The MV Glenachulish stops turning in mid-October, and as of 7 October the community company that runs her had not yet named the final day of 2026. Until it does, she keeps crossing the Kyle Rhea narrows between Glenelg and Kylerhea daily between 10:00 and 18:00, roughly every twenty minutes, for £20 a car.
2026 season, which the operator describes as April to mid-October; no closing date had been published when we read skyeferry.co.uk on 7 October 2026, the day its home page reported the ferry running as normal, 10:00 to 18:00. Glenelg-Skye Ferry — Times & Fares · 2026-10-07
Treat this as an autumn ferry with a deadline. The Glenachulish works from April until the middle of October, and her owners promise to post each year's opening and closing days on their website. On 7 October 2026 there was no closing date yet, only a banner saying she was running as normal from ten until six. Last year's final sailing day was Saturday 18 October, which gives a rough idea, but not a promise.
What makes the trip worth the detour is the boat. She carries six cars on a platform that is swung round by hand at each slipway, so vehicles drive straight on and straight off over the side; the operator calls her the last manually operated turntable ferry in the world. Built in 1969, she has the same Kelvin engine she was fitted with, and she is registered as a historic vessel.
The crossing is brief, and it is run for the community rather than for profit. The Isle of Skye Ferry Community Interest Company has owned the boat since 2007 and says every penny of profit goes back into her, the slipways and local groups.
A car fare covers the vehicle and up to four occupants, so nobody inside pays extra. You pay during the crossing, in cash or by card on the crew's wireless reader, and nobody books ahead.
A minibus price includes as many as twelve passengers, with a supplement for each one beyond that. Anything heavier or longer than a normal car or motorhome should be cleared with the company first: the deck takes about 3 tonnes per axle, 10 tonnes in all, 13 metres in length and 4 metres in width.
| Car with up to 4 passengers, single | £ 20 |
| Car with up to 4 passengers, return | £ 30 |
| Six-journey ticket book (car) | £ 75 |
| Small campervan | £ 25 |
| Motorhome | £ 40 |
| Minibus, up to 12 passengers | £ 50 |
| Each extra minibus passenger | £ 5 |
| Motorbike, single | £ 10 |
| Motorbike, return | £ 15 |
| Foot passenger | £ 5 |
| Bicycle and cyclist, single | £ 6 |
| Bicycle and cyclist, return | £ 10 |
Fares as listed on the operator's Times & Fares page, which carries no date of its own; unchanged from the version of the page captured in June 2026. Read on 7 October 2026. Glenelg-Skye Ferry — Times & Fares · 2026-10-07
Slip to slip, the narrows are little more than half a kilometre wide; the company quotes 800 metres for the journey itself. That is the closest the Scottish mainland comes to Skye, and the reason cattle were swum across here for centuries before any ferry carried cars.
The National Transport Trust places the crossing midway between two others: the Skye Bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh to the north, toll-free since the mid-2000s, and CalMac's Mallaig to Armadale ferry to the south, the other way onto Skye by boat. Glenelg is the one that closes for winter and the only one where the deck turns. Once you are across, CalMac's short hop to Raasay is the next island crossing to look at.
The mainland slip lies north of Glenelg village, below the company's Shore Station, a café and shop that overlooks the narrows and stays open 10:00–17:00 through the season. In the off-season the café keeps going at weekends only, Saturday and Sunday 11:00–16:00, so a closed ferry does not always mean a locked door.
Getting there is the effort. From the turn at Shiel Bridge the road climbs over Mam Ratagan, much of it single track, with sharp bends near the top; the operator itself calls it a serious challenge for heavy vehicles. Signs at the road junctions show when weather has stopped the boat.
On Skye the boat lands at a bare slipway below the hamlet of Kylerhea, with no terminal building. Coming from the island side, follow the ferry signs off the main Skye road; the company sends drivers to this postcode rather than to Kylerhea village itself.
There is nowhere to buy a ticket on either slip and no need to: the crew take payment once you are aboard.
The road from Shiel Bridge climbs to a viewpoint just below the 350-metre summit of the pass, then drops to Glenelg on single-track bends. Big vans and motorhomes are carried, but drivers of anything unusual should phone 01599 522700 first.
Tickets are sold during the crossing. The crew take cash and all major debit and credit cards, so there is no machine to queue at on either slip.
The operator says detours to let passengers watch wildlife are not unusual; seals and sea eagles are among the species it lists, and its Shore Station is a viewpoint in its own right.
When weather stops the service, notices go up at the turn-offs from Shiel Bridge and on Skye, and the company updates its website. A closed sign at Shiel Bridge saves the drive over the pass.
Once the season ends, the alternatives are the bridge at Kyle and the Mallaig sailing. The company says it will post this year's last day on its home page.
There has been a car ferry here since 1934, with a long break in the Second World War, according to the National Register of Historic Vessels; the Glenachulish herself started out on the A82 crossing at Ballachulish and moved to Glenelg in the early 1980s, after a bridge replaced her first route in 1975. Long before cars, Kyle Rhea was the drovers' crossing: Hebridean cattle swam from Kylerhea to Glenelg and walked on to the southern markets over Mam Ratagan, the pass the road still follows.
When tolls came off the Skye Bridge in the mid-2000s the previous owner put the boat up for sale, and people from both sides of the narrows formed the company that runs it now. It reports about 32,000 passengers and more than 12,000 vehicles in an average season, and the National Transport Trust fixed one of its Red Wheel heritage plaques to the Shore Station in 2023.
The operator only says the season runs until mid-October and that it will post the final day on skyeferry.co.uk. No date was published on 7 October 2026. In 2025 the last day of service was Saturday 18 October.
£20 single or £30 return for a car with up to four people, paid on board. A six-journey book costs £75, a motorhome £40 and a small campervan £25.
No. The Skye Bridge is further north at Kyle of Lochalsh and needs no boat at all. The Mallaig–Armadale crossing is a CalMac ship further south. Glenelg–Kylerhea is a separate, seasonal community ferry with its own fares.
Yes, motorhomes are carried for £40. For non-standard vehicles the company asks you to make contact first; its rule of thumb is 3 tonnes per axle, 10 tonnes overall, 13 metres long and 4 metres wide.
A foot passenger pays £5. A bicycle with its rider is £6 single or £10 return.
It runs seven days a week from 10:00 to 18:00, every 20 minutes or as required. The crossing takes no more than fifteen minutes, but loading can add a short wait.
At the Shore Station café above the mainland slipway, which opens 10:00 to 17:00 every day in the season, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 to 16:00 out of season.