Isle of Skye Part Two

Today we drove around the top part of the island. We cruised around the north east coast of the island stopping at various spots with fantastic views. Some with unpronounceable names but stunning scenery. There was a lot of low cloud cover making for some dramatic skyline shots. 

The first few spots we are the only ones around but as we got closer to the Quiraing we hit the tourist buses although they are only small ones called Rabbie’s  tours. The guides on these tours all wear kilts and we encountered them at aptly named Kilt Rock, named because the rock formation looks like the pleats in a kilt. 

Kilt Rock

We seem to follow the buses on their route which proves fortuitous later in the day. 

The Quiraing is a landslip which is part of the Trotternish Ridge Escarpment that runs through the Isle of Skye. The scenery at the Quiraing is spectacular and this is one of the reasons Peter wanted to come here and I have to agree. You could spend days photographing the different areas and walking the trails around the place. There are a lot of people who are doing this with lots of them with walking sticks and all kitted out for a days hiking. 

Quiraing

View to the Staffin Sea

We spend a time there walking a up the hill a bit but obviously we haven’t organised ourselves to do a days hiking as we really wanted to just have a taste of most places we have visited. There are no real words to describe these mountains as they are just magnificent. I hope the photos do them justice.

After we return to the car the tourist buses head off in another direction and I assumed that they would be going to another viewpoint with their passengers so I suggested we follow them and see what they are going to see. Well as it turns out they were just making their way to another part of the island without having to go back down the single track road again. Oh well it did cut off some of the island that we wanted to see but got us to our next destination a little bit quicker. 

Our next stop was Dunvegan Castle the ancestral home of the Chiefs of Clan Macleod and has been in use continuously for over 800 years. As we walked through each of the rooms there are priceless heirlooms which have been in the family for hundreds of years. There is also beautiful silverware and glass cases holding swords, banners and various armaments belonging to the family. The castle has evidence of 10 different styles of building periods with each one seemingly added to the next. It was a very impressive place considering most of the other castles we have visited are ruins, it is amazing that the family have been able to keep it in the line for that many centuries.

Dunvegan Castle

Dunvegan Castle

It is another castle built in a prominent position on the side of a loch. It is interesting to see how they have presented it for visitors as well as still being used by the latest chieftain and for weddings etc. We did a short stroll around the garden and then did the drive home along another single track road which we would be driving on later in the evening to our dinner at The Three Chimneys.  

The drive there isn’t too bad as even though it is a single track road it is still quite light and the scenery is lovely. It is set in an original island croft house dating back over 100 years. We arrived at the restaurant and were shown our table. It is very small and you can see the original stonework of the the cottage. It is next to the Loch Dunvegan which is a lovely scene form the front of the restaurant. The grass area in front of the loch has been known to be the helicopter landing spot for celebrities including Rod Stewart and Billy Connolly. 

All the food is locally sourced and there are two options for dinner “A Taste of Skye” which is an 8 course taste of a variety of things or you can choose from the menu of 3 courses with “wee” tastes to round it out to 8 courses as well. We opted for the Taste of Skye and we weren’t disappointed.  So you don’t have to remember each course they bring you a scroll sealed with wax and on it is written each course. A very nice touch. Although each course was small the flavours were beautiful. One course in particular is Smoked Fish course which is Colbost Skink, MaragDubh and Talisker Crumb served with a local croft egg yolk and you can see the smoke in the domed plate and then the waiter lifts it off and the smell of peat smoke is amazing. 

We finished our meal about 9pm and then had to drive the single track road home. It wasn’t too bad but still a bit hairy in spots and you do need your wits about you. We did go the wrong way once and had to turn back which was scary as you aren’t quite sure where you are because it is so dark and we weren’t familiar with the area. It was very nice to see the bright lights of Dunvegan Village. All in all a wonderful night. 

Quirky sign along the way