Scotland - Girls Trip!

Margo and I thoroughly soaked up the Isle of Skye in Scotland for 10 days! It was full of adventure, some driving mishaps, laughing until we were crying, and good food. If you want the condensed, picture-only summary...watch the YouTube video. If you want more detail, feel free to read the post below. 

Traveling to Glasgow: Margo flew in from London and I flew in from Amsterdam. We landed within an hour of each other and then braved our way to the rental car lot. Our trusty steed, fondly named Storr, made it to the hotel in Glasgow unscathed. The drivers in Scotland are seated on the right, therefore forcing the stick to be controlled with your left hand, and they drive on the opposite side of the road! Talk about stretching our brains right after 12+ hours of traveling. We ate dinner at Chaakoo, a fabulous Indian restaurant with great dishes to share. It was off to bed for us at the hotel to prepare for a full 5 days on the Isle of Skye! 

Driving in Scotland: Admittedly, we had a few close calls. However, after the first few days, it is amazing how quickly the driving becomes second nature even though it is so different from the states. We verbalized a lot of what we were doing in order to ensure that our brains were functioning as they should. For example, if we needed to make turn, we would always say…”I am going to turn and then I am going to go to the left side of the road.” This helped us catch what could have been small mistakes. There are one or two big roads, but all of the rest of the roads are one lane roads with “passing areas.” These roads were the most fun to drive as you had to think a lot less about the side of the road and there were fewer cars to contend with. We both loved that the stoplights turn yellow and then green to let you know that you should move to first gear. We are glad that we rented a car, and a stick shift at that, as it definitely added to the experience. 

Fort William to Mallaig: The drive to Fort William from Glasgow was already blowing us away. Cute little towns and small stone houses surrounded by fields and a lot of sheep! We arrived in plenty of time for a hot chocolate prior to catching the West Coast Railways Train … a.k.a. The Harry Potter train. The train takes us over the famous bridge used in the Harry potter films and stops in Mallaig two hours later. This quaint little town on the water had adorable shops and we enjoyed a wood fired pizza for lunch. The craziest thing to happen on this portion of the trip is that … brace yourselves … we might be on Scottish TV! Channel 4 News in Scotland is doing a special documentary about West Coast Railways with Julie Walters (from Mama Mia and Brooklyn) as the host. We saw her being filmed several times throughout the train trip. One of the coordinators asked Margo and I to hold some Harry Potter props. I had Hedwig on my shoulder and Margo held onto the Elder Wand. They filmed us “chatting and acting normal” and had us sign release forms after the train ride. We are going to see if we can get ahold of the footage. The train was a great way to see the country from a passive perspective. 

Portree: We stayed at The Garden Cottage in Portree. This was an awesome Airbnb that was central to almost everything that we did throughout the trip. The little cottage had a nice parking area out front. The home is divided into 4 areas: the kitchen/living room, bedroom 1, bedroom 2, and a bathroom. It was perfect for the two of us! The gas fireplace was a treat in the evenings when we were winding down and warming up from hiking in cooler weather. Having our own bedrooms allowed us some flexibility in the mornings and evenings when our sleeping schedules were a bit off from one another. We ate breakfast in, packed lunches, and ate dinner out every night except for one. One evening we ordered take-out Indian food which hit the spot after a long day. The Garden Cottage was a 10 minute walk from town and a short drive to grocery stores and other amenities. Our favorite restaurant of the trip, No 1, was third on Trip Advisor for the area. The food was so delicious that we went twice. I ordered BBQ chicken fajitas the first time and cracked up when the waitress pronounced them much more like “Vaginas.” Margo quickly picked up on what she was saying and helped me out. The cheesecake with a Bailey’s cream sauce was to die for. We shared it the first night, but quickly realized we needed our own the second time we were there. We met a delightful couple the second night we were there, Ian and Sue from Toronto, Canada. We chatted about everything from travel to jobs to Trump as president. They have been married for over 50 years and have led very interesting lives. Felt like being with old friends!!​

Walking in the Isle of Skye: We divided up the Isle of Skye into 3 sections (North, North West, and Central) based on this awesome book that we had, Isle of Skye: 40 Coast and Country Walks. We selected the “walks” / hikes that we wanted to do most and set out to accomplish 3 or 4 each day. This was a great way to set up the trip because there is so much to do on the Isle of Skye. It made it manageable, kept the driving time to a minimum each day, and allowed us to be flexible based on the weather each day. The weather was cloudy and intermittently raining the entire trip. The Scotland fairies were on our side though because it seemed that every time we got out of the car, it stopped raining just long enough for us to do what we wanted, and then it started pouring the second we were back in the car. It was awesome! The last day we enjoyed the one and only day on which we saw the sun!

