We went to Dunvegan Castle and Gardens this morning. What a great restoration, even though it is privately owned. Well preserved artifacts, excellent thorough information, beautiful woodwork and walls. The gardens were also spectacular, forcing us to wander longer than we had planned.

Next we drove to the Neist Point, the most western point on Skye, and tried to see the Neist Point Lighthouse, but the viewpoint was a long way, and we had reservations at a distillery too soon. Fortunately, the landscape along the way was beautiful.

Talisker Scotch is world-renowned. Known for its spicy, citrus flavors, this Scotch is a favorite. The tour was excellently led by a young woman, a native to the area. We learned a lot, then Clare tasted three of their whiskeys. A road law in Scotland states that no one can drive with any alcohol, so at the tasting part, all the drivers were only allowed to sniff. Then our guide gave the drivers three tiny bottles to take their tasters home to try. So we poured our whiskey extras into the tiny bottles, and drove to the Fairy Pools.

The Fairy pools are a series of pools and small waterfalls in the River Brittle that runs down Glen Brittle, a glacial valley. These are particularly spectacular because of the large amount of water and the steepness of the terrain. Many tourists enjoy this site. 

After an unremarkable dinner, we decided to hike up The Lump, a hill above the harbor in Portree. The forest was deep and lush. Birds serenaded us as we walked. It seemed more like a tropical forest than what I expected in Scotland. 

Let’s start with the weather.

The beginning part of this trip, we experienced cloudy days with some rain, some drizzle, basically what we had anticipated. Most of the rain fell while we were driving, so it was no problem. Then Saturday (yesterday) dawned with a clear, beautiful sky and sunshine. I put on sunscreen. The skies remained clear all day, with light breezes, perfect weather.

Today, the prediction was similar to the start of our trip, but it did not continue that way. Wind and rain combined to make us cold. Glad to have wool underwear!

Unrelated, early this morning we were surprised by a loud thump of a beak on our window – a large, white seagull was begging for handouts; our host has named him Steven Seagull! Later, a smaller black bird graced the same place. Such silly birds!

The sky was gray. Water droplets filled the air. We grabbed our raincoats and started north from Portree to see The Old Man of Storr. But we passed the site because rain was coming down hard. We continued to Kilt Rock. Famous for its dark volcanic rock, which breaks into columns (like at Giant’s Causeway in Ireland), Kilt Rock is a popular place to visit. Unfortunately for us, the fog hid this spectacular scene from our eyes. Happily, the waterfall that drains into the ocean was quite full and beautiful.

The weather was still cold and windy, so we visited the local museum in Staffin.

The guide was knowledgeable, and specimens of dinosaur footprints, ammonites and other fossils were abundant and beautiful. Many other artifacts and such were also on display. Unfortunately, no photographs allowed.

So, we ventured to the Quirang, off a single carriage road. This was a place where the local people hid their livestock from the Viking invaders, because rocks formed somewhat of a high circle around a relatively flat, grassy area.

On the way back to the larger road, many sheep were visible. Only one posed for a picture, however.

We stopped for lunch at the only place that was serving food on a Sunday, the beautiful Flodigarry hotel and restaurant.

After a delightful meal, we decided to again try for the Old Man of Storr. Rain had let up, but wind was beginning. Also, mist or fog was coming. I’m not sure I have ever before experienced fog and strong wind at the same time.

We parked and started up the trail to the viewpoint, over a mile uphill. We took the “moderate” path rather than the “strenuous” one, because the rocks were wet. We didn’t see much along the way.

Before dinner we had a drink at the bar in the Royal Hotel. A football (soccer) game was on TV.

We dined at the Rosedale Hotel on our second evening in Portree. A chandelier made from whisky bottles was above the stairs. After dinner the setting sun shone on the harbor.

These two churches are just above the harbor in Portree.

Because the weather made visibility short range, we noticed things close to us. Like the flowers. A large variety of the wildflowers here are approximately the same shade of pinkish purple. Heather is brown in winter, but the flowers that bloom spring and summer are purple. Foxglove, scattered about this damp countryside is also similar. Rhododendron are everywhere (although the color of the flowers vary, the most likely color for wild rhododendron is this one). Scottish thistle is the same shade. and a rare orchid! I only ask why?

The geology of the Isle of Skye is relatively young. About 60 million years ago, the continent started to rip apart, allowing hot magma to rise, helping to push the left and right sides (later North American Plate and European Plate) apart. So dense igneous rocks, lava flows, sills and larger intrusive magmas distorted the older, Jurassic aged sedimentary layers. You can see evidence of this in the places we visit tomorrow. 

We woke up to a beautifully, clear blue sky! It almost made me homesick for Colorado (not really!).

We met Marc at Neptune’s Staircase, a series of 8 locks on the River Lochy connecting two lochs. Scottish engineering at its finest.

We had to leave while the locks were filling, because we needed to meet the Hogwarts Express (OK, in real life it is the Jacobite Steam Train) at the Glenfinnan Viaduct, filmed in the second Harry Potter movie, when Ron and Harry were trying to catch the train so they could get to school on time. Such dedication in those Wizards!

We were astonished to find that everybody had the same idea! No spaces were available in the parking lot assigned, and none in the adjacent areas that allowed people to park. The train was getting closer! We drove around until we found a tight corner where we almost blocked another car, then walked over half a mile back to the viewing area. Totally worth it!

Marc knew where to go to find a geocache, of course, but so did about a thousand other people. Literally a thousand. So crowded! It reminded me of finding a place to see the recent eclipse.

The Hogwarts adventure took a bit longer than we had anticipated, (mostly because of the parking problems – it was a Saturday) so we went straight to our next planned visit, Eilean Donan, a castle on an island in Loch Duich. This is a privately owned tourist center, completely remodeled after being in ruins. No audio tour, but the reconstructions included interesting artifacts from many eras, with mannequins in costume and featuring plastic foods. No pictures allowed inside.

Next, we drove over the bridge to the Isle of Skye, where we parted ways with our friend. Marc was able to collect over 20 Geocaches on our adventures in Scotland, many while we were busy blogging. He really wanted one on the Isle of Skye, so that was where we parted.

Au revoir, bon ami! Excellent times were shared while you were with us on our adventure.

Brian and Clare continued on to the Bed and Breakfast in Portree, where we will be staying for 3 nights.

Friday was our first planned hiking day. We went to Loch Lomond, famous in song, to hike the Conic Hill Trail, about 2.6 miles with 700 feet of elevation gain. Perhaps a bit more challenging than anticipated?

Fortunately, we had a description of the trail, and indicated which direction to follow for the loop. The first part was a wide stair fashioned from large flat stones.

While I was climbing, I thought about the description here as a “rocky trail with some high steps”. In Colorado, a rocky trail features loose, often jagged stones, not much human design. This was quite different, and thankfully so. We made it to the top of the engineered trail.

So much plant variety!

Yes, Clare got muddy feet in a small stream she crossed. She washed her boots off in the loch.

Later, we lunched across Loch Lomond, with a view of the hill we climbed!

A lot of lochs reside along the Great Glen Fault and are connected to each other by locks along the Caledonian Canal. We finally arrived in Fort William just in time for dinner at the Silly Goose in the Lime Tree Hotel.