Hey guys hey guys lookin’ good!
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Day 4 – Plockton to Skye to Plockton.
Today is a very flexible day as we explore the Isle of Skye. There are many possibilities depending on the weather, and our driver-guide will use their local knowledge to decide on the best day out for the group.
We may ascend the Quiraing along Trotternish Ridge and be rewarded with spectacular views. Alternatively, we could drink in the scenery at Loch Corruisk or drive through the dramatic Red Cuillin to the little hamlet of Elgol.
We return to our accommodation in Plockton in the late afternoon for a free evening to explore the village.
Overnight – Plockton
Looking one way…
And the other, toward the Skye Bridge, It spans across Loch Alsh, running from the mainland village of Kyle of Lochalsh to the small island of Eilean Ban (visible under the bridge on the right side), which then connects over to Kyleakin on Skye. The historic Eilean Bàn Lighthouse is just visible beneath the main arch.
Opened in 1995, the bridge made it possible to visit Skye without using a ferry, greatly reducing the time involved in getting there and greatly increasing the number of tourists. There are so many tourists driving rental cars that poor Keith spent an awful lot of time sighing. It’s true though, left hand roads and so many of them are single-track, it’s tricky to know the rules and even trickier to obey them. (“Single-track roads are narrow, two-way lanes wide enough for only one vehicle at a time, relying on side pull-outs called passing places to let traffic move in both directions.” I have some pictures for later.)
Everyone was comfortable, a nice way to travel if the itinerary is well planned (it was), you get a good guide (we did), and companionable fellow travelers (they were).
I mentioned before how we made a lot of stops, to see a sight, and to use a toilet. I don’t remember all the names and over these many days I didn’t always do the activity which often involved steep, slippery ‘walks’ to very high places. Still since the weather was so good it was easy to have a good time no matter what I did.
And we had almost no rain the whole rest of the trip. Amazing. What was the activity? I don’t remember!
How far did I walk?
Did I even walk past the sign?
This is the harbor of Portree, the main town on the Isle of Skye. It’s rare to see colored buildings so this really caught my eye.
The main square in Portree where all the tourist buses gather.
Built between 1850 and 1854, this is Portree Parish Church, a congregation of the Church of Scotland.
Rabbie’s seems to be one of the most evident tour companies around. I hadn’t noticed a women driver/guide yet so I asked Kieth if there were any and he said there are a few, so I found one and I asked her and she said there are many. I’m including this picture to illustrate how my hair mirrors the hair of my favorite, the hairy coos (the Highland cows) found primarily in Scottish Highlands. There are some on Day 2 and many more to come.
Whisky whisky whisky it’s The Thing and every worthy place has a distillery. Below represents our only tasting although others in our group drank a lot more whisky than we did.
Exit Through the Gift Shop.
The real go-getters who were ready to challenge themselves with the hike to the Fairy Pools went on ahead. We lazy bones came here instead, not far from the main (single-track…) road.
The Glamaig mountain, located in the Red Cuillin range here on the Isle of Skye (although I’m not 100% on this…).
Our Don outside my window.
Seems to be a through-your-arms-in-the-air kind of day.