Northern Skye Walks (Trotternish):

1. Old Man of Storr - This is the most popular walk on Skye with a pinnacle of the Old Man of Storr. The pinnacle stands in front of jutting, craggy cliffs. The rock formations make you feel small beneath the towering cliffs. This walk is on a good path that is 3.5 km. It took us about an 2 hours total with time for photos and video. 
2. Quiraing - This walk took us into the heart of the Quiraing and is best left for a clear day (otherwise you will not appreciate what is around you). The road is a feat, much less the walk! There is a panoramic landscape of rocky pinnacles and cliffs. We completed this as a two-way route. Ending at the Table involved heading up and down some very steep trails and it was really windy, but totally worth the views. This was was 4.5 km and it took us 3 hours with photos and video.
3. Bioda Buidhe - This was a great walk that allowed us views of the entirety of the Quiraing (again, best left to a clear day). This is an easy walk to add on because the trailhead is right across the road from the trailhead to the Quiraing. It is a short walk, but very steep. We were supposed to be able to see Storr from here, but we were unable to locate from our vantage point. I think that we may have hiked beyond the intended stopping point, but in total it is a 2 km hike and took us 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete. 
4. Fairy Glen - Simply put, this was magical. You walk a very short distance from the car park and you are surrounded by several grassy mounds and the occasional craggy pointed hill. If you closed your eyes, you might imagine fairies and trolls scurrying around you. It was adorable! The walk was maybe 1 km to get to the super cute area and then there was a variety of trails that you could choose to walk if you desired more time there. 
5. Brother’s Point - The Gaelic name is Rubha nam Brathairean. This is a dramatic rocky jut out that is surrounded by the sea. The coastal views were unprecedented as you can see across to the islands of Rona and Raasay. The path has some very steep drops, but the trail is clearly marked. This trail was 3.5 km and it took us around 1 hour and 30 minutes with pictures and video. 

Northwestern Skye Walks (Waternish):

1. Edinbane - We ate dinner at the Edinbane Inn. This is a very popular restaurant on the Isle of Skye. Local musicians play Scottish music on Sunday afternoons at 3:00. We had aimed to be there, but packed our day too full. Edinbane is also known for their pottery.
2. Dunvegan Castle - This castle has been occupied by the same family for 800 years. It has been built/modified/added on to from the 1200s to the 1800s. The garden was spectacular due to the variety of gardens and labeled items throughout the property. We launched the drone down the road a ways and flew it toward the castle and got a great glimpse of this island full of seals. 
3. Neist Lighthouse - This lighthouse is located on the westernmost portion of Skye. It is situated on a point with dramatic edges. The walk to get views of the lighthouse and cliffs is slightly sloping and the walk to the lighthouse is steep, but has stairs. This walk is about 2 km in length and took us around 1 hour. 
4. Oronsay Island - This island is only accessible when the tide is low. We arrived at 2:00 pm with the low tide at 3:00 pm. This gave us plenty of time to explore. The island is cool to explore because it has high cliffs, arches, and caves. This island is on Loch Bracadale and was an easy and clear walk. This walk is 5 km and took us about 1 hour 30 minutes with photos and video. 
5. Claigan Coral Beaches - This coral "white sand" beach gave us the feeling we were somewhere tropical. It was an easy 4 km walk that we completed in about 1 hour. A lot of people picnic here, so we did not linger long with the crowds. 
6. Waternish Point - This 13.5 km walk took us about 3 hours. There is a lonely lighthouse on the point and it is a trek to get to. The path initially is very clear, but then it transitions to boggy grasslands. I fell in a hole that completely engulfed my leg prior to me catching myself from going all the way in. I also sat in stinging nettles while using the "outdoor facilities." Needless to say, this was a rough walk for me! 

Central Skye Walks:

1. Fairy Pools - This was our very first walk of the trip. It was pouring down rain and very windy. This 8 km walk took us about 1 hour 30 minutes because we did not attempt the full walk due to the really bad weather conditions. The path is clear and runs along streams and pools for a good portion of the walk. The beautiful pools were violently cascading due to the rainfall, but we could imagine how calm they must be on a calm day. We drove to the end of the road to give ourselves time to dry off and get some hot chocolate. 
2. Talisker Bay - We stopped at the Talisker Bay distillery prior to driving to Talisker Bay. This walk led us to a really cool rock and sand beach. The sand was a mixture of blacks and greys and looked really cool in the cloudy conditions. The walk is 3.5 km and took us about 1 hour 30 minutes with photos and video. It is surrounded by towering cliffs some grassy farmlands with sheep of course. While flying the drone here, a sea bird started flying very close and aggressively tried to get it to go away. Fortunately, we landed it prior to any damage occurring. 
3. An Aird Peninsula - This walk combined beaches with cliffs. The 3 km walk follows the beach and then takes you to the end of the point. This is off the coast of Braes and has great views of the Sound of Raasay. It was cool to fly the drone here because it was really calm. There were cool caves and blowholes along the cliff to peer into if you were brave. 

Eilean Donan Castle and Edinburgh:

1. The Eilean Donan Castle was our second to last stop on the way to Glasgow. You can tour the castle, but we didn't have time. We snapped a few token photos, grabbed a hot cocoa, and hit the road. 
2. We ended in Edinburgh. We rode one of the bus top tour buses to learn more about this historic city. We had dinner at an old tavern, and then walked the Royal Mile