Driving around Skye and the rural Highlands as a whole, you will see numerous honesty boxes.
Over the years, they’ve been put in place to sell eggs and produce from homes and crofts, looking to earn a little extra cash and avoid wastage. However, they’ve now expanded to include items like cakes, cookies, and even souvenirs.
These little boxes of joy began to appear more frequently during lockdown periods as a means for people to sell their wares without physical contact. Since then, they’ve become a popular addition for both tourists and locals alike.
Our guide below lists all the honesty boxes on the Isle of Skye that we’re currently aware of. If you know of any more, then do let us know!
There are many more egg-only honesty boxes that we haven’t included, as they’re not always stocked, but we can add them at the owner’s request.
What is an honesty box?
In simple terms, an honesty box is an unstaffed container containing goods that are available for purchase. They started as a way to sell produce rather than see it go to waste. Eggs, homegrown fruit, and vegetables are a good example of the type of things originally sold in honesty boxes.
In more modern times, honesty boxes have evolved somewhat!
In addition to homegrown produce, you’ll find jams, chutneys, and other excellent homemade goods. These often include cakes, traybakes, sweets and general tasty baking that always has that excellent homemade feel.
We first came across a variety of honesty boxes selling cakes in Shetland, and that practice seems to have spread around Scotland.
The honesty side of it comes from the payment. Often, goods are accompanied by a price list and cash boxes. Many boxes now offer online payment options via your phone, but cash is usually still the preferred method of payment.
It’s a transaction based on kindness and honesty, and it’s part of what makes honesty boxes such a beautiful thing and something to seek out when visiting a new area.
Why are honesty boxes on Skye so special?
The charm and joy of discovering honesty boxes are twofold. Firstly, honesty boxes are perfect for the modern traveller who is always looking for “hidden gems”.
Honesty boxes provide an element of the unknown to a trip. You never know what you’re going to find! Will it be fully stocked? What will you try? What would you like?
We can show you where these boxes are, but the experience will be unique to you. The second joy these boxes provide is the transaction itself. A stranger has made these products with love and care, created this box and put themselves out there in the hope people will enjoy what they have created.
Another stranger then comes along, buys an item or two and pays for it. The owner of the box gets to come back and find their box with fewer products in it and money left in the cash box! Both walk away happy (hopefully!).
That’s why we love finding honesty boxes around Skye; we’d love for you to find them, too!
Supporting local, why it’s so important.
Besides the slightly romanticised view of honesty boxes we’ve written about above, they do, in fact, support the local economy.
It is nearly always preferred to pay with cash so the owner of the honesty box can avoid any online charges. Additionally, by visiting these boxes as you travel around, you can be assured that you are supporting the local Skye community.
That all being said, we also know of honesty boxes that have had to close their doors due to visitors not paying for goods. Obviously, this isn’t fair; please keep the honesty in our honesty boxes so we can all enjoy them!
The following honest boxes in Skye are grouped by the different peninsulas and areas in Skye, along with the best directions we could find. The best way to check “opening hours” or what’s currently available is usually their social media page, if they have one. Otherwise, you just take a chance!
Trotternish Peninsula – North Skye
Lealt View Honesty Box – Lealt Falls
Address – A855 Staffin Road, just before Lealt Falls, when heading towards Staffin. Halfway down the hill before the bed and breakfast.
Details – A cute little honesty box often stocked with a good variety of excellent traybakes.
Payment – Cash or card
Social – Lealt View Honesty Box Facebook
The Blue Box – Staffin
Address – Next to Staffin Primary School, Portree IV51 9JS
Details – A wholesome honesty box in the traditional sense, full of fresh eggs, pickles and chutneys. The owners do plan to increase the size of the box soon and add some home-baked goods for visitors to enjoy.
Payment – Currently, cash only. Card payments will hopefully be available in the future.
Social – None currently
Portree and North Skye
Isle Be Honest Box – Portree
Address – 33 Road of the Hay, in Portree itself, near the big Co Op
Details – A new honesty box featuring a variety of goods, including pick ‘n’ mix sweets, fudge, and other home-baked treats.
Payment – Cash or Paypal
Social – Isle Be Honest Box Instagram
Holly’s Baking Box – Flashader
Address – Flashader A850, 300 yds on the left after the Flashader sign. Technically between Trotterish and Waternish, in the north of Skye. Drive west of Portree or watch out for it if you’re driving from Dunvegan to Portree.
Details – Filled with wonderful sweet treats on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and just cookies/tray bakes on weekends
Payment – Cash and QR code.
Social – Holly’s Baking Box Facebook
Ru(th)dan Blasta Honesty Box – Kensaleyre
Address – On the A87 at the end of the Eyre Road in Kensaleyre, west of Portree
Details – Filled with home baking!
