Sound of Sleat

The Sound of Sleat is a narrow sea channel off Scotland’s west coast. It runs for thirty-one and a half kilometres between the Sleat peninsula on Skye and the mainland at Morar, Knoydart and Glenelg. The channel is widest at its south-west entrance where it measures twelve and a half kilometres across. It narrows to just four hundred metres at Kyle Rhea, the strait that links it to Loch Alsh. The name comes from the Gaelic Slèite, meaning ‘mountains’, which the Norsemen called sléttr, meaning ‘smooth’. Ferries cross the Sound every summer between Glenelg and Kylerhea, and a year-round service links Mallaig on the mainland with Armadale on Skye. On the mainland side lie the entrances to Loch Nevis and Loch Hourn, while the Skye shore holds Knock Castle, once a MacDonald stronghold, and the village of Armadale. The channel’s Gaelic name describes the mountains that rise behind the Sleat peninsula. Visitors find calm water framed by steep hills and distant peaks. The ferry from Glenelg to Kylerhea offers close views of Highland cattle grazing on the shore. On the Skye side, Armadale’s ruined castle overlooks the water, and Knock Castle stands on a ridge above the Sound. The crossing to Mallaig passes fishing boats and small islands scattered across the channel.