This week
As mentioned in our previous post here, we have 4 nights on Skye booked in a delightful cottage.
It’s an opportunity for us to settle back without any major drives for a few days, and also refresh the Beast in terms of getting clothes, towels and bedding washed.
On arrival, we appreciated the picture windows that gave a brilliant view of the bay below, a small (unnamed) island within it, and the surrounding mountains. Unfortunately, the rain was hammering down and the view was somewhat obscured.
Apology
We decided we would only have a single post for Skye, and as a result this is quite lengthy. So don’t bother if you are they type that gets bored on the first page of a book ……
S
Monday
Today’s a bit of a rest day and an opportunity to catch up on washing. Nikki for sure is not running out of things to wear (although she may be running out of warm things to wear) but Steve’s jumper (1 of only two he bought) needs a refresh.
The weather is really crap as well today, so we have booked a hotel for dinner tonight and a return cab ride ….nice. We had a lovely dinner at the UIG Hotel; starters of Scallops (Steve) and Mussels (Nikki), and we both had the roast haunch of venison, and a shared Lemon Posset – all delicious.
An example of how friendly the people are. Our cabbie returned to collect us in his wifes Discovery, along with wife and dog. Turns out his cab had broken down but he didn’t want to leave us stranded – how lovely and conscientous? Better still, he refused payment because of the inconvenience. Amazing.
Best of all, we have managed to turn the Van around by hanging the rear end off a hill (yay)
Stardust II
We couldn’t make up our mind today whether to do a Boat Trip, to spot some local wildlife, or head to a castle, but the weather forecast suggested it was going to be an ok day, so we decided on the boat trip. Back in the Beast, we successfully managed getting out of the drive and back on the road, and set off to Portree with Nikki driving.
We drove past the ‘Old Man of Storr’, something we will definitely be doing, but once again it was super busy and the car parks full. We’ll need to get up early and ‘beat the crowds’ if we want to do this.
Pootling along a driver flashed us as we were approaching a corner, and once around we saw why. HIGHLAND COO’s ….. but unfortunately most of Skye seemed to have stopped to take a look, the road was chaos, and we couldn’t stop. Steve did manage to grab a photo from the van, although this particular Coo was hiding behind a clump of grass LOL.
Once in Portree, time to park the Beast, which is not always easy, and the allotted Motorhome slots were all taken. We drove further down the car park which was practically empty at the end and parked up taking two bays. There was nothing on the sign about buying two tickets, and off we set for a mooch, which included Steve buying another jumper, perhaps the previous post providing the necessary encouragement. We popped back to the van briefly to drop off the purchases and spotted parking wardens afoot and several motorhomes with tickets ….. Oh no.
Miraculously we didn’t get one, as we were within the rules (which we didn’t even know) as explained by the parking wardens when we stopped to chat. If all your wheels are in one space, and regardless of your overhang, you only need 1 ticket. If your wheels are in two spots, then you must buy two tickets, and so on. Just as Nikki was manoeuvring into the the spot to park, Steve told her to edge forwards a bit, thus all four wheels were in one spot, and that’s the only reason we escaped a ticket.
Anyway, to the boat !!! We were on Stardust I (there is also a Stardust II) and there were actually only 6 of us aboard. ‘Duncan’ our skipper and guide pulled us out of the harbour, gave a quick safety demo and we were off, our goal to see Sea Eagles, Seals and perhaps a dolphin. The weather stayed mostly fine and we had a great couple of hours, and indeed did see Sea Eagles and seals, but no dolphins. We do like a boat ride. (P.s. we actually forgot our skippers name, but Steve says everyone is called Duncan up here so there you have it)
Back on dry land, a quick shop in the Co-op, and Steak Supper for dinner cooked by Steve. Yum.
Old Man of Storr
Dominating the Trotternish Ridge on the Isle of Skye, the Old Man of Storr is a towering basalt pinnacle—about 50 m tall—that looks like nature’s own wizard’s hat perched on a craggy landscape.
A moderately steep 45-minute hike from the car park near Portree leads you up to the base, rewarding climbers and walkers alike with sweeping views across the Sound of Raasay, the glens of Skye, and beyond.
As mentioned yesterday, the car parks at the Old Man of Storr seemed to fill up quickly so Nikki set her alarm for 07:45, and we were out of the door before 9am, the idea being to see the ‘old man’ and then have breakfast (bacon sandwich) in the cafe.
That said, on the way Steve did some googling and found out that it was a four hour return hike to see this spectacle ! Ummmmm.
We parked easily this early, dressed appropriately (even Steve put some trousers on) and off we set. There are two routes, moderate which is a bit longer, and extreme. We chose moderate, went slow and steady, but even so it was a hard climb taking us 1.5 hours, including a downpour which lasted about 15 mins. We were soggy on arrival, but it was worth it.
Coming down was considerably quicker, we went the ‘extreme’ route, and arrived back at midday to get brekkie, only to find that the Cafe’s menu consisted of just cake. We were a little disappointed (understatement). We timed it well though, because as we were getting back into the van to head off the heavens opened, thankfully we were not still at the top !!
Dunvegan Castle
Next up was Dunvegan Castle.
Steve assumed this was the place where people who had decided to resume eating dairy and meat came to rehabilitate, but it has far more to it than that.
Perched on a dramatic sea-swept promontory overlooking Loch Dunvegan, Dunvegan Castle is not just a fortress—it’s a living legacy. For over 800 years, it has been the ancestral seat of the Clan MacLeod, making it Scotland’s oldest continuously inhabited castle.
The current (and 30th) ‘Chief’ still lives at the castle, and the clan always gathers there for Christmas and New Year celebrations. Wow! It was very interesting, and the fact that it is still lived in makes it feel that much more current than other places we have visited that just reek of old age.
We spent a lovely hour wandering the rooms and even the dungeon (assume no longer used or maybe this is where they still throw vegans who will not recant). Unfortunately, time and the weather meant we were unable to look around the gardens, which by all accounts are well worth a visit. So we just had time to pop in the obligatory shop …
Stop Press … Nikki finally found a Highland Coo that met her expectations. Hamish is now pride of place in the Beast !
One Response
Glad to see you managed to get your smalls washed! The food sounds fab you need the walks to burn it all off. X