Scotland Days 5 - 9
Day Five, August 2. Got up incredibly early to catch the 6:55 am ferry from Oban to Mull. That ferry ride is about 40 minutes, so we had time for breakfast on board, and got some good salty sea views. Once we got to Mull we had a drive of about an hour (or more... it's a bit of a blur) on the scariest stretch of single lane road I've ever driven on. It's miles of a road barely wide enough for one car with two-way traffic, so there's lots of pulling over or backing up into little plassing places carved into the side of the road every so often. The scenery was gorgeous, but being the driver and being absolutely terrified the whole time, I couldn't really enjoy the vistas much. We eventually got to Fionnphort, where we met up with the rest of our travel companions and took a short ferry ride over to the Holy Isle of Iona. I love a holy isle, it must be the 18 years of Catholic school lying dormant in my brain. It started off rainy and pretty gross out, but when we were on Iona the sun came out and it was beautiful for at least some of our visit. Roamed around old churchy ruins for a bit, then got lunch at a little cafe and waited for the ferry back to Mull. Once back over on Mull we had a 2.5 hour drive all the way to the other end of the island to our hotel, Glengorm Castle. The drive was excruciating but we eventually made it. Mull is so rural and remote, it feels like the ends of the earth. The castle was amazing, though, I wish we could have had two nights there as we'd originally planned (we were supposed to be there the night before, when we were stuck in Oban). Left the castle for dinner in Tobermory, at a hotel restaurant with an unbelievable view of the harbor. Mull is very pretty! But I don't think I'd go back because I really don't enjoy being at the mercy of ferry schedules to get on and off an island.
Day Six, August 3. We had a long drive ahead of us to get to the Isle of Skye. We took a ferry off Mull, and as we paid for our ticket on board had a truly creepy experience. The ticket lady peered at me and said "you already have your ticket?" She said she was certain she'd seen me two days ago and gave me the strangest look, it was unsettling. So, uh, I guess I have a doppleganger? We had yet another ferry after about an hour of driving, and then more and more driving after that. Skye is VERY far away! The road approaching Skye had some very majestic views, and we were able to make a quick stop at Eilean Donan castle for some pictures of it (it's a castle that's on tons of Scotland advertising / postcards / books). Obviously, when we drive over the Skye Bridge we blasted the Outlander theme song, because when else will we ever be going over the sea to Skye. Stopped for some groceries and then again to pet some Highland cows, and eventually landed at our group's rental house in Sligachan for the next few days. A nice dinner at the Sligachan Hotel bar capped off the night.
Day Seven, August 4. Spent the morning at Dunvegan Castle. It's a cute little castle but very, very touristy, and it was super crowded. A nice experience but not as windswept and romantic as I'd imagined. On our way back to our house we paused at a little roadside museum, the Giant Angus MacAskill Museum. Literally just one room in a thatched roof cottage about a really tall guy. No one was even working there, it was just an honor box to leave a few pounds and have a look around. In the afternoon we went to the Fairy Pools, another extremely touristy destination. It was a long walk from the parking lot to the pools, but very pretty. I think the number of highly stylized pictures of the pools online make it a little bit of a letdown to see them in person, because it's really just some waterfalls in a very nice valley between mountains, but it's so crowded with tourists I'm not sure it's totally worth going out of one's way for. But then again, can you go to Skye and not go to the Fairy Pools? You might as well if you're there! It rained buckets on us for a few minutes once were out at the pools, and by the time we got back to the car it was sunny again. That night we got take out from an Indian restaurant in Portree and just relaxed at the house for the evening.
Day Eight, August 5. Started the day with a hike at the Fairy Glen (different from the fairy pools!). It was stunningly gorgeous, probably one of my favorite places from the entire vacation. After the glen we went over to Staffin beach to look for some dinosaur footprints on the beach. I think we were actually on the wrong beach, and the tide was also too high, so we didn't find any footprints. But it was very pretty! We also drove through the Quaraing on our way to the beach. We had originally thought to possibly hike in the Quaraing for a bit, but the road to get there was terrifying and it didn't seem woth the hassle of the drive. We stopped at a cafe in Staffin for a coffee and scones break, and as we sat down a Belle & Sebastian song was playing. I have never felt more concentrated Scottishness than that moment. Rounded off the afternoon with a trip to the Museum of Island Life, a living history museum with a bunch of little thatched roof cottages done up in period style, way up on the northern tip of Skye. It felt like the edge of civilization up there. There's a memorial to Flora MacDonald (of Bonnie Prince Charlie fame) in a graveyard next to the museum, so we stopped there before driving back to the house. Ended the night with a dinner out in Portree.
Day Nine, August 6. Another looooong driving day. Left Skye to make our way south. We stopped at Fort Augustus for lunch and a Loch Ness cruise. Then continued on our way through Glencoe to the Drovers Inn, our stop for the night. The Drovers Inn is very old and super haunted, and of course we booked "the haunted room." No ghost sightings at all, but it does feel like you're an old timey traveler on a weary journey when you stay at an old coaching inn.
More in the next post!