Isle of Skye

The drive from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye is a marvel. This place has a mother lode of stunning landscapes and the trip has me photographing and videoing the dramatic mountains and lochs at nearly every turn. This reaches fever pitch as we get closer to the island, passing Eilean Donan and skirting lochs and the remarkable coastline.

Finally we cross the bridge over to the island. It’s as much as I can do to squeal, ‘jeez, would ya look at that’, every few minutes and point my paltry phone camera at the magnificent views. You even have a long, prime time view of The Old Man of Storr from the road as you drive up the east coast of the Trotternish Peninsula. 

We’re really lucky with the weather for our first few days, so we head off on our first morning to walk the Quiraing. As we journey towards the start of the walk, I’m filled with joy and awe and gratitude that lasts long through the day. The views are jaw-droppingly beautiful. The walk takes us along the bottom of an escarpment for about 4 kms and then up to the summit and across the top on the way back. The whole way we’re looking out over a sun-drenched floodplain that stretches to the sea and a curving beach to rival Wineglass Bay in Tassie. To either side are cliffs and dramatic rock formations formed by volcanic movements and carved over time by glaciers and landslides. There are very few trees, the ground covered instead by grasses and moss-peppered rocks and dotted with the odd sheep or cow. 

The next morning we walk to The Old Man of Storr, again blessed with sunshine as well as just enough mist to provide the requisite drama for this eerie landmark.

We follow this up with a walk out to Rubha nam Brathairean (Brother's Point), which affords great views up the coast to Kilt Rock and south back to the Storr. It involves walking up and over a rocky crag called Dùn Hasan out onto a surprisingly spacious grassy plateau and from there out to the point, which provides many comfy little grassy nooks in amongst the rocks pools and lichen-covered rocks. It’s a gorgeous spot, especially so as there’s no one else around!

There’s a bit of rain the next day, so we visit Coral Beach and Dunvegan Castle…

Our second last day, we do a more ambitious walk to the summit of the Storr (the cliffs behind The Old Man). The mist and fog have really set in, so the views aren’t as clear, but it’s just as epic…

Sim and Aelie head to the Fairy Pools in the afternoon while I catch up with my book and some lovely local gin 🫠… 

Our final day, we have a lovely wander around Portree and then sit down for a cuppa and scrumptious cake with my second cousin, Kirsty (who I’ve only recently learned is a GP here), and husband, Andrew.

I was really moved by our time here. I knew it had spectacular spots but I hadn’t quite realised how stunning the whole place is. I’ve really had my injection of wonder and awe. My soul feels full.

Next stop: south of England