Scotland #10: The Road to Skye

Scotland #1: Welcome to Edinburgh!
Scotland #2: The View from Arthur’s Seat
Scotland #3: The View from Scott Monument
Scotland #4: Going Forth to Forth
Scotland #5: The Beauty of Fife
Scotland #6: Whisky Fail
Scotland #7: Defeat at Culloden
Scotland #8: Cawdor’s Not-So-Secret Garden
Scotland #9: The Loch Ness Loop

As we headed west from Inverness to the Isle of Skye, we had a packed schedule ahead of us. We wanted to stop at Eileen Donan Castle, cross over onto the Isle of Skye, head south to sample a short hike, and then head north to our hotel in Portree, Skye.

The road to Skye

Our first stop though was completely unexpected. Somewhere, between Inverness and Skye, we pulled over to a scenic outcrop overlooking a river. We followed the stairs down to the water and found a boarded path layered across the marsh. For a while, we were the only people there, soaking up the beautiful solitude. We walked, we we relaxed, and, of course, we took a bunch of pictures.

We were about to head back to the car when I shouted, “Oh my god! Look at the reflection.” The sun had shifted, and the bright blue sky reflected perfectly in the river. Hello there pretty picture!

By the time we reached Eileen Donan Castle, however, our bright blue sky had turned a murky grey.

Ten minutes later, the sky opened up, and the rain descended. And descended. And descended.

It became abundantly clear that our hike was not going to happen. After a short nap in the Eileen Donan cafe, we jumped in the car and headed to Skye. But we would not let a silly thing like a downpour get in the way of taking pictures. Lisa even bought an umbrella. I was not so smart.

Here, we are just about to cross over the bridge to Skye.

As we drove through Skye to our hotel in Portree, the rain refused to let up. We marveled at this intrepid biker.

Sheeeeeep!

After some harried driving in the pouring rain, we finally made it to Portree, the largest town on Skye.