It's 240 miles to Skye from my house, but it's 240 miles of some of the most wonderful scenery you are liable to encounter. our route took us through Stirling, Callandar, Fort William, and Kyle of Lochalsh. We were in no desperate hurry when we set off for Skye so I set myself a task of not going over 60 MPH. Now for me that's one hell of a task. As it turns out though it wasn't nearly a difficult as I first imagined. The weather as we started out was fair with a decent cover of cloud, visibility was not great but sufficed since we had seen the scenery of the first 100 miles many tines before.

Fort William is a lovely town with some fantastic views. We spent just over 1 ½ hours there having a look at the shops and as I said getting some eats. By this time the sun had won it's battle over the clouds and the sky was almost completely blue. The temperature had risen considerably so for the next part of our journey it was sunroof open and windows down.

We continued on to our next destination, which was Kyle of Lochalsh. This is the last point on the Scottish mainland and appropriately the location of the Skye Bridge. For about 5-10 miles before reaching Kyle of Lochalsh you travel along the side of Lochalsh looking across to some wonderful mountains which were reflecting in the blue waters of the Loch. About a mile or so from Kyle of Lochalsh you get your first glimpse of the Skye Bridge. It's only recently that the tolls have been scrapped for crossing the bridge so there are road works in operation here to remove the old tollbooths. The bridge is only about ½ a mile long and has a small arch. At the apex of the arch you can look either side for what can only be described as more amazing views. I will add some pictures to this review later since they are currently still in the camera.

So tent up we proceeded to start to inflate the air mattress with a portable pump. By this time we were both a bit peckish so decided to halt the inflation and go for something to eat. On leaving the tent we stopped to admire the view over the Cuillin Hills. it was getting a little clouds again but the view was superb. You could feel the freshness of the air.

After spending some time at the pub we returned to the campsite to continue setting up. **$£"^& the pump batteries had run down and the little air that was in the air-bed had escaped cos stupid had not put the plug back in once removing the pump. I know I should have just left the pump running and all would have been fine. So it was a hard surface bed for the night. Anyway we finished off setting up by which time the weather had taken a bad turn. It was now quite cloudy and windy and decidedly colder than it had been before. We went across to the pub again and had coffee. See we had planned for B&B so we hadn't brought a stove or anything, except a lantern.

It was still only 8.00AM and there were lots of people waiting on the Ferry to Harris, most of them seemed to be school children. I thought they were perhaps on a fact finding trip since this seems to be all the rage just now. So from Uig we headed north west and across the island. it was here that we first encountered the single track roads. They have passing places every 100yds or so but you can't drive very fast. Apart from the fact they are very windy they are also very hilly. We passed more mountains some with very unusual shapes to them. Most of the signposts and information plates here are in both English and Gaelic. The names of the mountains are very thought provoking since you are forced to try and imagine how the name was derived. The Old man of Storr for example took a little time to figure out. I won't explain don't want to spoil it just in case you do visit.

Portree is once again a lovely town. it is here that you can do any souvenir shopping, since there are as I said very few shops on the island. Another coffee and sticky bun here set us up for a casual stroll around the town. For such a small place it is bustling with activity there are a lot of pubs and restaurants so getting something to eat here is no problem. By this time the sun had really got into her swing and it was getting very warm. We purchased a few goodies to scoff on our tour and continued down the western side of the island. 9 miles further on we reached our campsite at Sligachan, but we didn't stop instead we proceeded to Broadford which is one of the first places you reach on arriving on Skye. here there is a café, Post Office and small supermarket. After a refill and more supplies we headed once again for Skye Bridge.

Skye has without doubt some of the most impressive scenery I've ever seen and although it is unlikely that I shall return it is equally as unlikely that shall ever forget some of the views I have seen here. It's quiet tranquil and the perfect place to relax. There are plenty of Hotels and B&B's but as I said it's probably advisable to book in advance. There isn't a great deal to do here except check out historic sights ( if you can find them ) and sight see. There are only a few petrol stations on the island and petrol here is much more expensive than on the mainland so fill up before arriving. midge's are also a bit of a problem so get some insect repellent in too. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip, and shall remember it for a long long time.