9th

Open for dinner Saturday 10th

Open for dinner on Friday 16th & Saturday 17th

Festive Sunday Lunch 18th – bookings taken from  12 midday until 3pm

Then closed until

Open for dinner Friday 30th December

Hogmanay celebration Saturday 31st December. Open to non residents for drinks only. (Dinner available to residents before the party). Live music from Willie Kennedy, James Stewart and Donnie Matheson.

Open for dinner Sunday 1st January

 

CLOSED FOR JANUARY 2023

 

Day Walks in the Isle of Skye

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I’ve got a new book – Day Walks on the Isle of Skye by Helen and Paul Webster.

It’s really excellent – I’d thoroughly recommend it for those of you who want to walk for a full day and have the energy for a ” good walk”. The walks themselves are clearly set out, with a realistic description. What I particularly like is that although it includes the well known walks, it also takes you to more remote places.

(Even in the 40 Walks on Skye book which a lot of people use (and which is excellent, there are many walks where you want meet another soul (so don’t believe all the Skye is crammed you won’t be able to breathe nonsense you might read from time to time.))

Add in here the physical challenge of the walks and you’ll be guaranteed some days appreciating the peace and beauty of our island. The photographs are great and the maps will ensure you are at no risk of getting lost.

 

If I’m honest, the dug’s days of going for 7 hour walks are over, the little legs, the grey hair and the expanding tummy mean that we both take it more gently these days. But I shall be getting a few more of these fabulous guides in for our more energetic guests.

Skye Larder – opening for the season.

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Spring has sprung, and the air is redolent with the scent of wild garlic. The seaweed is getting greener and the weather is (technically ) getting to the stage where heading out to forage doesn’t feel like taking your life into your hands.

Not that I do the foraging- that’s down to Elanor and her wonderful team. Spooties (razor clams) and peppery scurvyweed from the beach, up a ladder to get Dryad’s Saddle mushrooms, into the garden for meadowsweet. Soon her quails will be laying and our amazing Talisker Scotch Eggs will be back on the menu. The local young people will be fishing for mackerel and bringing buckets of glistening fish for us to cook superfresh.

Along with the mussels we get from Sleat, and slightly further afield, scallops and black pudding from the Outer Isles.

There’s so much amazing food to be found in Scotland, don’t be taken in by the deep fried Mars Bar stereotypes, everyone else is just jealous of our larder.

Stars, so many stars. And the Aurora too

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Although it says on our website, pretty much the first line, that we’re remote I’m not sure everyone quite gets it. Today I had to explain to a super lovely gentleman that the nearest Uber might be Glasgow, and I’m a tad downhearted when sometimes we get marked 5* for everything except 4* for location cos we’re ‘a bit out the way’.

That’s the joy of it, you see. Being here at the end of the peninsula. Not far from the Fairy Pools, Glenbrittle and the walk-in to many of the Cuillin Munros.

And the sky….. you wouldn’t believe it til you’re here. This last few weeks it’s been aurora -ing its head off. Many of the photos you see are taken with long exposures and things don’t look the same when you’re under it – but this week the greens and pillars hae been visible to the naked eye. Photo of the aurora and the hotel courtesy of the wonderful Arlyn Thursby – from Glendale Self Catering Cottages.

I love the stars even more tho. Taking the dog for a late night potter I can see the actual Milky Way – and my app Sky View Lite shows me how wild the ancients were when they named the constellations  (Why yes Claudius Ptolemy, that is absolutely a man carrying a water jar). Photo from Fiskavaig to the Outer Hebrides and Outer Space by Andrew Rae Photography.

So take the road less travelled. Do something a little different than just ticking off the Big 6 of Skye. Stay with us. There’s even a star book in your room for those clear nights.

February – March Openings

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Missing us? Here are some weekend dates for your diary.
Friday March 4th Quizzy Friday (Friyay more like) Fully Booked – tables availale for dinner in the dining room
Saturday March 5th open 6-9 for food, -11 for drinks.
Friday March 11th open 6-9 for food, -11 for drinks
Saturday March 12th open 6-9 for food, -11 for drinks
Sunday February 13th. Brunch 11;30 til you’ve had enough – no food service in the evening
Friday March 18 open 6-9 for food, -11 for drinks
Saturday March 19th open 6-9 for food, -11 for drinks
Friday March 25th Italian Night. Bar fully booked, tables available in the dining room
Saturday March 26th open 6-9 for food, -11 for drinks Bar fully book
More details soon -keep an eye on our Facebook Page… but feel free to book ahead.

Hogmanay, January 1st & 2nd – and beyond..

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So we’ve made it to the end of another year. I’ll be honest with you, it’s not been the beginning of the Roaring 20s that I’d hoped for. My flapper dress will just have to wait for a while. But we HAVE made it, and we’re hugely grateful for your support, kindness and all round positivity.

With the reintroduction of distancing and table service our capacity for Hogmanay celebrations has been significantly reduced and we are fully booked. We do have some tables available for the 1st and 2nd of January but booking is essential.

We are then closed, for a rest we feel is well deserved, until February 2022. We plan to be open Fridays and Saturdays for February and March, with some special Sunday events. You know as well as I do that things may well change – so keep an eye on our web page and socials. Also please keep everything crossed for us.

