Blogs from Isle of Skye, Inverness-shire, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

That's the old teacher at the 'old schoolhouse'. You're looking at a tender, succulent and really quite unctuous beef cheek. Very nice dish and despite the fact we were both tired the meal went down very well. Can't afford to go back but it was good. In fact we've just eaten at the local pub and although you could have fired a cann in the restaurant the food there was pretty good as well. I had a lovely oven baked haddock. It's fish you find everywhere here, it is the fall back option for fish and chips, so it's a good firm, flaky fish that is easy to fillet. But today was walking in the wet day. The wind blew, the heavens opened and it was wild. I walked to a local landmark know as 'the ... read more

Between Greenock and Inverness was a day at sea in which we would sail though the Hebrides archipelago, past the Isle of Sky and around the northern tip of mainland Scotland. Both the Inner and Outer Hebrides could be seen in the distance as Caribbean Princess navigated the Sea of the Hebrides and The Minch. (The Minch is the body of water between the Outer Hebrides and the Scottish mainland.) South Uist in the Outer Hebrides was clearly visible, but distant. We did pass very close to the Isle of Skye in the early afternoon and were afforded an excellent view of its wild, rockbound and mountainous landscape. Neist Point and its lighthouse, Loch Pooltie and the Duirinish Peninsula could be seen. As the afternoon progressed, islets in the Outer Hebrides appeared as well as the ... read more

Today we five returned to Edinburgh from a trip to the Scottish Highlands. Driving to the Highlands is like driving from the American Midwest to the West in terms of changing landscape. The major difference is that the Scottish Highlands have a lot more sheep and a few castles visible from the highway. Overall, the Highlands were cooler than Edinburgh; the temperatures were as low as 50 F during the day. The sun was reluctant to show itself and drizzling rain plagued us a few times. However, the beauty and solitude of the Highlands outweighed the chilly weather. We started the trip in Inverness, just a few miles north of scenic Loch Ness. Unfortunately, the Loch Ness Monster was nowhere to be seen. We toured Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness. This castle was ... read more

21stMay Fort Augusts to Laggan Locks – 8nm In hindsight it would’ve been better to go through the locks yesterday afternoon as over the rest of the afternoon lots of boats came up to the canals to wait the night and then pass through in the morning. Having said that, there wasn’t much room on the pontoons on the other side anyway, and this lower side was much closer to the town. Walked the boat through a set of 5 locks. Phil was motoring so I just had the bow line, so quite easy really. Going up is very turbulent as all the water is let in to fill the lock. SOOOO many people were stopping to chat – and suddenly I heard an Aussie accent saying G’day to Phil. They got talking and the guy ... read more

i feel oddly connected to this place that some call the island of mist.. i have never been here before but my ancestors have called this place ‘home’ for well.. a long time. u might know it cause ur grandma would continuously whistle the ‘skye boat song’ until blood poured from ur ears.. or u might know it from drinking its talisker malt whiskey or red cuillin premium scottish ale brewed from the pier at uig. + btw, it was from uig that my mckinnon ancestors left the isle of skye on a rickety old boat leaving for a better place. times were tough + australia was seen as a place of hope. this trip really has opened our red-neck kanga eyes to the reality of how connected all on this planet are. .. we are ... read more