Glencoe to Skye

Collie and MacKenzie

Prior to the late 1800s there is little record of climbing in the Cuillin Mountains. Professor Norman Collie formed an unlikely partnership with a young local crofter, John MacKenzie, and the two knocked off many original routes in the Cuillins and the Highlands. They are regarded to be among the greatest pioneering mountaineers of their time. In 2020 a bronze statue was erected to these two friends on the shores of the Sligachan River, looking towards the mountains. They are buried beside each other on the Isle of Skye.

Norman CollieJohn MacKenziepioneering mountaineersbronze statuepathwaygrassesbushesrocksCuillin MountainsSligachanIsle of SkyeScotland