Welcome back to “When Wine Calls”.
In my last post I mentioned that our next stop on this adventure would be back to the Isle of Skye to rewrite history from our previous sojourn. Well, we successfully made it back and it seems so different to that time on our honeymoon over 34 years ago.
On that occasion the bridge to the island was not in place so you had to catch a ferry and we had not booked any accommodation, choosing to wing it as you did in those days. The problem with that plan was that similar to today there was no accommodation left on the island and the only bed we could get was in an old pub where the room was so small that you could stretch your arms out and touch both sides of the room, the TV worked by inserting coins into a box attached to it but it was not needed as you could hear the TV from next door among everything else that was going on in the room through the paper thin walls. Adding to that setting there was torrential rain all night – hardly a romantic setting for a honeymoon. The next morning, rain still bucketing down, we packed our bags, checked out of the hotel, and left the island without seeing any of the sights that the island is famous for, and we have not been back since, until now.
Interestingly, Pauline’s experience in visiting the Isle of Skye prior to us getting together was when she was backpacking and was no better with her and her girlfriend Julie getting stuck on the mainland after coming off the last train for the weekend resulting in them being stuck for 2 nights at Kyle of Lochalsch and having to plead with a B&B owner for a room. The next day in the pouring, windy rain Pauline and Julie caught the ferry across to Isle of Skye which is imbedded in their minds as the worse ferry ride in history, so much so Pauline has blanked out anything they saw except for the ferry ride although she does remember that they cancelled any further crossings due to the weather so they had to return as soon as the one they arrived on departed so in reality she didn’t get to travel the island on that visit either.
On this occasion we were determined to explore the island and instead of the ferry were able to drive onto the island over the Skye Bridge constructed in 1995 with our accommodation being the beautiful Cuillin Hills Hotel at Portree which is on the east coast and set high up overlooking the town and harbour. What a difference compared to our last experiences.
In walking around Portree we found that the number of eating establishments are very limited and nearly all were displaying “Fully Booked Tonight” signs in their windows despite it being mid-morning so if you plan on coming here, I strongly suggest that you pre-book both your accommodation and any restaurants you want to eat at if you want to have an enjoyable visit. In our case our research had warned us so we had booked the restaurant at the hotel for 2 nights and then we enjoyed fresh take away fish and chips on the other night that we bought from a little shop down by the wharf.
The nights at the hotel restaurant were magic with staff really looking after us for Happy Hour and then seating us each night at a table with panoramic views out over the harbour, with the food and French wine superb – we felt very special.
On the way to the Isle of Skye from Foyers we stopped in at Fort Augustus and arrived just as the one of the lock points on the Caledonian Canal were being opened in the morning to let the hire boats travelling from Loch Ness to Loch Oich through. It is fascinating to watch how they travel through the 5 of the overall 29 locks at this point that make up the Canal network that was constructed in the early 19th century and provided a good opportunity to have our morning coffee while we absorbed the time-consuming exercise.
Travelling on through the beautiful highland mountain landscape our next stop was the Eilean Donan Castle, overlooking the Isle of Skye, a Scottish icon and something of a film star having appeared in over 30 movies including the Bond movie “The World is not Enough” and the original Highlanders. It has a fascinating history and is beautifully preserved – well worth a visit with all the other tourists that flock there each day.
On our first day on Isle of Skye we woke up to usual Scottish weather, but we were determined to explore as much of the island over the next two days as we could, so we set off, map in hand for the rugged west coast of the island to visit the renowned “The Fairy Pools”. Throughout the island the Single-Track Roads are prevalent, but we are getting good at attaching ourselves to the rear of other cars in a convoy so that the front car must locate the oncoming cars first and find a “passing place’ for us all to scurry into – far safer approach than being the lead car.
The walk in from the car park was a lot longer and tougher than we expected but the beautiful falls along the route made it worth it. We certainly reached our daily step count on this day with some steep hills along the long route in to negotiate in light drizzle but certainly worth it for the views.
