Look in any Scotland travel book and you are sure to find a section on the Isle of Skye. It is no surprise why it is the premier destination to travel to when going to the Scottish Highlands. I spent my weekend driving all over the Scottish countryside through a CityLife Tours trip. My weekend was jam packed with photo and food stops as well as lots of driving. The Isle of Skye is about six hours from Edinburgh. In those six hours there and then six hours back, I was blown away by the unbelievable beauty of the Highlands. It looked so serene and pure that I could have sworn it was a painting.
My tour departed Edinburgh early Saturday morning when it just began to rain, and this weather stayed with us the rest of the day. As we drove more North, rolling hills began to surround us instead of neighborhoods and shopping centers. As we continued on, the hills started to become tall mountains. There were patches of forty-foot-high trees that looked dwarfed by the mountains nearby. Still, serene lochs began to appear as well. The rain continued as we made our first photo stop at Stirling.
We only had about ten minutes to stretch our legs and take a few photos with Stirling Castle in the far background. We drove further north to Glencoe for more pictures.
Glencoe was absolutely stunning. The fog from the rain clung to the tops of the mountains as well as the trees. The colors of the highlands are exactly that of the fall foliage, lots of dark greens and sunburnt orange and brownish yellow. Everything looked so natural and untouched. I hope it never changes. We continued on to the nearby Fort William for our next stop. We had just enough time to eat lunch but no time to explore unfortunately.
I definitely want to go back to Fort William since it seemed like a cute, scenic town that would be fun to explore. I ate lunch at a vegan café called The Wildcat. I ordered a mocha latte and homemade sourdough toast with butter and local jam. Both were very delicious. The mocha was exceptional. They sprinkled some chocolate powder on top which stuck to the rip of the cup, so you got to taste a little bit with every sip. The sourdough bread was very good as well. It was homemade and very thick with a subtle sourdough flavor. I am not usually a fan of sourdough, but The Wildcat’s bread was well made.
From Fort William, we traveled to my favorite spot of the entire trip, Eilean Donan Castle. It was here where I was actually thankful for the rain. With the dark clouds and misty weather, the castle looked mysterious and fantastical in photos. I guess movie directors thought the same idea too since numerous films have been shot at the castle; some of which include: Made of Honor, Highlander, Bonnie Prince Charlie, and Rob Roy. Weddings are actually held at the castle as well! The tour of the castle cost only seven pounds with a group rate. The tour for the castle was probably the best I have been on. They had an attendant in every room in case visitors had questions about anything. In two of the main rooms, the Billeting Room and the Banqueting Hall, we got to listen to full presentations about the history of the castle, the use of the room, the story behind the paintings as well as some information about the current owners.
The castle has been kept in the MacRae family for over a hundred years and some of the family still live in the castle buildings (not the main building since it is used for tours). The castle tour guides presented the history of the building with humor and interest which made the experience so much better. It is always nice to explore an ancient building and actually understand the significant of what you are looking at. After exploring the castle as well as the beautiful scenery of its exterior, I made my way to the gift shop to buy their guide book since I enjoyed the tour so much (it was only six pounds!). I was sad to drive away from Eilean Donan but I couldn’t have asked for a better tour of this amazing landmark. From the castle, we came to our last stop of the day in Broadford to get settled into our hostel and find a place for dinner.
My group stayed at the Skye Basecamp in Lime Park, Broadford, which was right on the edge of a beautiful body of water that had a waterfall streaming into. The hostel was fairly decent. We had a sink and toilet in our room which was convenient. The shower area was upstairs, and the ground floor included a small comfortable sitting area. For dinner, I went to the Claymore Restaurant.
By this time, I was starving which made their food taste even better. I ordered their lobster special of the day, since seafood is a highland specialty. My meal came with a pepper salad and two warm pieces of bread. Everything tasted divine, especially to an empty stomach. I scarfed the bread down like it was chocolate. Afterwards, I went back to the hostel, feeling content with a filled stomach.
Wishing you warm drinks and new adventures,
Maria
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