isle of skye, scotland

August 6-8, 2018

WATCH OUT FOR THOSE SHEEP!

My trip to the Isle of Skye was part of a larger UK trip and in retrospect, I wish I had allotted more time to spend here because it was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. It was unlike anywhere I had been before and I could easily see myself spending a leisurely five days bumming around at one of the numerous B&Bs and exploring the vast landscape.

We flew into Inverness Airport from Bristol Airport and picked up our rental car for the drive to Lower Breakish where our Airbnb was located. So I am from the United States and I have to say that at first, I was very wary of our decision to drive in Scotland. Not only did we have to get used to having the steering wheel on the right side of the car, but we also had to get used to driving on the left side of the road, navigating through unfamiliar territory, and negotiating numerous roundabouts. However, in the end, I do think that this is the best way to explore the countryside at your own pace. You just have to be super careful and hyper-aware all the time while driving as it is easy to slip into old habits.

We arrived at our Airbnb, a two guest-bedroom, quaint house along a picturesque road around dinnertime. We had dinner at a local restaurant down the road, Red Skye (reservations recommended), and turned in for the night after a long day.

In the morning we had a delicious breakfast prepared by our host and met our fellow travelers staying in the other guest bedroom, an American couple who were both teachers. One of them had some Scottish lineage and enthusiastically gave us an abridged history as well as some good tips about where they had visited the day before.

As we only had one full day in Skye, we decided we had to get in a Scottish Castle and hike at least one of the many famous landscape destinations. We decided to go to Dunvegan Castle of the Clan MacLeod and the Quiraing, formed by a landslip on the Trotternish. We were also able to have a fancy lunch at the famous Three Chimneys Restaurant, where the local seafood was definitely a highlight.

Although our time was incredibly limited, we were able to see a lot of the countryside by necessity of getting from point a to point b, and because we were able to go at our own pace, we had plenty of time to stop and greet our very chill and woolly four-legged friends.