Payment – Cash
Social – Ru(th)dan Blasta on Instagram
Waternish Peninsula – North West Skye
Donnie’s Tablet Shed – Geary
Address – Creagach Cottage, 34 Geary, Hallin. From Portree or Dunvegan, take the A850 west towards Waternish.
Details – They have a superb range of different homemade Scottish tablet flavours in the box daily. Additionally, you can order gift boxes online; we know from personal experience how excellent these hampers are. You can find more details about ordering online here – Donnie’s Tablet Shed & Isle of Skye Hampers.
Payment – Cash or QR Code
Social – Donnie’s Tablet Shed Facebook
Jann’s Cakes – Geary
Address – 1 Geary, Hallin. From Portree or Dunvegan, take the A850 west towards Waternish.
Details – A small honesty box filled with cakes and baked goods, it has been running for over 12 years. Is it the oldest honesty box on Skye? It’s run by the same lovely folk who run Jann’s superb cakes in Dunvegan.
Payment – Cash only.
Social – None we could find.
Skíō Pottery – Waternish
Address – 34 Lochbay, Isle of Skye IV55 8GD – Located on the Waternish peninsula, close to the Fairy Bridge and just before Stein.
Details – Not all that’s honest is sweet, and Skíō Pottery Croft box is an excellent example of this.
A well-stocked shop, this wee box offers a selection of stunning ceramics that are quickly gaining fame around Skye and beyond.
Payment – Cash or card
Social – Skio Pottery Facebook
Duirinish Peninsula – North West Skye
The Cake Fridge – Glendale
Address – Glendale, Isle of Skye IV55 8WW. The Cake Fridge can be found on the way to Neist Point on the side of the road.
Details – Named the Cake Fridge for good reason. It’s precisely that: a fridge full of cake, baked goods, and preserves. You may have heard of the cake fridge, as it briefly went viral on TikTok, even making the national press!
Payment – Cash or card
Social – None we could find.
Lou’s Larder Honesty Box Skye – Glendale
Address – 7 Fasach, Glendale, IV55 8WP
Details – Homemade tablet, marmalade, and eggs available. This wee box is brand new and a great addition to the honesty boxes on Skye.
Payment – Cash, Paypal or Bank Transfer
Social – Lou’s Larder Honesty Box Facebook
West Skye
Balgown Croft – Struan
Address – 1 Balgown, Struan, IV56 8FA, just south of Struan on the A863
Details – Lots of eggs! And a beautiful honesty box to hold them.
Payment – Cash or Card/Paypal
Social – Balgown Croft on Facebook
Elgol
Jazz Buchanan’s Honesty Box Gift Shop – Elgol
Address – 10 Elgol, Elgol, United Kingdom. From Broadford or Sligachan, drive south via B8083 to Elgol.
Details – An honesty Box gift shop created by the creative illustrator and designer Jazz Buchanan. Full of a wealth of gifts and souvenirs, all designed locally by Jazz. We love her creations! You can also visit her online shop here – Jazz Buchanan Creations
Social – Jazz Buchanan’s Creations Honesty Box Facebook
Skye Trail Snack Stop – Molly’s Meals Honesty Box – Elgol
Address – A wee white fridge on the B8083, IV49 9BL
Details – Run by Molly’s Meals and located on the Skye Trail, this offers a mixture of sweet and savoury deliciousness. Cakes, Bakes and fresh bread, to name a few.
All are made by the same people who run Molly’s Meals on Skye, a great baker and caterer that supplies spots all over Skye.
Payment – Cash and Card
Social – Molly’s Meals Honesty Box Facebook
Isle of Raasay
The Tiny Roost Crofty Box – Arnish
Address – End of Calum’s Road to Arnish, as far north on Raasay as possible!
Details – Full of goodies like soaps, marmalades, eggs, and printed watercolour cards.
Payment – Cash or Paypal
Social – The Tiny Roost on Facebook
And there you have it, our guide to Skye’s growing list of honesty boxes. If you find a new one, please let us know; we would love to include it!
If you do visit any of the boxes we mention, please post and tag pictures in our group, Isle of Skye Travel Tips. If you’d like more information about over 150 places to eat and drink on Skye, then have a look at our Skye food and drink guide.
It contains a comprehensive map of all the places you can grab a bite on Skye, along with a list of our favourites and some tips on when to reserve a table. The perfect accompaniment to your Skye adventures.
Skye Food & Drink Guide
Get all of our top tips for eating out on the Isle of Skye, alongside our personal recommendations and an interactive map in our digital Isle of Skye Food & Drink Guide!