When we left the car park wet and cold, we noticed a sign pointing to coffee some 4 miles further down the single lane track we headed off cautiously down the road wandering where we would end up with no chance for doing a U-turn and dodging sheep grazing along the road.
What we found was a real surprise, Glenbrittle Campsite and Cafe located right on a beach literally in the middle of nowhere with a great cosy coffee hut – what a magnificent setting and the coffee was great with fresh blueberry muffins to match. It is great when you find these real gems on your travels.
The next stop was Dunvegan Castle and Gardens and you really must visit this place if you travel to Isle of Skye to get an appreciation of Scottish history and specifically the McCleod Clan who’s descendants (currently the 30th Head of the Clan) still live in the Castle – fascinating place which also has magnificent gardens attached with names such as the Waterfall Garden, Walled Garden and Round Garden to experience.
We have discovered whilst travelling through the Highlands that photos of the awe-inspiring landscape do not do justice to this spectacular place. When driving through the valleys adjacent to the Lochs and rivers with the mountains towering above you and waterfalls everywhere cascading off their faces you are tempted to stop at almost every opportunity to capture the image before you.
But really the images we have seen on this trip cannot be correctly portrayed on our mobiles, so we are so glad that we have had the time to experience this magical place for ourselves. All the small white cottages sitting high on hills overlooking the ocean and mountains you do wonder how the locals sustain themselves in this environment, but they do, and the locals are so friendly when you chat with them.
The next day we decided to head for the walk up (and I mean “up”) to “The Old Man of Storr”. When we got there a sign stated that there were 2 routes, the Moderate rated track to the left or the Steep rated track to the right. We wisely chose, as it turned out, the former and with no idea how long the track was we set off. It did not take us long (in fact as soon we hit the first ridge) to get exposed to the incredibly strong, cold winds that Scotland is renowned for, but we persisted and kept climbing upwards towards our goal.
After a while on this route, we came to a merge with the Steep route that was even more exposed and could not believe that some people had their dogs (mostly small dogs) with them climbing the track in these conditions. I know our beloved “Snowy” would not have made it up the track without jacking up and sitting down refusing to go any further, but we have encountered so many tourists seeing these sights with their dogs on this trip, which has certainly surprised us given the weather conditions and terrain.
While we came reasonably close to the end of this seemingly endless trek, we decided in view of the strong winds to stop in full view of the Old Man of Storr, take our photos without being blown off the mountain and then scurry back down via the Steep route. That night we had tight leg muscles from the day’s exertion, but it was a lot of fun and proved to ourselves that we are getting steadily fitter on this trip. Our visit to Leith Falls further up the road proved even more challenging with the falls being on a cliff face overlooking the sea. Here, in this totally exposed point the winds we were even stronger with a real risk of blowing you over (which happened to a lady who not so wisely stepped off the path and risked going over the edge).
At that point we decided that that was the end of sightseeing for the day outside of the car, so we drove around the remainder of the north of the island through isolated local villages and back to Portree, soaking up the wonderful views dry from inside the car but again negotiating Single Track roads.
Our last night on the Isle of Skye was a time to enjoy Happy Hour with Scottish whisky (in fact every night on the island has been ‘whisky night for me) and bubbles for Pauline overlooking the tranquil harbour with the majestic mountains in the background followed by dinner with the wonderful French wine that we had uncovered on our first night. Note: it is too hard to write down the name of the wine here so if you come yourselves just ask for the wine marked No 2 on the Wine List as we did, and the hotel staff know exactly what you mean as they have numbered all their wines for that reason.
Our wonderful time on isle of Skye has come to an end and it was so different an experience than our previous attempts to visit. Tomorrow, we leave the island and head south for our return to Edinburgh via the east coast but for now “Wine is Calling Us” for a French dessert wine prior to retiring for the night so we will catch you all again soon.
Bruce & Pauline
When Wine Calls 
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