Sun, 27 Oct 2002

author Tim	location Carlisle, Cumbria, England
posted 23:19 GMT	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Isle of Skye ( all photos )

A long day's drive ( )
Heading straight South today, it has to be said that we didn't see anything of major interest.
Of course, the scenery we drove through continued to be fantastic, especially around Loch Lomond.
We stopped for a lunch break at a motorway "services", where lunch cost £8 for two sandwiches, a donut and a piece of cake. Sure, that's expensive, but it's just silly when you hear that Liz bought a warm jacket similar to mine just outside the door for £10!
Shortly after that, we crossed back into England.

author Tim	location Onich, Invernesshire, Scotland
posted 20:19 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Isle of Skye ( all photos )

Around the Isle of Skye ( )
Today we made ourselves breakfast at the hostel (where we slept soundly), and did some reading upon just what is worth looking at on the Isle. A book that Peter lent us recommended the drive across from Brogaig to Idrigill was worth it. Very true - the mountain pass looked fantastic in the clear sunny weather.
Next stop along the road was the Dunvegan castle, home of the MacLeod clan and its generations and generations of people called Norman. They used to be feuding with several other clans, and past leaders were plundering villains, even in the eyes of their own clan.
I believe the present leader is the biggest villain of them all however, charging £6 each for entry, and £3 for a guide book! The castle itself was interesting, but certainly they were quite full of themselves. Lots of long lost artifacts, clan pendants, historical swords, etc. The walk around its gardens was probably the highlight.
What was of interest was the dungeon. About ten metres from the main dining room, it is a hole in the ground ten feet deep, with no other way out. The only way in besides that hole was an arrowslit through which smells of the kitchen wafted to the prisoners slowly going mad and dying of hunger.
The cafe on the way out was (suprise, suprise) expensive, and the second gift shop selling clan gadgets was wearing thin. Still, worth a look, if only the price was more reasonable.
Further down that road, we went to an iron-age house called a broch. It used to be a fort, and was most interesting because there was no admission charge! The story about the Scotts being tight on the dollars certainly rears its head everywhere.
We paid our dues once again to get off the island (!), before driving South along roads we've covered two or three times before. Eventual place of rest for the night is a little town called Onich, right on Loch Linnhe, a little way South of Fort William. We're in a very homely B&B looking straight out our window at the snow-capped peaks across the Loch. Wonderful vista indeed.
Dinner was in nearby "big" town Ballachulish, at a pub recommended by the proprietor. And what a recommendation - one of the best meals we've had so far this trip, and of course a dessert had to follow.
Daylight saving finishes here tonight. I believe it starts in Oz tonight - anyone care to confirm for us? By my rough calculations, that makes the difference eleven hours now.
We're aiming to stay at Peter's back in Carlisle tomorrow night.

author Tim	location Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland
posted 22:31 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Isle of Skye ( all photos )

Yet Another Isle ( )
This isle isn't so bad however - we can drive back to the mainland whenever we want, as long as we can locate the £4.70 toll!
The Isle of Skye hangs off the Western side of the mainland of Scotland, and in the last few years, much to the disquiet of the locals, a bridge has been built joining it to the mainland.
After leaving our B&B this morning (fantastic breakfast, didn't need to eat anything else until 3pm), we headed further South along the East coast, in search of affordable fuel. Eventually topping up at a Q8 (that's just like a BP or Shell - not sure if the reference to Kuwait is intentional), we then headed across one of the few mountain roads through to the West coast.
Plenty of snow was to be found, though it only reached the road at one point. So we just had to stop and have a snowfight! Liz will tell you that she won when I stepped into a hidden puddle, six inches deep with both feet, however I think I covered her with more snow. And that's what snowfights are really about!
The highlands through here were beautiful the first time we came through, but seeing the snow on the peaks, then all around us really makes them special.
Eventually arriving on Skye, we called in for a bit of a brochure collection run, to find out just what there is to do here. All this preparation was wasted when we decided to "just drive to the end of the thing". Travelling through towns such as Uig, Flodigarry and Broadford, the road signs in both Gaelic and English reminded us that this at least used to be quite a far away place. The ever-present thousand B&Bs told us that the locals being worried about loosing their independence was perhaps not groundless after all.
For such a small Isle, it has a huge number of very high peaks. In the hostel here, there's lots of walkers staying. Speaking of which, we're staying in the "Portree Independent Hostel", in Portree, which serves as the largest town on the isle. An old post office, it is very warm and friendly, and we have a room which would sleep four in bunks, however we are the only two in it.
We cooked dinner in, had a good chat before retiring to our respective reading materials. Tomorrow we are aiming to take in all the Isle has to offer, before heading back across to the mainland and South a bit further.
Oh, and Peter has actually received my replacement camera!

author Tim	location Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland
posted 22:31 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Isle of Skye ( all photos )

Yet Another Isle ( )
(Continued from Scotland 3)
This isle isn't so bad however - we can drive back to the mainland whenever we want, as long as we can locate the £4.70 toll!
The Isle of Skye hangs off the Western side of the mainland of Scotland, and in the last few years, much to the disquiet of the locals, a bridge has been built joining it to the mainland.
We called in for a bit of a brochure collection run, to find out just what there is to do here. All this preparation was wasted when we decided to "just drive to the end of the thing". Travelling through towns such as Uig, Flodigarry and Broadford, the road signs in both Gaelic and English reminded us that this at least used to be quite a far away place. The ever-present thousand B&Bs told us that the locals being worried about loosing their independence was perhaps not groundless after all.
For such a small Isle, it has a huge number of very high peaks. In the hostel here, there's lots of walkers staying. Speaking of which, we're staying in the "Portree Independent Hostel", in Portree, which serves as the largest town on the isle. An old post office, it is very warm and friendly, and we have a room which would sleep four in bunks, however we are the only two in it.
We cooked dinner in, had a good chat before retiring to our respective reading materials. Tomorrow we are aiming to take in all the Isle has to offer, before heading back across to the mainland and South a bit further.
Oh, and Peter has actually received my replacement camera!

(customised)