3rd Day, Portree, Isle of Skye

I'm starting off with a beautifully colourful shop, Skye Batik, because outside was very grey.

Here, BB and I bought very nice silver hair clips with wooden pins that hold them.

Outside the day had become very overcast.

So here are some scenes of Portree.

The road to the left leads down to the harbour.

This is the High Street,views of it from each end.

Portree town square

One of the most frequented shops for us, was the bakery, because instead of eating in a restaurant, we would buy something here, hot meat pies, sausage rolls, quiches and make them into a picnic lunch. Taking it down to the harbour and picnicking there.

Edinbane Pottery, Isle of Skye

Edinbane Pottery

Is a lovely pottery shop in Edinbane. My sister BB and I love pottery, well any kind of china. In fact a friend came to our house one time and said 'it's a good job you don't throw plates at Bo when you get angry because you would never run out.' And that's about the truth. I have so many sets of beautiful china, and some pottery.

I would have bought something here, but to be honest it was super expensive. For instance a cup was eighteen pounds and the matching saucer fifteen pounds. My sister and I are pretty thrifty. He had some buttons, not even glazed in different colours, and not an inch in diameter and wanted three pounds per button; which BB and I thought was excessive. If he'd of had something small like that and cheaper, we would have bought a set.

If you had the money though, some lovely pieces.

Christy

Room with a View, day three, Monday

You are always in trepidation when you rent a holiday cottage. Is it going to be all that you expect. Of course if you have tons of money it can be all that you expect, but when you are working with a tight budget, it is such a delight to achieve the goal of reasonable price and a room with a view. It is a easier with the Internet to envision what your little holiday rental will look like, but the full panorama is not seen until you are there.

Glendale, looking towards Loch Pooltiel, from my bedroom window.

My diary and travel journal sitting on the window sill.

I had a terrible time this trip, adjusting to the time change. So I would be asleep by 9:00 to 9:30 PM, but then be awake again at 3:00 AM. Instead of tossing in bed, I would go downstairs, make a cup of tea, write up my travel journal and download all my photos onto my laptop. When I got home, at the end of the day, I was always far too tired.

Christy

P.S. Both my sister and I said we would love to stay here again Fasach

Dunvegan Castle, home of the Macleods

Dunvegan Castle, home of the Macleods and the Fairy Flag, rescuer of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Dunvegan Castle is the oldest continually inhabited castle in Scotland, sitting on a rocky outcrop, surrounded on almost all three sides by water. It must be in the folklore of all Macleods, who live in farflung places, Canada, New Zealand and the USA.

When I last visited Dunvegan Castle we must have travelled the single track road, all the way from Portree. As I was told that back in the sixties that's all there was.

The above photos were taken on our Sunday afternoon walk to Coral Beach. I will post some more photos of our visit to the Castle.

The Macleods still live at the castle, occupying the upper floors. I heard they also have a flat in London and that the current Lord besides making Dunvegan Castle into a number one Isle of Skye tourist attraction,with hords of buses and ones like ourselves visiting; is also a film producer.

I wanted to refer back to 'In Search of Scotland' by H.V. Morton, who visited in the late 1920's. Back then the 23rd chief, Macleod of Macleod was in his eighties and lived in England. Twice a week the castle was open for visitors to see the Fairy Flag. A middle-aged English woman lived alone at the castle, and as Morton was guided '... through room after room completely furnished, but with the chill of loneliness over them ...' That is certainly not true now with the troop of visitors touring through.

We will re-visit Dunvegan Castle in a later post.

Christy

The Old School Restaurant, Isle of Skye

Sunday evening, after a day of walking.

We had dinner at this restaurant in the town of Dunvegan.

We all had the Angus steak with a whisky mushroom sauce, it was very good.

About five miles from here is the Three Chimneys Restaurant, in fact we passed it every day traveling backwards and forwards from our cottage. A Michelin, five star restaurant. I think it costs about one-hundred and fifty pounds for two to eat, beyond our means.

