Stein: Skye’s Oldest Inn, a Row of White Cottages & the Quiet Beauty of Waternish

Stein: Skye’s Oldest Inn, a Row of White Cottages & the Quiet Beauty of Waternish

The row of white cottages at Stein along the shore of Loch Bay, Waternish, Skye.
Stein — a single row of whitewashed cottages along Loch Bay, on Skye’s quiet Waternish peninsula.

Overview — the honest take

Stein is a tiny, gorgeous hamlet on the Waternish peninsula — a single line of whitewashed cottages facing the water of Loch Bay, away from the busiest of Skye’s tourist trail. It has two very good reasons to stop: the Stein Inn, the oldest inn on Skye, and the celebrated Loch Bay seafood restaurant. Add sunsets over the sea, cabbage palms in the front gardens and an easy shore to wander, and it’s one of the loveliest quiet corners of the island.

Where it is

Stein sits on the eastern shore of the Waternish peninsula in north-west Skye, on Loch Bay, a few miles off the Dunvegan road. It’s an easy detour from Dunvegan, and a world quieter.

The Stein Inn — the oldest on Skye

The whitewashed Stein Inn with its date stone, Waternish, Skye.
The Stein Inn — established around 1790, the oldest inn on the island.

The Stein Inn dates from about 1790, built as part of a planned fishing village laid out by the British Fisheries Society — the same wave of improvement that gave the Highlands so many neat little harbours. The fishing village never really took off, but the inn endured, and it’s now the oldest inn on Skye. Inside it’s everything a Highland pub should be: low ceilings, a peat fire, a proper bar with a wall of whiskies and real ales, good honest food — and a very warm welcome for a wet dog.

The cosy bar of the Stein Inn.
The snug, low-beamed bar.
Inside the Stein Inn.
A proper Highland pub interior.
Lillie the dog inside the Stein Inn.
Lillie made herself at home.
The bar and whiskies at the Stein Inn.
A wall of whisky behind the bar.

Loch Bay & a special dinner

The Loch Bay restaurant sign at Stein, Skye.
Loch Bay — a tiny cottage restaurant with a big reputation.

A few doors along is Loch Bay, a tiny cottage restaurant that has earned a national reputation for its seafood straight off the Skye boats. It’s the kind of place people plan a trip around, so if you fancy a special dinner here, book well ahead. Between the two, Stein punches enormously above its size for somewhere so small and quiet.

Waternish & the shore

Walking the shore at Stein on Loch Bay.
An easy wander along the Loch Bay shore.

Beyond the cottages, the Waternish peninsula runs north into some of Skye’s quietest country. There’s an easy walk along the Loch Bay shore right from the village, good sunsets over the water, and further out the peninsula holds the haunting ruin of Trumpan Church — scene of a notorious 16th-century clan massacre between the MacDonalds and MacLeods. It’s a lovely, low-key base for exploring this side of the island.

Nearby

  • Dunvegan Castle — the MacLeod stronghold and its gardens, a short drive south.
  • Talisker Distillery — Skye’s oldest malt, over at Carbost.
  • Coral Beach & Neist Point — the white shell beach and the westernmost lighthouse on Skye, both nearby.

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