Sorry if I am not returning reads and rates but I have no way of telling who has rated my reviews no...
Sorry if I am not returning reads and rates but I have no way of telling who has rated my reviews now despite the fact that Ciao says it is possible!
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For me The Isle of Skye is one of the most beautiful places that God created here on earth. I have visited the island on three occasions so far and am already looking forward to returning.
The island is one of contrasts, from the brooding Cullin Mountains to the lush greenery around Armadale. It forms part of the island group known as the Inner Hebrides and is set off the north eastcoast of Scotland.
The easiest way to reachSyke is via the bridge over the Kyle of Lochalsh. This is an expensive toll bridge, which most of the islanders did not want to see built, and I have to say I agree with them. I think that Skye should have been left as it was with links only via ferries. Talking of which, the other ways to Skye are via ferries. A Caledonian MacBrayne car ferry runs from Mallaig to Armadale, and a small private car ferry takes six cars at a time across the Sound of Sleat
from Kylerhea to Glenelg.
Portree is the capital of the island, but I’ve already written a detailed opinion of the town so I won’t go into details here. Suffice it to say that Portree has a lovely harbour, some nice shops and a wealth of varied accommodation.
There are many things to do on Skye, not least of which is to admire the breathtaking scenery. There are lochs and waterfalls around every corner, and various museums dedicated to the life of the crofters. To give you a feel for the place I’ll tell you about my favourite places on the island.
At he far north of the island are the ruins of Duntulm Castle. The MacDonalds built this in 17th century on the site of Celtic fort. It is perched on the edge of the cliff giving dramatic views of the bay and there are walks down to the shore and along the headland. Often there is a piper playing the bagpipes here at the castle. There is no charge for entry, but be careful if you’re with children as the cliffs can be dangerous.
The rock formation at the north of the island is called the Quiraing and is unlike anything that I have ever seen anywhere else. The name is Gaelic and means ‘pillared stronghold’ and the area is a mass of pillars and pinnacles created by glaciers. There are many walks in the area but stout walking shoes are recommended as the terrain is not for the faint hearted.
To the west of the Quiraing is Kilt Rock Waterfall, flowing from Loch Mealt over the edge of the cliff in a stunning sheer drop. This is only visible by parking on the headland car park and walking to the edge of the cliff to look back towards the land. There is a sturdy fence at the edge of the cliff I might add!
Farther south along the same road (A855) is the Old Man of Storr. This is a black basalt column 160 feet high and 40 feet in diameter. It is a stiff climb, which turns into a scramble over steep scree at the top, to reach the base of the column. Even if, like us, you don’t get quite as far as the Old Man the views from the higher part of the track are certainly outstanding.
To the east of the Quiraing is the port of Uig from were you can catch the car ferry to North Uist or Harris in the Outer Hebrides. There are one or two shops at Uist, notably the shop selling the beer and wine produced on the island. Funny how we found that one…hic…..
On the far west of the island is Dunvegan Castle, which has been the home of the MacLeods since 1200. It is open to the public and houses books, pictures and many relics of 20 generations of MacLeods. There is a charge for entry to this castle but I’m afraid I don’t know how much it is currently.
A short drive from Dunvegan Castle is the Skye Toy Museum. This is in what looks like an ordinary house and I have to say I didn’t expect much from it at all, but how wrong I was! The whole museum only consisted of two rooms but we spent a couple of very happy hours there. The gentleman who runs the museum obviously loves his job and is on hand to talk about the toys and games and, where possible show how they work. He also has quite a few schoolboy tricks to show involving spiders, snakes and the like. There are some really old toys but most of them range from the quite recent back to about 50 years old. This meant it was a real voyage of nostalgia for us to see the toys and games we used to play with as children. It was a most entertaining visit and definitely recommended to young and old alike!
Farther south on the same side of the island is the Talisker Distillery. We paid a visit here and were asked if we would like to join a guided tour for a modest fee. Not being a whisky drinker I wasn’t too keen but my partner was interested so off we went. We started with a good-sized shot of the whisky to try and I have to admit that even I liked it. The tour was really interesting with plenty of information about how the whisky is made and why it tastes the way it does.
Towards the south of the island is the mountain range known as the Cullin Hills. These are split into the Red Cullins and the Black Cullins, with the Black Cullins being the higher and tougher to climb. You get an excellent view of the Cullins from the rocky shore at Elgol, where we had a barbecue on the shore. It was lovely to admire the scenery as we watched the sun set over the sea.
There is a boat trip available from Elgol, which will take you across the bay, via the basking seals, to the foot of the Cullins. When you disembark a short walk over some rocky, but not too rough, terrain will take you to Loch Coruisk. This is a pretty and peaceful loch, which can only be reached by sea, as described, or by climbing up and over the Cullins when coming from the opposite direction.
To the south of the island, near to where the car ferry across the Sound of Sleat lands, is the Kylerhea Otter Sanctuary. You walk down a path through shrubs and trees to get to a hide where you can sit and watch the otters in the bay. There is a sign up saying ‘If the otters hear you, you won’t see them’ so everyone sits in silence nudging one another and pointing when otters are spotted.
I’ll close this guide to Skye with a few words about Broadford, which is the first town you reach as you drive on to the island whichever route you take to get there. It has a good selection of shops including The Syke Jewellery Shop, which is well worth a visit if you have the urge to treat yourself. Broadford Bay is pretty, with plenty of boat trips out to the smaller islands to see seals, otters and sometimes even whales. The first year we went to Syke there were two whales actually resident in Broadford Bay!
Syke remains our favourite holiday destination and no doubt we’ll be back there soon.
Thanks for the op. Despite living in England and been around the world a couple of times I have only ever spent 2 days in Scotland - something I intend to put right next year.
BTW you say the islands are in the North east of Scotland but they are on the West coast.
Cheers.
Michael-S 14.04.2001 00:24
I couldn't agree more. Many thanks for this excellent review. I will certainly come to the Isle of Skye again, hopefully soon. Take care, Michael.
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Advantages: beautiful scenery, peaceful, silent Disadvantages: Very dependent on the season and the weather. And the weather is often fickle with tourists.
Apr 13th, 2001
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