Scotland: Isle of Skye and Loch Ness

Castles, whisky, highland cows, wind, rain, bagpipes, thistles, kilts, tartan, clans, lochs, rugged coastlines and breath taking views. This is Scotland. Where better to experience it than the Scottish Highlands.

Stalker castle

After a wonderful 3 nights in Oban, we travelled up to Portree on the Isle of Skye via Glencoe, Spean Bridge and Eilean Donan Castle. Glencoe is a dramatically beautiful glen formed by the activities of a now extinct volcano and a glacier. It takes its name from the river Coe running through it. The glen is narrow, majestic and peaceful. Shrouded in cloud, the mountains rise up steeply on either side. The glen is the site of the mass murder of the MacDonald clan in February 1692. The sadness of this event still lingers in the valley.

Boibs at a cloudy Glencoe

The next stop on the way to Skye was Eilean Donan Castle. Once the stronghold of the MacKenzies, this castle is home to the chiefs of the MacRae clan and is probably one of the most famous and well-known of Scotland’s castles. The castle was badly damaged during the Jacobite uprisings of the 17^th and 18^th centuries and lay abandoned and in ruins for nearly 200 years. In 1911 Lt Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap bought the island and the castle and over the next 20 years, had the castle reconstructed and restored to its former splendour. We had a wonderful afternoon exploring the castle and soaking up the beautiful views of the castle over the lake.

Eilean Donan Castle

From Eilean Donan Castle we made our way to Portree on the Isle of Skye to our awaiting accommodation. Portree is the main town on the island and a good base for exploring from. A small town set around a natural harbour, it is popular with tourists in the Summer. We got the feeling that life is very slow on the island and the locals brace themselves for the influx of visitors in the Summer months and look forward to having their quiet peaceful island back to themselves come Autumn.

The colourful waterfront at Portree harbour

Boats in Portree harbour

Portree harbour

We saw a quote stating that one had to be waterproof, have a good sense of humour and not mind the cold too much to live on Skye. From our short stay on the island, we can confirm that this is good advice! It was a chilly 12ºC with constant outbursts of rain showers and super windy the entire time we were on Skye! It’s a pity the weather wasn’t better, even for some of the time, but we didn’t let it stop us exploring.

Views to be had on Skye

Our first day on Skye we headed West to Dunvegan Castle. Home to the chiefs of Clan MacLeod for 800 years, Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland. It is built on a rocky outcrop of Loch Dunvegan and was once entirely surrounded by the sea. We took advantage of a gap in the weather when we arrived at the castle for exploring the 5 acres of beautiful garden. We loved the lush water garden with waterfalls and a stream, the formal round garden full of colour and the walled garden, previously the vegetable garden. The castle itself has many fine oil paintings and clan treasures on display including the Fairy Flag, the wooden ceremonial Dunvegan Cup, Sir Rory Mor’s Horn, and the MacCrimmon bagpipes. Sir Rory Mor’s Horn is an ox drinking horn and MacLeod tradition is for each successive clan chief to drink a full horn, 1.1 L, of claret in one draught upon coming of age. Hold fast MacLeod!

Most of the castles we visited are still family homes for at least part of the year and are filled with family photos and family trees. It is lovely that the castles have more purpose and are still used as homes and not only for tourist visits. The staff are also friendly and answered all our questions about the castle and clan history.

Dunvegan Castle

View out over the sea from Dunvegan Castle

The Castle gardens

After Dunvegan we went to look for Neist Point Lighthouse. On the map it looked simple enough but beware the small Scottish side roads! Once off the main road, the road is little more than a path; narrow enough for only single file traffic, not exactly well kept and makes for slow going. It is truly beautiful though and with breathtaking views over the valley and bay. Upon reaching our destination we discovered that it was still a long walk down a treacherous looking path out onto a skinny peninsula down to the lighthouse. Guess it’s a good place for a lighthouse! Usually we love this but in the unpredictable on/off rain and epic wind we decided to give it a skip which was a real shame. But we had an appointment to keep! So it was off back down the narrow winding road to the Talisker distillery!

Neist Point. 

The only distillery on the Isle of Skye, Talisker is set on the shores of Loch Harport with amazing views of the rocky Cuillin mountain range. There has been a distillery on this site in various forms since 1830. We enjoyed the tour of this distillery and it was interesting comparing the difference between the Talisker and Oban distilleries and whiskies. The basic ingredients and procedure are the same so it’s really interesting and amazing how the two products can be so different. The orange undertones of Oban whisky are missing in Talsiker and Talisker is much more smoky than Oban; Talisker is well known for its smoky peaty flavour and after taste. Needless to say we left with more than just one bottle….

