After our stay in Glencoe, we headed north to catch a ferry to the Isle of Skye.
Both Andrew and I agree that drivers in the UK are far more skilled than drivers in Texas (unless you are from Texas, in which case you are, of course, the exception). They have to be. Distances are not as great, but the roads are narrow, often wet, with twists and 90 degree turns every few yards. Most people still drive a manual transmission, making it easier to maneuver and control the car in these conditions. An automatic car wouldn't be as practical, or as much fun to drive, on these roads. There are no highways to take you through these parts; there is only a network of smaller "A" and "B", often single track, roads, with passing lay-bys. For this reason, shorter distances can often take much longer to navigate and there are no convenient service/gas stations. If you ever plan a trip to Scotland, keep this in mind and don't schedule too much driving for the time you have.
The ferry to Skye leaves from Mallaig, a small port village where school children still learn Gaelic. The drive to Mallaig was very pretty.
(because the road is only 6 feet wide)
Once in Mallaig, we found a neat little pub for lunch. I had the best Cullen Skink (topped with kippers!) I had ever tasted.
I haven't had kippers for breakfast in such a long time, that I had forgotten about them.
Chlachain Inn - highly recommend for their great food!
Despite the hourly ferries to Skye, this little port town did not seem overly touristy.
The ferry takes you from Mallaig to Armadale in just 30 minutes.
Finley enjoyed the ferry!
What kind of parents take their baby to Scotland and forget to pack a woolly baby hat?
Isle of Skye
Once on the Isle of Skye, we had a pretty lengthy drive to our destination; Edinbane.
Edinbane is a small village on the northern inlet. The drive was beautiful, although I only seem to have this photo of a sheep to remember it by. I guess we were too busy admiring the scenery to take photos. Our drive took us through the villages/towns of Isleornsay, Broadford, Portree and Skeabost.
Random photo of Mary listening to music on the drive
We stayed at Shorefield House; a friendly little B&B with a self catering apartment. We took the apartment and it was nice to finally have a kitchen with a washer/dryer. Although, this was an apartment sized machine, so we only managed to wash three items of clothing at a time, or four if they belonged to Finley.
Relaxing after our long drive
That night, we took a walk around Edinbane and ate at the Edinbane Inn. Edinbane is a tiny village at the head of Loch Greshornish. This loch is actually an inlet of the sea.
The menu at Edinbane Inn is wonderful with lots of traditional dishes made from local ingredients. That night they hosted a live music event, but we were too tired to try it out. Aging we are.
I ordered a yummy smoked cheese salad and Finn tried to munch on some French mustard.
The "haunted" Lodge at Edinbane
Cute row cottages
Edinbane has a really neat, and slightly inaccessible, play area for kids.
The views from the play area are stunning.
We laughed at Mary as she ran around yelling "I feel so alive!"
The next day, we took a scenic drive up the north east coast, through Achachork, Rigg, Cuncacnoc, Staffin, Digg, Duntulum, Kilmuir and Uig. Once again, the scenery was spectacular.
Our first major stop was Old Man Storr.
Unfortunately, it was at this point that Andrew's "good" camera malfunctioned and did not record many of the photos we took.
Taken from the Isle of Skye Guide.....
"This is properly the most famous walk on the island and definitely the busiest. The 'Old Man' is a large pinnacle of rock that stands high and can be seen for miles around. As part of the Trotternish ridge the Storr was created by a massive ancient landslide, leaving one of the most photographed landscapes in the world."
Mary is usually a reluctant hiker, but once she gets going there's no stopping her! She was the reason we made it all the way to the top. For the record, the top of the Old Man Storr trail is not a great location for breastfeeding an infant.
We continued our drive on the Portree-Staffin road up to Lealt Waterfall after a short break to let everyone warm up.
The main viewing area is just a short walk from the car park, but if you continue down to the right of the information boards, you get an even better view of the falls and the beach below. Someone has actually scratched this little hint onto the top of the information board but, lucky for us, the bus load of Chinese tourists who had arrived at the same time as us didn't read this.
Do you know who deserves respect? Bus drivers who drive these roads. In a bus. And don't crash.
The secret trail. Or not, now that someone has scratched directions into the informational sign.
Ruins of an old home and/or kiln?
I should have read the actual information on the informational board, not just the graffiti.
Further along, we stopped at the Cliff Mealt waterfall which plummets off the Kilt Rock formation. This waterfall is fed by the freshwater Lake Mealt.
There aren't many places to stop and eat in these parts, so you have to plan your day to include a trip into town. We didn't plan any such thing so we found ourselves hungry and in the middle of nowhere with a bag of crisps and some fruit pastilles to share. Then, we happened upon a little old petrol "station" with one rickety old pump and a sign saying they served Indian food. This was possibly the oddest little eatery I've ever visited, but the food was amazing and the views were better than any fine restaurant in Portree. The place is called McKenzies and if you blink you will miss it.
McKenzies
Our lunch view
We noticed that many buildings on the Isle of Skye have this dotted plaster effect.
Back in Edinbane
For our last day on Skye, daddy fixed my hair and made me all pretty. Clever daddy.
Dunvegan Castle has been the seat of the McLeod clan for over 800 years and is the oldest continually inhabited castle on the isle. Dunvegan Castle and Gardens is situated on the northwestern inlet on the isle and is worth a visit. The castle was okay (we were a little castled-out at this point in the trip), but the gorgeous gardens definitely made the visit worthwhile!
Monkey Puzzle Tree
Mary looked super cute wearing the baby
We headed to Portree for some civilization, and lunch. The main drag features your kilt and postcard shops, but if you head down to the waterfront it's relatively quiet and you can get good fish and chips.
Mary tries British scampi and heavily approves
Monkey puzzle trees (from Chile) apparently grow all over the Isle of Skye!
On this particular day, my job seemed to haunt me.
Portree was or last stop on the Isle of Skye. We didn't see the Fairy Pools and many other sights during our stay here, but it was time to move on. Next stop, Inverness!
