Easter of 2018 we ventured North through blizzards and rain to the mystical Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland. The trip began with a long drive up to Glasgow where we stayed with the Leeks for a couple of nights and let Claire catch up with her bestie from the year in Watchfield. It was really nice to see them after about a year and remember how much we had in common.
We then started another long day of driving further north in patchy snow and rain conditions. We first passed the misty and forlorn Loch Lomond memorialized by the famous ballad that mentions it. We learned all about the lyrics, "you'll take the high road, and I'll take the low road," as we played a Scottish playlist on the stereo as we drove. It came from the Jacobean rebellion when many Scottish men were captured after the battle of Culloden. Their wives and families had to walk all the way to London to watch their trials and then walk back home after they were executed. The men's bodies were put on a macabre tour of the country and took the 'high road' back to Scotland while the families had to take the common 'low roads' back home.
As we started climbing in elevation a bit, we passed through the famously scenic Glen Coe with its desolate expanses and stark mountains flanking the long narrow valley. At this point, we determined we must have been in a blizzard because everything was white, and we could barely see the road. We briefly considered turning back, but we pressed on and within a few minutes the storm had passed to reveal glorious vistas.
After making our way through the pass to the sea, we stopped for lunch and went for a little nature walk in the marshy coast. Even though he was wearing wellies, Callum still managed to plunge his legs into a deep tide pool and soak his trousers in sea water. The views were amazing with snow capped peaks surrounding us.
We pressed on and made another stop at a view point overlooking a train viaduct made famous by the Harry Potter films. The Hogwart's train passes over the sweeping curve of the bridge in almost all the films as it takes the students north to school.
Onward still we pressed and caught a ferry for the last leg of the trip onto the Isle of Skye. We had rented a nice little cottage overlooking an inlet on the east coast of the island. It sat directly below several large hill/mountains made of black rock with rounded peaks with a great view across the water to another small island.
Our first activity the next day was to visit the Fairy Pools that sat inland in an isolated valley below an arch of snowy jagged peaks. None of the mountains on the island were more than 2000 feet tall, but their dramatic ridgelines and the recent snow gave the illusion of being in the Rocky Mountains.
The pools were a series of waterfalls and pools carved out of the limestone along several miles of river. The further we hikes, the more dramatic the small canyon became.
We then took a nice driving tour around the island finding tons of sheep, lots of highland cows and plenty of breathtaking vistas of serpentine inlets and lochs against tan hills of heather and grass.
The next day we took a tour in a glass bottomed boat that allowed us to see a bit of wildlife (porpoises and seals), salmon fisheries in the lochs and even a sunken wreck from WWII.
We also browsed around the colorful main town of Portree with its harbor full of small fishing boats at anchor.
Afterwards we made another scenic drive along the Northeast coast and found a cool site with fossils and dinosaur tracks in a seam of rock along the coast. It made Skye seem even wilder and adventurous than before.
Our last day we stopped at the famous Eilean Castle with its lonely grey tower surrounded by the loch and connected to the mainland with a low arched bridge. We didn't go in, but took lots of photos. The next stop was Loch Ness!
No comments:
Post a Comment