Sunday dawned just as windy and rainy as the day before and with the promise of a traditional Sunday roast for lunch, we headed off to see what the Trotternish Ridge and Quiraing is all about. The Trotternish ridge stretches from Storr to Quiraing and was formed by a series of landslides exposing a volcanic plateau and a terrain of spikes and towers. The Old Man of Storr is such a spike. Also to be seen in this area is Kilt Rock, a sheer basalt rock face with a waterfall tumbling over the edge, and beautiful views of the Sound of the Isle of Rona and the Wester Ross. The Quiraing is the only stretch of the Trotternish Ridge landslide still moving. We had a lovely walk along the easy path and enjoyed the spectacular views of the folded earth and valleys below. After our Sunday roast it was time for a nap and some R&R at our guesthouse.

Old Man of Storr

Kilt Rock

Views across the Sound from Kilt Rock

Views across Wester Ross from Kilt Rock

The Quiraing

Windy road leading up to the Quiraing

Our three nights on Skye were up and it was time to move onto our next stop: Fort Augustus. We decided to take the long route to Inverness and then down the West shore of Loch Ness to Fort Augustus on the Southern corner of the lake. It was a long drive of more narrow roads and mostly sheltered views of the lake owing to the tall trees. Next time we would probably take the short route!

Lovely little waterfall somewhere between Glencoe and Fort Augustus,
complete with a stepped rock ladder to help salmon swim up the river during breeding season.

 Inverness Castle (now used as a court house) and Flora MacDonald statue 

The one highlight of the day was our first sighting of highland cows! Leaving Skye, there were a whole group close to the side of the road. We pulled off and enjoyed watching them roam and munch on grass. They are huge (adults weigh about 1 ton) with long shaggy coats, but are very chilled and docile. They were not worried at all by all the human activity around them. We were to see many more shaggy herds over the next few days.

Shaggy Highland Cow

The next day was spent exploring the shores of the lake. On the West bank we visited Urquhart castle. Now in ruins but once a mighty stronghold, Urquhart castle features prominently in Scottish history and was often central in the fight for control between Scotland and England. The castle changed hands many times over the centuries and stewards included the noble families of Durward, MacDonald and Grant and it was also a royal castle at one point. The short but informative video at the visitor’s center outlines the history of the castle and its place in Scottish history. The castle grounds are quite large and we enjoyed wandering around the ruins imagining what it must have been like in its prime. It was a windy day but the sun was shining for the first time since before Oban!

Grant Tower at Urquhart Castle

Views across the castle grounds

Trebuchet at Urquhart 

(giant sling shot for hurling boulders at castle defenses)

Boibs at Urquhart

We continued up the Western shore, passing Inverness and then heading down the Eastern Shore. We discovered that there isn’t much on the Eastern side and most of the small towns and things to do were on the West bank. We did however find Foyers Falls, a beautiful waterfall a short walk in a forest area from the main road. We were hoping to see red squirrels in this area but none were obliging.

Foyers Falls

We were really keen to do the Road to the Isles Tour but after several long days in the car already and not wanting to brave anymore narrow windy roads, we gave the tour a skip and spent a quieter day around the Fort Augustus area. The main attraction in this area is walking and boating on the lake. We passed a pleasant morning in the sun walking around the small town that is Fort Augustus, admiring the mist on tranquil Loch Ness and watching boats traverse up the locks of the Caledonian Canal. The Caledonian Canal is 60 miles (97 km) long with a total of 28 locks connecting Fort William and Inverness. The canal is one third man made and the rest is made up of the Lochs Dochfour, Ness, Oich and Lochy in the Great Glen. Neptune’s Staircase near Fort William with 8 locks is the longest staircase lock in Britain. We were satisfied with the 5 in Fort Augustus. It is possible to rent boats and spend a week going up the Caledonian Canal and back.

Mist over tranquil Loch Ness

Locks on the Caledonian Canal at Fort Augustus 

Boats in a lock with Loch Ness in the background

On our tour of Loch Ness the previous day we discovered the small town of Invermoriston 10 minutes drive away. We headed out to explore this small but cosy village. We enjoyed a short 30 minute walk to the Invermoriston Falls, the Thomas Telford bridge built in 1813, St Columba’s well and the group of shaggy haired Highland Cattle in the field behind the car park. Invermoriston is also a good stop over point on the Great Glen Way, a 127 km path for walking or cycling between Fort William and Inverness. We joined the Great Glen Way for a 90 min walk through the forest before heading back to Fort Augustus just in time to avoid a sudden heavy downpour!

