Getting to the Isle of Skye takes from Glasgow about 4 hours. A little bit more probably but we made a stop at the Eilean Donan Castle first, which is right before the Skye bridge. We stayed the night at The Schoolhouse in Dornie, just across from the castle. It’s a charming Bed&Breakfast and made for an excellent starting point of our Isle of Skye exploration.
The Eilean Donan Castle is a must-see when going to Skye. Although it does look way more spectacular from the outside. Still, it is worth a stop. The interior is a bit of a letdown though. The castle has only been renovated at the beginning of the 20th century, laying in ruins for two centuries.
Eilean Donan Castle @Scotland
Once you are on the Isle of Skye you can’t miss the Bridge of Sligachan. The old bridge is worth a stop to take a picture of. Also the view on the Black Cuillin mountains is breathtaking. My pictures are not doing the landscape justice. The hotel next to the bridge has a really good restaurant and an open fire-place. Very lovely!
old Bridge of Sligachan @Scotland
Black Cuillin mountains @Isle of Skye
Of course you need to see the Trotternish peninsula. But that’s basically a day trip and gets its own post. Upon leaving Portree
Portree @Isle of Skye
behind you, head west and you will find Dunvegan Castle. Make sure to check out the visiting times, it is closed for winter. While there go and see Coral Beach. We missed that one because we drove on for a bit from Dunvegan instead of turning north. We did find a good beach though, just not a white one with crushed corals. Somewhere in the back there is also the castle.
near Dunvegan Castle @Isle of Skye
From Dunvegan Castle we made our way to Neist Point Lighthouse. It’s on the most westerly point of Skye and a fairly easy 45 minutes walk from the parking. Fairly easy when the wind is not gusting. I had to stay away from the cliffs so not to get blown over. The lighthouse appears shut down but we manged to see it in detail.
Neist Point Lighthouse @Isle of Skye
Also in this area is the Talisker distillery and the Talisker Beach. We left part of our group at the distillery and the other half explored the beach. We were there at flood times, so didn’t see the sandy part. It was still impressive though, this very black beach with the waterfall in the back. Still very strong wind though, you can see the waterfall getting blown over the cliffs here.
Talisker distillery @Isle of Skye
Talisker Beach @Isle of Skye
Last stop for the day were the Fairy Pools. These small waterfalls form natural pools which look enchanted with their blue-green water. They probably look a lot better in sunshine, but we were already happy to see them in a mix of sun and clouds. It was shortly before it got dark. In November you really have to hurry up the get most out of the daylight. Yours, Pollybert
Fairy Pools at dusk @Isle of Skye
