Day Ten - Fort William - Eyre, Isle of Skye

27 July 2014

Accommodation – Cruinn Bheinn B&B, Eyre

Weather – wet giving way to a sunny and clear afternoon

Temperature – top of 20 degrees

And so onwards to the Isle of Skye:

Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,

Onward! the sailors cry;

Carry the lad that's born to be King

Over the sea to Skye. 

Well, the weather gods threw everything at us in the morning including rolling mist, rain and smatterings of sunshine but by midday we had clear and sunny skies for the rest of the day. 

Not too far out of Fort William is Spean known for its woollen mill and the statue of the Commandoes which has commanding views over Loch Lochy and the rolling hills beyond.  During World War II Winston Churchill set up the elite military unit which became known as the Commandoes.   The soldiers were recognisable by their distinctive green berets. 

A powerful tribute to the commandoes outside Spean.  So many never made it back to their homeland.

The morning drive was a misty one....this is in Glen Shiel.

 

 

We drove past the large Loch Cluanie which was very misty and through Glen Shiel a road abutting the Five Sisters (mountains) to Loch Duich.  The day had now become clearer and as we rounded a corner the stunning castle of Eilean Donan came into view.  It sits on the headland of three seawater lochs:  Duich, Alsh and Long. 

The view from the carpark....we could hear the piper!

 

The castle is described as the most romantic castle in Scotland and as we got out of the car a piper was playing – a young lad with his bagpipes was busking.  It added such a great atmosphere to the visit that I think Tourism Scotland should pay him!  Eilean Donan has a very long history and has seen many battles for its possession.  The castle lay in ruin until the early 20ty century when the McRae family restored it into their family home.  We spent a pleasant hour wandering through the rooms.

The enterprising Scots lad.  The bridge behind leads to the castle and it is used by pipe bands marching over the bridge at special celebrations.   

 

 

 On the way to Plockton we drove through the village of Duirinish and met some highland cattle.  This photo was taken behind the car door.....I could see the size of those horns...however, they seemed pretty tame.

  

Plockton was a recommended visit and we weren’t disappointed.  It was already nearing 2pm so we ducked into the local pub and enjoyed a shared platter of smoked seafood prepared by the pub itself in its own smokehouse out the back. 

The tide was out and Plockton still looked exquisite.

 

The Skye Bridge we travelled over has produced some controversy but it certainly makes visiting the island much quicker than taking the boat.  The drive to Portree is a beautiful one and we wanted to stop many times to take photos while the sun was shining.

Skye really turned it on with the sunshine.

 

Our accommodation at Eyre is 10kms out of the main town of Portree as it was difficult to find three nights in a row for our stay with the summer vacation in full swing.

In Portree we took ages to find a place for dinner and eventually we settled on waiting 45 minutes for a restaurant.  We returned fifteen minutes early to find that many other diners had resorted to sitting outside with a drink and perusing the menu.  Seating was at a premium so we sat with a Canadian couple and enjoyed their company until ……. MIDGES!  OMG…..they started as little bites and by the time we entered the restaurant thirty minutes later I had nearly gone demented!!  It was a lesson learnt:  always take the midge deterrent.  Our host in Northumberland, Stuart, had provided us with the cure-all – Avon Skin So Soft.  Next time we go out this cream is going to get a thorough workout or I’m going to wrap my scarf around my head and look like a real lunatic!