Boibs walking at Invermoriston

White water rafters at Invermoriston 

The afternoon was spent drinking hot chocolate and playing scrabble in the hotel drawing room. And then it was time for what we (read Bron) had been looking forward to the whole holiday: a Ceilidh at the local town hall! Ceilidh is a Gaelic word meaning ‘a visit’ but in modern times has come to mean a party with traditional Gaelic music and dancing. The dances, or reels, are extremely energetic and have fantastic names like the Dashing White Sergeant, the Gay Gordon’s and Strip the Willow. We were introduced to Ceilidh dancing at Dan and Sam’s wedding earlier in the year and were looking forward to repeating the fun. The dances require a lot of energy but are good fun. Generally the dances involve changing partners frequently and it is a great way to move around the room meeting different people. No previous experience is required as all the dances are explained and demonstrated by the ‘caller’. We had a great evening out, would definitely do it again and highly recommend it to anyone with the opportunity.

Our three nights in Fort Augustus were up and it was time to move onto our final destination for this holiday: Airth Castle at Falkirk. More about that next time!

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Scotland: Glasgow and Oban

After a crazy 7 weeks apart, the boibs were finally back together! Hooray! We had one busy day of catching up in Rotterdam before jetting to Scotland which included admin (blah!), a photo expo, lunch at Hotel New York, the new Wolverine movie (Hugh Jackman!) and dinner with our friends Claire and Joppe. Then it was time for our two week Scottish holiday!

We arrived in Glasgow early on Sunday morning and after checking into our hotel, still had plenty of time to explore. We headed into the city to see what we could find. First stop was the Willow Tea Rooms for a spot of tea and lunch. Designed by Scottish architect and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the Willow Tea Rooms opened in October 1903 and are the most famous of the 19^th century Glasgow tea rooms. Whilst in the UK, we indulged in all the English foods we missed, like scones and pies and Sunday roast. But particularly scones! And this was our first scone stop.

We continued down the Style Mile and it was not long before we had our first taste of Scottish bagpipes. We stumbled upon the band Clanadonia playing in the streets of Glasgow. Dressed in kilts, pronounced ‘kelts’, and with long dreadlocks, this is a drums and pipe band with a difference! Extremely passionate and fiery and a pleasure to watch, Clanadonia are real entertainers. We really enjoyed the addition of tribal drums to the bagpipes, maybe that’s just Africa in us coming out. We were to see many a piper over the coming two weeks but this group stands out as the best. Check out this youtube clip to see what we mean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7LegOP7z0o.

Clanadonia performing on the streets of Glasgow

Statue of Wellington outside the Gallery of Modern Art 

We had a lovely afternoon wandering around town and landed up at Glasgow Cathedral and the necropolis at the end of town. Walking back it was time to find some dinner. Coming to Scotland we expected to see a lot of castles, bagpipes and highland cows. But not an Indian restaurant on every corner! Glasgow could seriously give Durban a run for its money with the number of Indian eateries. We finally chose a suitable looking one and had a lovely meal with the biggest naan bread we have ever seen! Bron is not a huge curry fan but the waiter helped her choose a very mild creamy curry which they made even milder for her and it was absolutely delicious! We highly recommend trying Akbar’s in Glasgow even if you aren’t a big curry fan.

Monday was our first full day on holiday and time to take it slow. Our hotel was on the edge of the city but close to the museums and university. In the morning we took a walk past Glasgow University up to the botanical gardens and enjoyed a cup of tea and a scone after walking around the various greenhouses. After tea, we ambled down to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. We enjoyed the display of Scottish wildlife and the display on the life and work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The museum’s most famous piece is Christ of Saint John of the Cross by Dali which caused a lot of controversy at the time of its purchase in the early 1950’s. We both liked the piece but can appreciate how different it must have been at the time.

At the botanical gardens 

The Kelvingrove and its immaculate bowling greens

Our two nights in Glasgow were up and time to move onto our next stop: Oban. But first a day of sightseeing on the way!

