Laninga's Travel Blog

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Lighthouse at Niest Point, no longer active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)