Blogs from Isle of Skye, Inverness-shire, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe

TOUR 07 – Best of Britain - Trafalgar – 14 Days – FRI, 16 SEP 2022 - Day 9: Discover the Isle of Skye - We travel to the coast this morning to the Isle of Skye where a Local Specialist will take us on a journey to view the remarkable Cuillin Mountains. Against the backdrop of heather-clad mountains, we stop at the ancient settlement of Kyleakin. Later, we cross back to view scenic Eilean Donan Castle on the mainland. Travel through the Scottish Highlands past its picturesque lochs and glens, keeping your camera at the ready to capture 'Nessie' if you can. Hotel – The Laggan Hotel Newtonmore, Scotland; Included Meals - Breakfast, Dinner... read more

Aufstehen, gemeinsam das wunderbare 2-Gänge-Frühstück (Porridge und dann Cooked Breakfast mit Ei, etc.) von Isabel genießen. Alles wie gehabt, nur dass Lindsay gefehlt hat. Sie ist schon super früh Richtung Südschottland aufgebrochen um den Verkehr zu vermeiden. Wir haben Schlamm von Stiefeln gebürstet und es irgendwie geschafft, drei Koffer und drei Wanderrucksäcke in Lisas Mini Cooper zu packen. Der erste Stop des Tages war Dunvegan Castle (Sitz der MacLeods) auf Skye. https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunvegan_Castle Ziemlich hübsch aber leider viel zu voll mit Busladungen voller Touristen. Nach einer Woche Schlamm und Freiheit nerven mich fremde Menschen in meiner Nähe umso mehr. Der zweite Stop war Talisker auf Skye, wo wir erst auf einer Wiese am Loch bei schönstem Sonnenschein picknickten und dann an einer Führung durch die Whisky Distillery teilnahmen. Das war sehr i... read more

This morning we were up and organised early. Brekkie at our B&B didn’t start until 8am and our bus was picking us up at 8.20, so we downstairs and ready when brekkie started. I had scrambled eggs with Skye smoked salmon - really thick and so rich in flavour! Fiona, our hostess, said that the salmon is smoked down near Armadale where our ferry came in last night. Natalie, our bus driver/guide, told us stories of fairies and giants as she drove us around Skye this morning, taking us to Fairy Pools and waterfalls and pointing out sleeping giants (The Old Man of Storr) in the geographical features around us. She also showed us heather and the beautiful scenery looking back to the mainland at the Quiraing. We saw the red Cuillin Mountains, and the black ... read more

All Sharon could remember was that we were going to see “One of the Castles”; but, she wasn’t sure which one. We of course could read the tour ticket (once we got it out of the safe) which said “Eilean Donan Castle”; but, she wasn’t sure if this was “The Castle”. “The Castle” is the one that is the most photographed castle in Scotland. “The Castle” is the one that appeared in “World is not Enough” and “Skyfall” (James Bond movies with Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig respectively). Before the end of the day, we would know that Eilean Donan Castle IS “The Castle”. Our arrival in Portree on the Isle of Sky wouldn’t occur before noon, making this a sort of back-asswards day: Early tours would be in the afternoon, afternoon activities in the morning, ... read more

O'er the sea at Skye! It's taken a while but we managed to get a sailing day. Can it be called sailing when it's a ferry? Pretty good day here on Skye, which equates to pretty ugly day anywhere else but the boats at least set out from Elgol (how Viking is that) and headed around Skyle behind the Cuillins (a scraggy range of hills/mountains/munros) that are lovely and scenic and imposing and challenging and scary to a docking quite close to Loch Coruisk. The Loch is really only accessible via the ferry (or an arduous climb/hike over the Cuillins) and is a bit of a walkers paradise. We didn't have time (or energy!) to go around the Loch and were content with a picnic by the shore, which despite the omnipresent threat of rain, we ... read more