Our route went along picturesque Loch Lomond passing through Balmaha and Luss on opposite sides of the lake before crossing the Trossachs mountain range to Inverary. On the way to Luss we passed a Bird of Prey Centre and decided to stop off and take a look. We loved the fuzzy owls of all sizes, the impressive eagle, hawks, falcons and other birds at this centre. The staff were very friendly and so enthusiastic, answering all our questions and telling us all the intricacies about flying these ‘bods’. Inverary looked like a lovely quaint seaside town and it is a pity we didn’t have more time to explore here. We didn’t have time for Inverary Castle either, it just isn’t possible to visit every castle in Scotland. (For Downton Abbey fans, the Summer holiday with the Scottish relatives was filmed here.) There was only time for a quick view of Inverary castle and then it was on to Oban and the Scottish Highlands!

View over Loch Lomond from Balmaha

Boibs at Balmaha

Fishing boats at Balmaha

Furry friend at the Bird of prey Centre

Views to be had in the Trossoch's area

Thistles in flower

Inverary Castle

Our GPS, Kate, chose to stop working when we left Inverary, and if it wasn’t for the good old fashioned directions the guest house had emailed us, we would still be looking for our accommodation in Oban! Nice work Kate. Fortunately she only needed a good night’s sleep and a reboot in the morning and she was as good as new. We did have one more incident with her but she always came round. Eventually.

We loved our time in Oban. It is a beautiful seaside holiday town and an excellent base for exploring from. We stayed at the Old Manse Guesthouse with the super friendly hosts Anne and Simon. Thanks for an awesome stay! It was the best of our holiday.

Our first day in Oban dawned bright and clear so we scooted off early to get tickets for the Three Isles Tour. From Oban we caught a ferry to Craignure on the Isle of Mull where a bus was waiting to take us across the island to Fionnphort. On this bus ride we saw the only red deer we were to see on the holiday. At Fionnphort we caught a boat to the Isle of Staffa. It was at this point that the weather changed. It began to rain and continued to rain for most of the remainder of our time in Oban.

Views from the ferry crossing from Oban to Craignure

Red deer on Mull

Staffa is a small remote island well known for its cave and basalt columns. We had about an hour to expore Staffa before heading back on the rickety boat to Iona. Staffa is quite wild with beautiful views over the ocean and back toward the mainland. Once on Iona, we grabbed a bite to eat and then went to explore Iona Abbey. Iona Abbey was founded by Saint Columba in AD 563. It has a remarkable history and is a very sacred place. The first High Cross was carved here and the Book of Kell’s, now housed at Trinity College in Dublin, were written here. These sacred manuscripts were moved from Iona to Ireland for safe keeping during a period of Viking raids. A short stroll around Iona and it was back on the ferry to Fionnphort, then the bus to Craignure and the last ferry to Oban. It was a long day out with a lot of travelling but well worth it.

On Staffa

Fingel's Cave

The boat waiting to take us back to Iona

Iona Abbey 

High Cross at Iona Abbey

The cloister at Iona Abbey

On Iona 

On our second day in Oban, we stayed local and explored the town. We started with McCaig’s tower near our accommodation before heading into town. McCaig’s tower is built of Bonawe granite and has a circumference of 200 metres. It was commissioned by John Stuart McCaig as a long lasting monument to his family and to keep the stone masons employed during the winter months. It was intended to be a museum and art gallery but was not completed after his death.

View from inside McCaig's Tower

From McCaig’s tower, we strolled into town and then across the bay along the shoreline to Dunollie Castle, home of the chiefs of clan MacDougall. Not much of the castle remains, but the old farmhouse is well cared for and showcases the history of the MacDougall family and clan. Then it was tea time! We indulged in scones and waffles at the Oban Chocolate Company.

The weather had been rolling in off the sea all day and where better to hide from the rain than the local whisky distillery? We really enjoyed the tour at the distillery learning how single malt whisky is made. Oban whisky has 4 distinct flavours, or so they say; smoke from the peat, sea salt, orange and honey. It was interesting walking around the distillery discovering where the different flavours came from. At the beginning of the tour you can’t smell anything, somewhere in the middle there is a really strong orange smell but by the end it is gone again. We got to taste the 14 year old whisky straight from the barrel before it is watered down to the desired alcohol content of 43 % before bottling and the final product. We really enjoyed our tour here and highly recommend it!

A not so sunny Oban bay

And then it was time to move onto the Isle of Skye.

More of our Socttish Adventure next time! Hope you’ve had a good week!

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