UK Road Trip

August 30, 2014 — The Isle of Skye

Rachel, our host at Heatherdale B & B, made us a big breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, tomato, mushrooms and beans this morning.  We burned a piece of raisin toast and set off the smoke alarm.  Then the two ladies who arrived late last night repeated the trick and set it off again.  Jennifer and Jule, good friends from Washington DC, flew in to Edinburgh and drove to the Isle of Skye the same day.  Their husbands encouraged them to leave their young children at home (they each have 1) and to take a trip to Scotland together.  Unfortunately they had a minor accident on the way here—a car was coming across the center line and Jule moved left to avoid it and scraped the left side of the car.  We totally understand how that could happen.  After breakfast we drove to Dunvegan Castle, just a short drive from the B & B.  It is the “oldest continuously habituated castle in Scotland and has been the ancestral home of the Chiefs of clan MacLoud for 800 years.”  Three members of the family still live on the top 2 floors, and we were not allowed to take pictures of the lower 2 levels that can be seen on the tour.  There were several formal gardens on the grounds, all of them beautiful.  Roses were blooming in the Walled Garden, and there were waterfalls in the Water Garden.  It drizzled off and on all morning, but we never really got wet.  From the castle we headed to Portree to begin a drive around the Trotternish Peninsula.  We thought the roads could not get any narrower in Scotland, but most of the drive was one lane, with frequent turnouts to let cars from the other direction go by.  There were quite a few tourists, including some on large buses! Though harrowing at times, the drive offered some stunning views of the sea and cliffs.  This is a very rugged and wild part of Scotland, and the WCs are few and far between.  We learned some interesting lore about this area and the rescue of Bonnie Prince Charles, although Rick Steves’ section about the peninsula didn’t seem very accurate.  His directions said to turn down one road and we turned right around, as it was a 2-way road with barely room for one car.  The rain held off this afternoon, but the wind was very strong along the cliffs.  We hoped to have dinner in Portree but our timing was off so we returned to the Edinbane Inn where we had dinner last night.  Tonight we ordered the roast breast of duck and the salmon and shared again.  All was good, as was the bottle of wine we easily polished off.  Back at the B & B we worked on this blog and then went to bed.

Dunvegan Castle

Walled Garden, Dunvegan Castle

Walled Garden, Dunvegan Castle

Walled Garden, Dunvegan Castle

Water Garden, Dunvegan Castle

Trotternish Peninsula

Trotternish Peninsula

Near Kilt Rock, Trotternish Peninsula

Kilt Rock, Trotternish Peninsula

Trotternish Peninsula - the sheep stay off the road

One-lane road along the Trotternish Peninsula

Portree harbor

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