Fleetfoot Thought and Fickle Whimsy: Skye: the isle 'n me

Thursday

We drove 3 hours to Oban where we spent the night. It's nearly halfway to Skye and since everyone worked that day, it just made sense to stop here. Especially as Sarah and Daniel had already been here and wanted us to see the place too.

It was stunning. Just a lovely little seaside town with all the charm you could hope for. The streets were clean, the buildings interesting, the food fresh and delicious - be it seafood, coffee, pastries, or chocolate :D

Friday

We went to the coffee shop Sarah and Daniel had already scouted out on their previous trip, had delicious pastries and cakes with our coffee for breakfast, wandered the sea front, got seafood to takeaway for our lunch, and then hopped into the car to drive the next leg of our trip. End point? Eilean Donan Castle. (Side note: this is where we had the worst coffee of our lives. We barely got 6 sips in before needing to throw it out.)

The castle was a beaut little thing sitting out in the water, accesible by pedestrian bridge. Full of history, family photos, narrow spaces, windows that let in the freezing wind, it was sooooo Scottish. We walked up and down and all around the outside.

On to Skye!

Saturday

The fullest of days where we ticked off four of the big sights - the Old Man of Storr, Mealt Falls and Kilt Rock, the Quiraing and the Fairy Glen.

But first, a stop in at Portree for coffee and a visit to the post office.

At the start of the year, we had come across a tale of a dog that would lick your stamps at the local post office, so it was immediately added to our itinerary if/when we got there.

We specificaly got a coffee in town that morning so that we could see the dog. WE WERE JIPPED. Turns out the dog was an urban myth. He had come in for maybe one day, licked one or two stamps MAYBE, and from there, it got blown all out of proportion. SUCH. SADNESS. See below for the location of our burst hopes and dreams.

By chance, we did the hardest of the four sights first and come 10am, we were climbing towards the Old Man of Storr, a vertical ascent of 719m which was along both a path and a scramble at the very top. EXHAUSTING. This year has not been strong on the exercise front for me, so this was a challenge but so bloody satisfying when we reached the top!

It didn't hurt that the views were gorgeous and there were enough people around us to make us feel comfortable, but not so many that we were worried about overcrowding.

A little spot of rain tickled us not long after reaching the top, so we didn't linger - the downhill journey was just steep enough that we didn't want to tackle it while slick with water - but it was cruisy journey down and back to the car.

A 20 minute drive (the beauty of this day was that everything we wanted to do was each a 20 minute drive to the next place) and we arrived at Mealt Falls and Kilt Rock. A little bit windy and a very short walk made this a nice place to stop and have lunch - in the car. There were no picnic seats and it was too chilly to stay outside, so we scoffed our packed rolls whilst sitting and admiring the ....carpark.

Had a quick search for a toilet and instead got stuck behind a convoy of 7 tractors and subsequently pointed and laughed at by an old fella. We were glad we made someone's day :P

Then to the Quiraing! The next big hike of the day. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the carpark was on the ridge so it was more of a walk - thank the heavens. We were also blessed with some stunning weather so we had the loveliest afternoon clambering around, crossing relatively dry waterfalls, finding sheep, and enjoying a snack with a view.

The clouds were coming back in when we left and headed to our final stop - the Fairy Glen. The most underwhelming, disappointing stop of the lot, not helped by the fact we were all knackered. But we went, we saw, we left.

Getting home was a joy - not least for the hot showers, the comfy couches, and the whiskey (for everyone but me).

We realised properly that night that there was no point going to Ireland since all travellers from the UK were required to quarantine for 14 days. As we were only planning to be there for 5, we made the quick decision to extend our trip by a night and travel to Inverness, where we could then see a bit of a Loch Ness, visit Uruquhart Castle with Sarah and Daniel, and see the much-anticipated Dunrobin Castle the following day. So we quickly found an available Airbnb in the area, snapped up some tickets for the same time slot with Sarah and Daniel at Urquhart, and then called it a night.

Sunday

Two final stops before we left the island that shares my name - Talisker Distillery and the Fairy Pools.

While Talisker had smaller tastings than a few of the other distilleries we'd visited, the venue was lovely, our guide fantastic, and the shopping experience pretty special - they cleared the shop for us :D Bahahahaha. Fun times.

Then to the Fairy Pools! Possibly the most underrated excursion we went on and the busiest o.O HOARDS of people were all around and getting photos without another soul was tricky business. Truly magical though, and we only wished we had a bit longer to see more - you could do a 2 hour hike to see everything but we barely had an hour so if any of you reading plan to go, take heed.

And then we legged it, to Urquhart Castle, located about two thirds of the way up Loch Ness.

One thing to note about the Isle of Skye, right before we leave it in the blog, is that public toilets DO NOT EXIST. At least not at this stage. It looked like visitor centres and toilet blocks were being built both at the base of the Old Man and at the Fairy Pools, but if/until they're finished, be prepared to either use the great outdoors, or work on that bladder control. We found most cafes/shops didn't even have them, though for the most part that seems to be due to Covid.

Okay back to Urquhart, which was a 2 1/2 hour journey away. First, it was a ruin of a castle. Second, it had an EPIC view of Loch Ness. Better than any of us had seen before.

Built in the 1300's, it played a large part in the Wars of Scottish Independence, but was abandoned in the 17th century. Currently, it is one of the most visited castles in Scotland.

After we finished having a gander at rooms-that-once-were, the four of us split - Sarah and Daniel had planned to see a bit more of Scotland while we had, well, planned to be in Ireland-now-Inverness.

We trundled a half hour down the road, found our Airbnb and did not leave again for the rest of the night. Well. Cameron did to pick up the Indian takeaway I ordered. But that was it!

Monday

We got up early, packed the car, and parked in the town centre's Morrisons (Coles equivalent) carpark. With a plan to be at Dunrobin Castle (an hour and a half drive away) for their 10:30 open, we figured we'd get coffee and brekkie to-go whilst wandering the streets of Inverness and get a feel for the town.

The feel was lovely. It had a bit of an Adelaide vibe, especially when we came across the Victorian Markets, which so strongly reminded me of Adelaide Arcarde.

We walked along the river Ness, past the Inverness Castle, around the Inverness Cathedral, and through the Old High Church cemetary. We walked past Leaky's Bookshop (I was gutted we left before they opened), up the main street, and back to our car. Inverness is considered the capital of the Highlands, with a quarter of the Highland population living in or around it, and is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe (apparently).

But on to Dunrobin Castle! And just so you don't feel like you missed out on that drive, here's an idea of what we drove past:

We drove north to Dunrobin Castle, located just outside of Golspie, home to the house of the Sutherlands. With gardens inspired by those of Versaille, a falconry exhibit running daily, and a beautifully preserved and inhabited house, it was pretty cool to be able to step back in time and have a wander. The earliest part of the building dates back to 1275, and it's one of the oldest, continuously inhabited houses in Britain dating back to the 1300's.