 

Here’s to a special 2022 for us all. Brighter times ahead.

Events over the winter.

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EVENTS INFORMATION: booking is highly advisable for all events (on other weekend evenings we are open as usual)
We are now closed on Sundays except for the following events.
5/12/21 Sunday Brunch. Bookings taken 11:30 – 2pm. Please note we are not open the evening of Sunday 5/12/21 and will close when the last mimosa filled happy customer rolls out of the door and up (or down) the hill.
Menu will be on our Facebook page and will include full breakfast (or vegetarian breakfast), Eggs Royale, Eggs Florentine, Eggs Benedict, omelette and pancakes. How lovely.
19/12/21 Festive Sunday Lunch. Bookings taken for between 12:15 to 3:30. Please note we are not serving the evening of Sunday 10/10/21 and will close when the last roast filled happy customer rolls out of the door and up (or down) the hill.
WE WILL THEN BE CLOSED OVER THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD. REOPEN FOR HOGMANAY when we welcome back Willie Kennedy and his band for the Hogmanay celebrations we deserve. Booking is essential for dinner tables.

In which I realise how much I miss Americans

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Thinking today about how we’ve had a year without US (and Canadian- ❤️ Bitsy) guests. It’s been a season of home grown visitors which has been lovely.
But oh, my American buddies, I miss your sheer joy at being here. Your eternal quests for ancestry, your delight at eggs with bright orange yolks, the fact that I constantly forget that you and I mean different things by *pants* (so when you ask me if I ever wear pants to work expect a sharp intake of breath), the book recommendations you give me, the way you sing Amazing Grace while driving the single track roads. American guests have comforted me when I sobbed the morning the Brexit vote came out, ‘made’ me drink more tequila than is good for me, showed me bits of Skye I didn’t know were there, gifted me some some highly dubious fashion items, shared vow renewals and proposals, welcomed Johnny and me in New York, spread the word, recommended us to their mates to help us grow our business and blessed me with so many friends that I’m certain will be with me for life.
So here’s to you, chums across the water. We  can’t wait to see you again. For now here is a wonderful memory from 2018 when our Yoga Ladies took us for New York pizza.

Our COVID 19 Commitment – working together for our and your safety and happiness.

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Just to reassure you – from the TA family x

Before you arrive, you will receive an email from us which will help us to make your check in, check out and the time you spend with us as simple as possible.
You will be asked to confirm that you and your household are Covid 19 symptom free. If you have symptoms you will be asked to cancel your booking. If you arrive presenting symptoms or develop symptoms during your stay you will be asked to return home.
We ask you to let us know as accurately as you can what time you’ll be checking in. Check in is contactless and paperless.

On arrival
If you need help with your luggage when please let us know before hand so we can have the necessary precautions in place.
Everyone will have their temperature taken by touch free forehead thermometer when they arrive.

While you are here we know that you will wash your hands regularly, please also use the hand sanitisers that are to be found throughout the hotel.
You will be given my mobile number so if you need anything during your stay you can let me know without having to have contact (if you prefer)
The dining room and bar area are for resident use only. We will ask you to give us a time for your break fast sitting and, if you choose to eat with us, for your dinner sitting also.
Your bedroom will have been thoroughly cleaned before your stay under our enhanced cleaning procedures. If you prefer we will not service your room during your stay so that you are the only people in the room. Waste bins, damp towels etc can be left outside your room.
We will provide fresh milk and the tea, coffee etc that you need each morning. Just text me if you need refills. There will be hand soap in the rooms and we will provide shampoo and shower gel on request.
There will be a quarantine box for any books you might look at during your stay.


What you don’t see
Our updated risk assessments.
Our staff training on precautions to take at home and at work
Our detailed cleaning program between guest stays and each day in communal areas.
Social distancing in the kitchen
Staff are asked to certify themselves symptom free when they leave work each day. Regular touch free staff temperature checks recorded centrally.

In praise of fresh air and open spaces

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It’s a worrying time for all of us, the Corona virus (I still don’t feel scientific enough to use its Sunday name COVID 19 – I only got a C in Physical Science O Level) is all we seem to talk about. But at the moment we can act responsibly and keep ourselves, and each other, safe and still make the most of 2020.

We know that you need to make your own mind up about travelling, and that some of you will have the decision taken out of your hands, but for the foreseeable we are open for business and ready to welcome you with namastes, Vulcan greetings (tho annoyinglyI can’t actually do that ) or the cool thing they have developed in Wuhan with their feet.

These are anxious times. Trust me as a congenital over thinker and self employed human, I know this. The hotel and bar have the strictest hygiene procedures, and we’ve popped in a couple more just to make us all feel better. All our team have been briefed on the correct way to work, at this time and indeed at all times.

We’re not going to run out of loo roll. We have amazing food made in the most part with Scottish ingredients, many local to Skye and some local to our little peninsula. We live on an island of open spaces, fresh air and the sort of views that can lift your soul from any despond the world might throw at you. The picture with the blog is from our beer garden – we’d love to share it with you.

Check out @keeptheworldtravelling on Instagram, and don’t forget to wash your hands xxx

Taigh Ailean Hotel
Portnalong
Isle of Skye
IV47 8SL

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