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Scottish Highlands – Day 4 (Isle of Skye)

I had planned on leaving early to hit all the sights, but I didn’t end up getting on the road until after 10am. My first stop was supposed to be The Old Man of Storr, but they were doing construction on the parking area and had turned it into a giant mud pit. That, plus the fact I didn’t realize you had to climb a mountain to get there, made me pause to take a look but then continue driving onward. I stopped at quite a few outlook points and passes to enjoy the amazing views until I made my way up to Kilt Rock and Mealt Waterfall. Then I drove all the way up and around the Quirang and stopped at Duntulm Castle for a bit to take in the sights and sounds. Then I continued the loop and detoured off into the Fairy Glen. The Fairy Glen was really cool, it’s about 10 or 15 acres of these random hill formations that have wavy footings because of the wind in that particular spot. Where erosion occurred you have little holes, so it literally looks how you would imagine fairy houses to be. It was all very Tolkien-esque. After making my way down the narrow, steep, winding roads (which I’ve gotten a bit more used to by now) I got back on the main road and headed south to Armadale and waited around a bit for the ferry to arrive. The ferry landed in Mallaig, and although I saw a neat rock beach there, it was getting late and I headed to my B&B in Glenfinnan. It’s a very old B&B just down from the aqueduct, so I’ll stop by there tomorrow.

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Scottish Highlands – Day 3 (the road to Isle of Skye)

Today was an awesome and busy day! After a quick breakfast I hit the breathtakingly beautiful road to Isle of Skye. First stop was Eilean Donan Castle, which was pretty cool. It was low tide so you could walk out onto the moss and seaweed and get some great photos. Then I crossed Skye Bridge and made my way down the white knuckle one lane road (still accommodating 2 way traffic) to Elgol Beach, which is a super cool rock beach. I had to skip the boat tour to go back on that intensely stressful one lane for two road, and made a stop at the old Sligachan Bridge. Then, I headed out to the Fairy Pools of Glenbrittle. Spoiler alert: They are WAY smaller than they look on post cards and promotional material 😂 Still, the walk up the mountain and back is glorious, I really didn’t want to leave! I had to though, so after shooing the sheep away from the parking area so we could get back to our cars, I headed out to Portree. It was dark by that point, so I had to keep braking for sheep and deer, but I managed to get to my really old school B&B and settle in for the night. More beautiful Skye scenery tomorrow!

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Scottish Highlands – Day 2 (Loch Ness)

I found Nessie!! Well, okay, maybe not THE Nessie but a Nessie. Plus there were some at “Nessieland” to pose with too and they had very friendly faces. Today I had a delicious Scottish pancake breakfast then went on a boat tour around Loch Ness. It was one more geared towards science and research and less about the mythical monster…except for when it came to disproving its existence, that is. After the boat tour I went to the Loch Ness Centre and walked through their movie shows (also partly aimed at yelling in tourist’s faces “IT’S NOT REAL!”) Then I drove to Urquhart Castle and spent a long time there just appreciating the view. Afterwards, I followed a lead to some Scottish cattle and calfs and ahhhhhh they are so shaggy and dirty and smelly I love them! Bet they’d taste good, too.🍴 Afterwards I went back to the B&B for dinner and a couple drinks.

The next 3 days are going to be an Isle of Skye nonstop marathon, like 12 hour days debating if I even want to waste time showering, lol. Wish me luck!