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From ocean to mountains and back to ocean
After leaving Isle of Skye, we headed east. Our first stop was in Fort William. And the road there was spectacular. Yes, a little narrow, yes a little curvy, but spectacular scenery along the many “lochs” (lakes) along the way. And with occasional castles — some restored and operational (like the famous Eilean Donan), others in ruins — there were many stops. An overnight in Fort William was interesting.
Fort William is at the foot of Ben Nevi, the UK’s tallest mountain. It is the home of hiking, climbing, and ice climbing. We did none of these! But we did visit Inverlochy Castle, a 13th century ruin but still original shape. And a visit to Neptune’s Stairsteps, a system of 8 locks that raise/lowers a ship some 65 feet. Opened in 1822, it was an engineering marvel of its time.
From there we traveled into the mountains. Reminded us of the Rockies, but a bit more rounded. But beautiful. We had a light lunch at Glencoe Mountain ski resort. From there only 50 miles to our B&B, but what a miles! Very, very narrow roads (I called them single and a half tracks) that undulated up and down and twisted just to add limited visibility to the driving pleasure. Watch out foe that bus heading the other way!
Our B&B was an old converted manse, right next to the ruins of an old, old church and graveyard. But it was pleasant, and we were back at sea level.
One more view from our B&B on Skye
A small waterfall in volcanic rock along the way
Scotland’s most famous castle, Eilean Donan
A castle ruins near Inverngarry
Entrance to Inverlochy castle
One of four Interlochy turrets
Posing for the ages
One of Neptune’s Staircase eight locks
Ship’s heading up the Caledonian canal. The closest sailboat, a 50 footer, was from Oslo and just returned from a trip to Newfoundland and the US east coast.
Mountain vistas
More mountain scenery
A small stream is picturesque
Deep valleys
Our B&B, an old manse under restoration
Church ruins and graveyard
Sea eagles and sea cliffs
We drove to Portree on the west coast of Skye. There, we took a tour boat to see some wildlife. And we did, even got a glimpse of a Minke whale (a small baleen whale) but the highlight was seeing sea eagles. These magnificent birds have a wingspan of around 9 feet, weigh about 10 pounds, and are very fast.
We were lucky enough to catch 4 at the same time, and they were in some sort of territorial squabble so we had a great view of them in the air. I didn’t have my long telephoto, and they blend in perfectly with the background cliffs, so pictures are a bit fuzzy, but I did my best.
After this we drove back to the east side and experienced 11 miles of serious single track road to get to Niest Point. Essentially, this is a paved one lane road with pullouts to pass oncoming traffic. It was obvious some people had never experienced this before and it got a bit scary, especially since the road has hills, turns, and cliff side.
Niest Point is well known as a particularly scenic part of Skye. Dramatic cliffs, challenging climbs, and lots of people! But it was an amazing area to see.Now only 11 miles of single track back…
Colorful Portree Harbor
Scenery around Portree, from the boat
Sea eagle just taking off
Two sea eagles fighting for territory. Note claws extended
Niest Point itself. Hike down the stairs, over the path, and up to the point for best view
Lighthouse at Niest Point, no longer active
Views to the north. Lots of nesting birds
Views to the south (sheep in the foreground)
Driving (sort of) to Isle of Skye
Our next destination was the Isle of Skye. Located in the far north west of Scotland, it is renowned for its scenic splendor. And the trip was only 112 miles… but took some 5 hours.
First of all, no highways. Just two lane highways, quite narrow, and very winding. And always with a spectacular view over the Scottish country side. And, thrown in for your amusement, the Scottish “Single track”. This is a two way road, but only one lane wide. Every so often, there is a Passing Area, marked with a small white sign. Here, the person who has the passing area on their side of the road is supposed to pull over and let the other pass. It actually works, but there is no shoulder, so some very interesting moments.
But all went well. We were early for our B&B check in, so we viewed the nearby Dunvegan Castle. This is the seat of the MacLeod of MacLeod, chief of the Clan MacLeod. Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland and has been the stronghold of the chiefs of the clan for 800 years. Since it is still occupied, no photography was permitted except of the exterior and the beautiful gardens.
Our B&B is really nice. It is a newer house, and right on the edge of the shoreline. So the views of the bays, islands and inlets are superb.
One spectacular view after another
Another roadside stop
Low tide
Start of yet another single track section
We found a waterfall along the road
Castle from a distance
Castle elevation
Viewed from the ocean side
An old bridge under the castle entrance
Castle entrance
Part of the garden
Lovely little flower
Gardener’s cottage
This castle is tho oldest clan
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