Isle of Skye

The Isle of Skye was everything I hoped and dreamed of. It was so beautiful!

On the map Eilene Donan looked really rather close to the Isle of Skye.  It really wasn't.  BUT it was very doable.  

When I first saw the bridge, it caught my breathe.  We have big bridges here.  But this is a bridge in Scotland!  The road to the Fairy Pools, where we were headed, is a VERY narrow road.  Lots of it is one way at a time.  There are so many pull outs, and everyone understood the assignment.   Headed up, the left side of the road got very crumbly.  I asked, several times, for Madeline to MOVE OVER towards the right.  I was worried if she fell into one of those holes, the tire would be shredded.  It didn't happen.  She drove like a rockstar. You drive a long way to get to the trailhead of the Fairy pools.  On the Isle, we passed MANY hikers and trailheads.  I would go back and totally do a lot of hiking there.  It is so beautiful.  

Just a random, abandoned house.  With just a little time and money, I think I could make it work.  

Hiking trail. 

A sign along the highway to the Fairy pools, marking the spot of a battle. 

The Bridge to Skye

Madeline and Lorraine weren't hiking, so I didn't go all the way to the top, but I did go to the first 3 of the pools.  I put my hands in them.  Higher up, some people were swimming.  It was NOT that warm. The water was very cold. 

It was such a fun beautiful day.  This is one of the places I would have liked to have a lot more time.  There are many things to see on the Isle. 

For the drive home, Mavis, the GPS had us going a totally different way back to Inverness.  It was a 2-lane highway up over a pass in the middle of nowhere.  The 3 of us agreed that it was good we were driving it in daylight.  At night, I'm sure it's like bowling for deer.  

When we got back to Inverness, we found some dinner and were ready to stretch out and not be sitting in the car for a bit. 

Peace. 

Day 5 , part 1

 Because we saw so much on the 21st, I'm going to divide it.  So...

We had been getting up about 7 and ready to head to breakfast and out for the day around 8:00.  It worked for us, perfectly.  Madeline's driving is getting better and better.  

Eileen Donan Castle

The first structure built on the Island the castle is on, was built in the 13th century. To protect against the Vikings. Fast forward, it became a stronghold for Clan Mackenzies, and the clan MacRae.  In response to their involvement and support of the Jacobite's, the government destroyed the castle in 1719. It sat for over 200 years.  The castle today is Lieutenant John Macrae Gilstrap's 20 century reconstruction of the castle. 

There were no photo's allowed inside, and I obeyed that rule.  So my pictures are of the outside. Some of the stairways are so narrow, so no backpacks.  We put ours back in the car.  At some point the current owners used it as a vacation home.  Not anymore.   Plumbing has been installed and a kitchen added.  It has not been updated in MANY MANY years.  

And the gift shop here is where I saw my first square toilet! 

It's the little things folks!

I forgot to add a few facts about the Loch Ness so I edited that day's post.  

Peace. 

Day 4

 We had a lovely breakfast at our motel.  Peter was so accommodating and so nice to us.  I would stay there again.  We got in our trusty car with our fearless driver and took off.  We a destination in mind and took off. We headed towards Fort Agustus.  It is on the Southwest end of Loch Ness. It is a lovely little town.  Several really cute shops.  We walked around the little town.  The Fort is mostly gone.  But it was a beautiful drive there.  On a VERY narrow road along the Loch.  

I didn't really take any pictures in Fort Augustus. 

Then we headed up to Loch Ness.

We booked a tour with Loch Ness by Jacobite.  Goodness the Ness is huge and beautiful.  The water is so dark!  It's from the peat running off the hills.  

Before we went on the tour we met a gorgeous Highlander.  :)  lol

There are some great big houses on the Ness!

Urquhart Castle.  We didn't go into it.  It was just so beautiful from the boat.  There is a visitor center there.  We saw it from the boat. 

After our cruise we went back to Inverness and went to 3 Witches restaurant.  It was a yummy place!  We went to a grocery store and gathered a few things and then headed to our motel to crash for the night.  It was a really good day!

Peace

PS... I forgot to add some Loch Ness facts...

Loch ness is the largest freshwater lake in Scotland.  

It is dark from the run off of the peat hills around it. 

There is more water in loch ness than all the lakes in England and Wales, put together.

Sometimes seals swim up into Loch ness.

Again, so very beautiful. 

Peace

Day 3

 On day 3, Tavel day.

 Madeline and I rode the bus back to the airport to pick up our rental car.  Lorraine stayed at the hotel with all our luggage.  There was a small kerfuffle with the car.  They only had standard transmissions.  As Madeline was our driver and did not know how to drive a stick, we had a problem.  I started wondering around to the other dealers and seeing what they could do.  Some had no cars to rent.  We found one that had automatic's.  Good!  We went with them.  What is funny is that they only rent with full insurance, theirs.  I'm sure it has to do with driving on the other side of the car and road. LOL  I'll say it many times, Madeline did fantastic!  Most of the roads in the big towns are narrow and people park every which way they can.  NOT an ideal situation for a new driver on the other side of the car and road.   Today was really just a travel day. 

I wish I could go back and take pictures of every bathroom.  I've never seen so many options of toilets and sinks. SO many and most out and about were never the same style.  

I'd never seen a square toilet before.  I showed it to almost everyone who would look, they hadn't seen one either.  The sinks were tiny too.  Almost like fingertips only sinks.  BUT they did the job.  I wish I'd have thought to take a picture of them all.  

Back to driving.  We headed to Inverness.  Once we were out of town the drive was relatively easy.  I do know I say that as the passenger in the front seat.  The highways were nice and really well marked.  The other picture I wish I'd have gotten.  I could have asked Madeline to stop and ran back but didn't.  The sign was Welcome to the Scottish Highlands. It was so cool.  We knew we were climbing, our ears were popping. It actually isn't that far from Glasgow to Inverness.  When we got there, we found our motel. We stayed at the Smithton.  Peter was a wonderful host and was very accommodating. They served a wonderful traditional Scottish breakfast.  I did not have haggis or blood pudding.  But sausage and toast and eggs were wonderful.  We went to a few grocery stores trying to find a few things. As we were leaving one, I asked a woman if she could recommend a place for dinner.  We ended up at the golf course restaurant.  We all had fish and chips.  It wasn't bad, just not great.  But it served it's purpose and we were all happy to be out of the car for a bit.   We went back to our hotel and figured out the next days plans.   

Peace

Day 2

We hung around Glasgow and rested and shopped.  The area we shopped in is called Buchanan Street.  LOTS of shops and malls and LOTS of people. 

I sent this picture to Mrs. Heir.  She LOVES Vans.  I didn't go in though. 

Buchanan Street

The Duke of Wellington.   I'm not sure how it all started, but when the Government tried to stop the cone shenanigans, There was a huge outcry.  So the cone stays.  

The bottom of the stairs at the Sandyford Hotel, looking up.  It is a wonderful old hotel.  Tomorrow, a car and off to Inverness. 

Peace