Isle of Skye is an island located in the Highlands of Scotland very far northwest. We were hoping since it was so remote that we would be able to catch the Northern lights and kept looking at the sky to check but we never saw them.
The first stop in the Isle of Skye was a town called Portree. Portree is the capital and also largest town on the Isle of Skye and it is a very popular place among tourists. The most iconic part of the town is the harbor that is fringed by cliffs and these painted houses that resemble the colored houses in Nhavn. The town was very cute and had many little art galleries and shops but for the most part it felt pretty empty. They offer a lot of ferries in the summer to other islands from the port but we came at the time it was technically still winter so none of them were operating.
Following our walk in the town of Portree we hiked up to Old Man of Storr. The Old Man of Storr is a massive rock that can be seen for miles and miles and is situated on the North of Skye in a region called the Trotternish peninsula. The actual formation of rocks was created by a landslide and was barely visible from the bottom as it was covered in layers of billowing fog. The hike was roughly around 3 miles of uphill climbing on the way there. The views were incredible! While this cliff was jagged and rocky, down below you could see endless highlands and the ocean. Considering how much it rained in Scotland I was surprised by how brown the fields were but I guess we are just coming out of winter and in a few weeks it will all be green. I really enjoyed the hike and despite it being a little chilly, it wasn’t too bad. On the way down there was another path that I wandered down a little bit for since I was eager to hike more.
We stopped along the road at a waterfall that was gushing down from the hillside rapidly. There are so many waterfalls in Scotland!
For lunch we drove to a place called the Oyster Shed near Talliska. There was a sign that read that the road was in substandard conditions and it truly was as there were so many potholes. What is also interesting is that most of the roads are only big enough to accommodate one car. There are several passing zones so quite often you have to wait for other cars to pass before proceeding. When we arrived at the Oyster Shed the name made more sense as the little restaurant was situated in a shed. It was definitely quite popular as by the time we got there all the oysters were sold out. An oyster shed with no oysters. Tragic. Although, I wasn’t complaining as that meant I got to eat lobster! The lobster was delicious and cooked with butter and garlic. I had never eaten a lobster like that and it was so much lobster meat! Lunch was very delicious.
My dad really wanted to go to the Whiskey distillery in Talisker so that was our next stop. I am not a whiskey drinker so I took one sip and that was all for me.
Fairy Pools was next on our agenda. The pools are a natural waterfall coming from the mountains that stretches for 10 miles. The walking path is right along the waterfall and there are little waterfalls varying in size every couple hundred of feet. There were so many waterfalls! The pool below the falls was a gorgeous aqua color which is likely where the pools derived their name from. We walked about 4 miles total going until the base of the mountain where the pools became more sparse.
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