The hikers on the Quairaing.
Our first full day on the Island of Skye was dedicated to following the Trotternish Peninsula tour outlined in Rick Steves’ excellent Great Britain guidebook. The morning started just a few miles north of our home at the Quaraing, which offered perhaps the best overall views we have seen so far on the trip. Grandma Mac took in the impressive views from the paved overlook, while the rest of us hiked a few hundred feet on the dirt path to garner another vantage point of the surrounding scenery.
Amanda helps Emmie across a stream in the path.
The next spot we had highlighted to visit was a ruined castle which had been abandoned since the mid-1700s. We misidentified a ruined WW2-era fort as potential castle ruins and took possibly the bumpiest drive in Skye to the site. While the fort ruins were fairly uninteresting, the drive itself was interesting, and, once again, we found ourselves with stunning views of the surrounding water and extreme northern Scottish isles.
View from the northern shore of the Trotternish Peninsula.
Afterwards, we spent some time in the worthwhile Skye Museum of Island Life, which featured seven thatched huts dating to mid-1800s. Three were in their original location and used by a family as recently as 1957. Each was filled with a mix of era-appropriate antiques and documentation highlighting various aspects of the lives of past Skye settlers. While a bit of detail was lost due to our distracting kids, we gained some new insight into the island’s history.
Keeping track of Emmie at the Skye Museum of Island Life.
At the end of the driveway, we took obligatory photos in front of the iconic red telephone booth and smaller red mailbox.
Our peninsula tour continued with the short drive to our lunch stop, Ella’s Cafe at the Sheiling in Uig on the west coast of Skye. Though Gee Gee’s soup was disappointing, the rest of the simple entrees shined: local smoked meats and cheese for Amanda, a leek and Scottish blue cheese tart for Grandma Mac, and venison and veggies on fresh-based focaccia for me.
Our lunch spot, Ella’s Cafe at the Sheiling.
We then were off to Portree, Skye’s largest town and home to several gift shops and galleries selling everything from the cheapest China-made souvenirs to high-end local artwork and pottery. While we walked away with only a handful of purchases, Noah and Gee Gee enjoyed homemade ice cream while I stocked up on a few more snacks at the grocery store.
Our final stop on the peninsula tour was at Kilt Rock, an impressive coastline featuring a 60-meter waterfall. Being the end of a long travel day, the stop was a short one, mainly for photo documentation.
Part two will feature our exquisite dinner experience at Three Chimneys, which completely lived up to its reputation as one of the top restaurants in the entire country of Scotland.
Every day I look forward to the next installment of your travel blog. Keep up the good work!