I kept meaning to pop my head in the door and see what it looked like, but I never did. It's not spectacular from the outside. Judging from all the expensive cars you see there, even though it's in the middle of no where it obviously lives up to its' rating.

We stopped at a little craft shop and farm, and the lady said that all their quail eggs go to the restaurant.

Walk to and from Coral Beach

Couldn't resist taking this photo of dad with son.

Homeward bound.

Christy

Coral Beach

An old abandoned croft. You have to wonder who lived here, did they leave during the land clearances? What a view they had here across Dunvegan Loch, but what a walk and how isolated. A good donkey would be of great value living here I would think. Many Highlanders emigrated to the far flung regions of the British Empire.

This evangelical preacher led his flock from the Isle of Skye to Nova Scotia, from Nova Scotia to Cape Breton, which is not too far. Not liking it there they took the long sea voyage to Australia and from there to their last stop New Zealand. Starting in 1817 to 1853. Eventually he was happy with that, or felt enough was enough at 70 years of age and having resided in half the British Empire. I found it a most interesting account. Enlarge the photo and read the whole account.

Shells picked up at Coral Beach. I had an idea of making them into jewelery, but who knows.

Christy

Sunday afternoon, the walk to Coral Beach

Christy

Lazy Sunday Afternoon, Cattle by the Side of Loch Dunvegan

Christy

Back to the cottage for Sunday lunch

Back to the cottage for Sunday lunch. Held up for a little while by some local Glendale sheep.

The drive up to our cottage. We have to keep the gate shut because the sheep wander everywhere. One night we came across them all over the drive up to the house.

These sheep may be the same ones we came across earlier in the day. They were asleep, we woke them up.

The view across to Loch Pooltiel, from our cottage.

Christy

I'm Published.

It came! Yes it came in the Post today. My very own published book, of my photographs taken on the Isle of Skye.

This is the link to my book on Blurb. The entire book is now open for viewing. Click Here

I'm so pleased with it, such fun.

Christy

Sunday Morning, Neist Point

View on drive to Neist Point

The steep walk and steps down to the Point

Then a walk back up to Neist Point

My sister BB, while sitting here, she got to see a basking shark

The morning mist lifting

Neist Point lighthouse

Unusual rock formations at the Point

Sunday morning after a cooked breakfast we decided to take a local walk. Before leaving the States I had downloaded some walks in the area where we would be staying and this was one of them.

Neist Point was about a twenty minute drive from where we were staying in Glendale. We parked the car and then took the steep steps down and walked across, and then up to Neist Point, where a lighthouse sits. If you like you can stay at the lighthouse for B&B.

BB sat while Trev and I walked on to the lighthouse and rock formations. While sitting BB got to see a basking shark, we missed that. But our walk on a glorious day what more could you ask for?

Christy

Single Track Road We Drove Out On Every Day

This was the single track road that we took out every morning from Glendale to join up with the main road. What a view we had of the Cuillen Hills.

Christy

Isle of Skye, My Book on Blurb

I have made a book on Blurb, from my photographs of my week on the Isle of Skye. This is the link to it, where you will see a preview.

My Book on Blurb

I am really pleased with it. Jen at work, a graphic artist, went to a seminar where they featured Blurb and she received some very nice coupons to use their service. So she gave one to me worth $38.00 so on the day it was to expire I was able to finish my book. It probably took 15 hours all told. It was fun to arrange and look at my photos all over again and relive my time there.

Christy

Across the Skye Bridge on the Isle

Here we are on the Isle of Skye, with a view of the Cuillin Mountains. By now it's late afternoon and it's been a long day. From the Skye Bridge to the cottage was at least an hours drive, of course again longer because of the photo taking.

The view from my bedroom window.

My journals and books for the trip.

We were delighted with the cottage we had chosen to stay at, 6 Fasach, in Glendale. The heat was on when we arrived and so cozy. It's a good job we got there while it was still light, because it would have been very hard to find in the dark.

Christy